The surprising turquoise color of many of the Kenai Peninsula’s rivers and lakes is very unusual and is caused by just the right blending of glacial waters and snowmelt. Just about everywhere on the Peninsula there are rivers and lakes to enjoy. Home to spawning salmon, these rivers and lakes can be explored by rafting, fishing from drift or powerboats, or finding beautiful trails along the shores. Some of Alaska's wildest whitewater, as well as some of its most placid and scenic waterways, can be found on the Kenai. The Kenai River and its network of lakes and tributaries extend from virtually the eastern edge to the western shore. Canoe fans world wide travel to the Kenai Peninsula to portage and paddle the 150 miles of canoe trails of the Swanson River System. The quaint settlements of Moose Pass and Cooper Landing, along with the larger communities of Sterling, Soldotna, and Kenai, owe a substantial portion of their livelihoods to the bounty of fish, scenery, and wildlife that the Kenai watershed provides.

The Kenai Peninsula is world renowned for its wide-ranging fishing opportunities. Four species of salmon by the thousands —no, make that by the hundreds of thousands—find their way into the Peninsula's bays, rivers, and lakes to return to where their lives began. Virtually any time of the summer is salmon fishing season on the Kenai. The largest King Salmon of all, weighing close to 100 pounds, are sought on the famed lower Kenai River. Salmon is only part of the draw. Most seacoast towns on the Kenai Peninsula offer charter fishing for halibut and other saltwater species. What an experience to spend a day out upon the water, to feel the sea breeze, and to reel in that barndoor size halibut! The mountain lakes, rivers and streams of the Kenai Peninsula are home to Rainbow Trout, Dolly Varden, and Arctic Grayling—fly fishing at its finest.