Kenai River

The Kenai River is a glacially fed river on the Kenai Peninsula in Southcentral Alaska. It flows from Kenai Lake through Skilak Lake and Soldotna to Cook Inlet, and the Russian River joins it along the way.

The river is known for its king and sockeye salmon runs, which draw large numbers of anglers, and for a personal-use dipnet fishery near its mouth. Fish and Game sets bag limits and closures for kings, sockeye and coho, and Alaska Wildlife Troopers cite anglers for keeping snagged fish, taking too many or fishing after hours. Weak king runs and uncertain coho counts are recurring questions.

Kenai salmon are shared with Cook Inlet's commercial set gillnet and drift fleets, so allocation fights before the Board of Fisheries and in federal court reach the river. Public access along its banks, including easements that end at the water, and erosion of riverbanks also shape life along it.