Russian River, Alaska, United States

4Trout seeker 5:00 PM Aug 21, 2020

Very cool Experience
The Russian River is a gorgeous place to visit. The walk is a very pleasant 3/4 mile walk from the Salmon lot down to the confluence of the Kenai / Russian Rivers. I suggest taking binoculars so you can spot the Mountain goats on the high range just to the west of the Kenai River. The state charges a hefty $12 just to park for a couple of hours. If you do the Russian River Ferry that too is a hefty $12 to park and yet another $12 to ride the ferry. BIG caution though, the restrooms are by far the worst I have entered for any local, state, or federal park. I do mean awful!! Okay back to the Kenai and Russian Rivers, the fishing is fairly good. It has been quite a story to be fishing and then the grizzlies pop out of the brush and are very close. They appeared to not want to harm you but that should never be a reason to not be very cautious. They are king (and queen) in the wild. If you fish, you will like this place. If you like to site see, you will like this place. Keep in mind that the stairs leading down to the main boardwalk are steep and many. The long walk over to the Russian Falls is nice and very doable for the flatfooted. The falls are nice where you can see lots of salmon. The bears were not there on the hours I visited but know that they are there.

4Donna 5:00 PM Aug 15, 2020

Bear watching! Try on a cloudy day.
So we wanted to see some grizzlies. We visited the Russian River Campground and went to the Pink Salmon lot. It was a very easy walk down to the river. We had to wait a while, but soon enough the bears started coming out. We even saw a sow with 3 cubs. Lots of fisherman in the river even with the covid. Just watch their reaction to help spot the bears. Then we went to see the Falls. The hike itself isn't anything special. But its a good place to see the salmon jumping! We were just about to leave when a grizzly came out of the woods and started moving around. I'd suggest this as a cloudy day activitiy.