Soldotna begins with an eclectic collection of fantastic eateries and shops. But the town really transforms on summer Wednesdays: That’s when the town’s focus becomes the popular Wednesday Market, with vendors from around the state. It’s also a showcase for the town’s developing music scene that becomes more vibrant each year—the Levitt AMP Soldotna Concert Series. Each Wednesday evening in summer, after the market activities, local and national artists perform on a bluff overlooking the Kenai River in gorgeous Soldonta Creek Park. Walk through gorgeous Soldotna Creek Park and appreciate the boardwalk and river views. Take a quick hike.
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Outdoor lovers will find lots of other activities as well, both in town as well as in the surrounding area. Walk the boardwalks in summer and you’ll see plenty of people angling in the river. Fishing is a major focus here, as the town is home to the largest king salmon ever caught! (It’s on display in the visitor center). The river also offers fun opportunities for kayaking and paddleboarding.
Keep an eye out for the moose that wander around in town, and enjoy some great hiking trails right in town, like on the Centennial Trail , Tsalteshi Multi-Use Trails, or the multiple trails departing from the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center. It’s also easy to take a quick flight to find near-guaranteed bear-viewing.
Experience the Tstalteshi Trails, a world class cross-country ski area with more than 25 kilometers of groomed trails (rent skis in town). Some are also open to fat bikers.
If you prefer a walk, head to the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center to discover wonderful trails for walking, skiing, or snowshoeing. Look at their events in advance; you may even be able to join a guided winter hike or snowshoe.
On many Saturdays, look for the free public skate at A.R.C. Lake. The Parks & Rec department supplies ice skates and sets up warming barrels to help keep the cold at bay. If there’s no public skate, you’ll need to bring your own skates, but the area is open for skating throughout the winter...and it’s lit after 4 p.m. In addition to that, all of the public elementary schools have lit hills for snowboarding, sledding, or tubing! The same public lakes are ice laden and stocked with salmon or trout for the ice angler. Soldotna is also home to an Olympic size ice arena with skate rentals. This same arena is home to the Kenai River Brown Bears Junior “A” Hockey Team!
Frozen Riverfest - Defy the winter cold and join the party outdoors! Live music, bonfires, food vendors, games and a beer garden. This is a family friendly event with activities for all ages.
Soldotna has three markets dedicated for farmers, makers, and other vendors, which operate during the growing/summer season. On Saturdays from 10am-2pm, check out the Soldotna Saturday Farmers Market at the parking lot at Kenai Spur Hwy/Corral Avenue. On Tuesdays from 3pm-6pm, the Farmer's Fresh Market is held at the Kenai Peninsula Food Bank on Kalifornsky Beach Road. And on Wednesdays from 11am-5pm, the Wednesday Market is held at Soldotna Creek Park.
Since beginning in June of 2015, our summer concert series, Music in the Park, has become a gathering place for locals and visitors alike, all summer long. It is not uncommon to have 1000 people in Soldotna Creek Park enjoying the music and beer garden on Wednesday nights, June through August. At the end of 2018, Music in the Park was selected to receive a Levitt AMP Grant Award. This program is an exciting matching grant competition created in 2014 by the Levitt Foundation to bring the power of free, live music to small and mid-sized towns and cities. Nonprofits around the country have been awarded $25K each in matching grants to produce the Levitt AMP Music Series—an outdoor, free concert series featuring a diverse lineup of professional musicians. With this grant award Music in the Park has become the Levitt AMP Soldotna Music Series.
Voted the #1 Fishing Hotspot in North America by Field & Stream Magazine, each summer thousands of angler’s stream into Soldotna on a quest for legendary Kenai River salmon. In fact, the world’s largest king salmon was plucked from the waters of the Kenai River in 1985. The 97.25-pound trophy is proudly displayed at the Soldotna Visitor Information Center. The Kenai River is the most heavily fished river in Alaska. It is a glacial stream draining the central Kenai Peninsula.
Soldotna is the most fish-crazy place in Alaska during the summer, and well set up for the wave of anglers who flock here from mid-May through September for the runs of red, silver and especially the king salmon in the lower Kenai River. Soldotna is also home to more river city parks than any other community in Alaska, over a mile of elevated Kenai River boardwalk, and over 220 campsites for visitors to enjoy.
The Kenai River is an 80-mile-long river stretching from the headwaters at Kenai Lake in Cooper Landing, to the mouth at Cook Inlet near the town of Kenai. The Kenai River offers a wide array of fishing opportunities, and the Kenai Peninsula offers many other rivers, streams and lakes with exceptional fishing. You can fish from the bank on the Kenai River and many other rivers and streams in our area, launch a boat and take to the waterways, or hire a professional local guide who will help increase your chances of landing your own record fish!