Photo Credit: Between Beaches Alaska

The Ultimate Guide on Where to Stay in Homer, Alaska

The beach town of Homer is a favorite getaway spot for many Alaskans. With a 4.5-hour drive or quick, 1-hour flight from Anchorage, you can be standing on the shore of Kachemak Bay, looking for critters in tidepools and listening to water washing over the rocky beach. And it’s not only beautiful—Homer’s also famous for being a thriving artist community, having fantastic deepwater fishing for halibut, and offering fly-out excursions to see bears in nearby Lake Clark and Katmai national parks.

With so much to do and see, it’s not surprising that Homer boasts many great places to stay. Here are some can’t-miss options.

Land's End offers an oceanfront hot tub while you watch the charter boats and commercial fishing boats round the Homer Spit

Land's End offers an oceanfront hot tub while you watch the charter boats and commercial fishing boats round the Homer Spit

Stay on The Spit

  • The longstanding Land’s End Hotel sits dramatically at the end of the Homer Spit. Take a walk along the beach, visit nearby shops, bars, and restau­rants, and keep the gorgeous views insight while enjoying a meal at the hotel’s Chart Room restau­rant.

In Town, or Just Beyond

  • In downtown Homer, Ocean Shores features a water view from every room, as well as a trail down to a private beach. Most rooms have a private balcony, and you can book a room with a kitchenette.
  • In the heart of Old Town Homer, the historic Driftwood Inn offers a variety of accommodations— including rooms, deluxe lodges, a family cottage, and an RV park—some of which come with views of Bishop’s Beach and Kachemak Bay. Here you’ll be within walking distance of coffee shops, bakeries, bookstores, restaurants, and the Homer visitor’s center.
  • Seafarer Suites is located on the main street of downtown Homer, within easy walking distance of restaurants and shops, and just a few miles away from all the activities on The Spit. Upgrade to a suite and you’ll also have a full kitchen as well as a spectacular view of the shimmering ocean.
  • If you’re after a home-away-from-home feel, Paula’s Place B&B and Cozy Cove Inn are favorite local B&Bs.

Wilderness Lodges Across The Bay

If you want to unplug and immerse yourself in Alaska, a wilderness lodge is a perfect choice. These are boat-in or fly-in only—completely disconnected from Alaska’s road system. But disconnected doesn’t mean rustic. In fact, these lodges are far from it.

Relax while enjoying the rustic elegance at Kachemak Bay Wilderness Lodge

Relax while enjoying the rustic elegance at Kachemak Bay Wilderness Lodge

  • Kachemak Bay Wilderness Lodge, a 30-minute boat ride from Homer on the shores of the China Poot Bay estuary, has just five cabins and accommodates only 10–14 guests per week, ensuring a personal, intimate stay. The bay offers access to endless trails, beaches, and enchanting coves; it was this natural beauty that enticed founders Michael and Diane McBride to build the lodge almost 50 years ago.
  • Michael created another nearby oasis that’s even more intimate. Loonsong Lake Wilderness Lodge offers idyllic log chalets just a 15-minute floatplane ride from Homer, all surrounded by the 1 million-plus acres of Kachemak Bay State Wilderness Park and Kenai Fjords National Monument. Walk the trails, canoe on the lake, and enjoy meals prepared by the Loonsong chef.
  • Ridgewood Wilderness Lodge, in Halibut Cove, is an architectural marvel, featuring 360-degree wraparound decks with views of the mountains, ocean, and beaches, as well as secluded saltwater coves and estuaries. In between are manicured lawns and gardens surrounded by native Alaskan forest and vegetation. Your hosts at this secluded getaway are two sourdough Alaskans, Kevin and Lucinda Sidelinger, who are passionate about the activities they offer, including hiking, kayaking, wildlife viewing, and add-on excursions for fishing and fly-in bear viewing.
  • Enjoy the serenity of the intimate, all-inclusive Lodge at Otter Cove, which sits on a private beach just 20-minutes by water taxi from Homer. Family-run and completely renovated in 2022, the Lodge at Otter Cove offers five cozy, rustic cabins, 3 delicious meals a day, and a variety of activities to choose from.

Seldovia

Seldovia is a charming, small town with a population of just 300 that sits across Kachemak Bay from Homer. There’s great hiking, fishing, and a picturesque boardwalk.

  • The Seldovia Boardwalk Hotel is the only hotel in town, and it’s a charmer—an 11-room waterfront property that’s open year-round. Stay a few days and you’ll get into the Seldovia state of mind. In summer, the on-site Boardwalk Pub & Grill serves lunches and weekend dinners. Take a seat on the patio and dig into fresh local seafood, mouth-watering family recipes, and much more. Weekends usually bring live music to the outdoor patio.
See brown bears with Alaska Bear Adventures in Katmai National Park

See brown bears with Alaska Bear Adventures in Katmai National Park

  • Farther from town is Between Beaches, with six luxury cabins and a Beach House set between two beaches on MacDonald Spit. Both beaches—just steps from each other—offer private seating and campfire areas, along with abundant wildlife and views of majestic, snow-capped mountains rising in the distance. Enjoy complimentary use of the hot tub, sauna, kayaks, and rowboat.

See the Bears

Homer is a popular jumping-off point for the quintessentially Alaskan experience of bear viewing, in Katmai and Lake Clark national parks.

  • Alaska Bear Adventures offers a multi-day experience that pairs bear viewing with the convenience of a “home base” aboard a 65-foot expedition trawler, the Alaska Dawn. Spend your days watching the ins and outs of bear behavior, then return to the boat for dinner before settling into a comfortable berth.
  • Alaska Ultimate Safaris Adventure Lodge is located in a remote spot on the Alaska Peninsula—at the apex of 15-mile-long Chinitna Bay, the southern edge of Lake Clark National Park, and 30 miles from Katmai National Park. In other words, this is bear-viewing central. Cabins here are a unique blend of back-to-nature bliss and high-tech comfort, with 12-foot-high dome units set on wooden platforms with private decks and bay windows. You may see bears right out your front door, wandering through the meadow or fishing in the river. Or take guided excursions with your hosts to see even more of the magnificent creatures.

Hotels & Lodges View All

Hotels in Homer, and across the bay in Seldovia

Season: Year Round Lodging $135+ | RV Park $65+ per night

Drift­wood Inn presents a vari­ety of lodg­ing options, includ­ing hotel rooms, deluxe lodges, a fam­i­ly cot­tage, and an RV park — all of which have great views of Bishop’s Beach and Kachemak Bay. This fam­i­ly-owned and ‑oper­at­ed inn and has free Wi-Fi, cof­feemak­ers in most rooms, and a cozy lob­by with a fire­place. And you’re with­in walk­ing dis­tance of cof­fee shops, bak­eries, book­stores, and restaurants.

Season: Year Round $209+ per night

The Lands End Resort sits at the very tip of the Homer Spit, offer­ing incred­i­ble views of Kachemak Bay and the Kenai Moun­tain Range. Take a walk along the beach­front, then head to the shops, bars, and restau­rants along the spit. If the views are too beau­ti­ful to leave, enjoy a meal at the hotel’s Chart Room restau­rant. When it’s time for activ­i­ties, a help­ful staff of locals can pro­vide rec­om­men­da­tions and book your excursions.

Season: May 05 to Sep 29 $189+ per night

Not many hotels can say that every room has a great view, but Ocean Shores was designed that way. Each room fea­tures views of Kachemak Bay and the sur­round­ing moun­tains. Also the ocean front prop­er­ty has a nice path to our seclud­ed beach and tide pools of Kachemak Bay. Or explore the near­by town of Homer.

Season: Year Round $189+ per night

This cozy, fam­i­ly-run hotel fea­tures a range of com­fort­able stu­dios and suites — some of which come with ocean views. Sea­far­er Suites is walk­ing dis­tance to local restau­rants and art gal­leries, and just a few miles away from the Homer Spit.

Season: Year Round $129+ per night

If you’ve ever want­ed to stay in the only hotel in town, this is your chance. This charm­ing, 11-room water­front prop­er­ty is open year-round. Let this be your base­camp to Sel­dovia. Tide­pool, kayak, hike, or rent a bike, gold cart, or pad­dle board from the hotel! And don’t not miss the hotel’s restau­rant, the Board­walk Pub & Grill. 

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Wilderness Lodges View All

Season: June 1 - Sept 15 $3500+ per person (private lodge, max six guests) 3 & 5 day all-inclusive packages

Your own idyl­lic log chalet —is sur­round­ed by more than a mil­lion acres of Kachemak Bay State Wilder­ness Park and Kenai Fjords Nation­al Mon­u­ment. Every day offers a first-class adven­ture. There are miles of love­ly hik­ing trails and trout fish­ing sup­plies are pro­vid­ed. You may ask the pilot to return and take you for a day of brown bear view­ing, or oth­er fly-out adven­ture! Immers­ing your­self in some of the best of Alas­ka involves just a  ...more

Season: Memorial Day–Labor Day Call for rates

Acces­si­ble only by water, Tree­house Cove Wilder­ness Lodge is Alaska’s only ocean­front tree­house and hand-built beach house, with per­son­al­ized ser­vice and adven­ture pack­ages available.

Season: May 25 to Sep 03 $4070+ all-inclusive packages (Early season special available for June!)

The McBride Fam­i­ly has per­fect­ed their all-inclu­sive world-class Alaskan expe­ri­ence. Their amaz­ing local Alaskan team and pro­fes­sion­al guides will per­son­al­ize and cus­tomize your stay based on your inter­ests, the tides, and the weath­er. Your days can be qui­et and relax­ing or filled with action-packed adven­tures includ­ing sea kayak­ing, hik­ing, casu­al beach fish­ing, tide pool­ing, marine and wildlife view­ing, boat excur­sions, beach camp­fires, bird  ...more

Season: May to September $1100 per adult, per night 2+ nights

Alaska’s Ridge­wood Wilder­ness Lodge is a pre­mier, full-ser­vice des­ti­na­tion lodge in Hal­ibut Cove adja­cent to the Kachemak Bay State Park. Your hosts under­stand that expe­ri­enc­ing Alaska’s great out­doors is a pri­ma­ry goal for those active in mind and spir­it, so they have designed numer­ous guid­ed adven­tures to choose from, includ­ing hik­ing, glac­i­er kayak­ing & wildlife view­ing. You can also add-on a fish­ing char­ter or bear view­ing tour during  ...more

Season: May - September $3850 per person, all-inclusive 3 days / 4 nights

Enjoy the seren­i­ty of this inti­mate, all-inclu­sive lodge, which sits on a pri­vate beach just a 20-minute water taxi ride from Homer. Fam­i­ly-run and com­plete­ly ren­o­vat­ed in 2022, the Lodge at Otter Cove offers 5 lux­u­ry cab­ins with 7 pri­vate rooms and 3 deli­cious meals a day. Choose your activ­i­ty each day from fish­ing, kayak­ing, hik­ing, and more. 

Season: July 1 - Aug 20 $1050+ per person 1 - 6 nights

See the bears of Lake Clark and Kat­mai Nation­al Park on their own turf at this bliss­ful­ly remote cab­in-based eco lodge. This is a glamp­ing expe­ri­ence with incred­i­ble views — both of the bears liv­ing in their own habi­tat, and of the nat­ur­al scenery that you get from your hosts, who also run Homer’s only heli­copter-based adven­ture safari company.

Season: Year Round Summer $485+ per night | Winter $250+ per night

If you can’t decide whether you’d rather have sun­set or sun­rise views on vaca­tion, Between Beach­es Alas­ka per­fect. Perched on a spit near Sel­dovia that offers both East and West water views, this idyl­lic spot also offers the chance to watch whales, otters, seals, shore­birds and eagles while enjoy­ing the tran­quil­i­ty of a unique set­ting. Choose from 6 cabins.

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Cabin & Vacation Rentals View All

Cabin rentals in Homer, and across the bay in Seldovia

Season: Memorial Day–Labor Day Call for rates

Acces­si­ble only by water, Tree­house Cove Wilder­ness Lodge is Alaska’s only ocean­front tree­house and hand-built beach house, with per­son­al­ized ser­vice and adven­ture pack­ages available.

Season: Year Round Summer $485+ per night | Winter $250+ per night

If you can’t decide whether you’d rather have sun­set or sun­rise views on vaca­tion, Between Beach­es Alas­ka per­fect. Perched on a spit near Sel­dovia that offers both East and West water views, this idyl­lic spot also offers the chance to watch whales, otters, seals, shore­birds and eagles while enjoy­ing the tran­quil­i­ty of a unique set­ting. Choose from 6 cabins.

Season: May - September $3850 per person, all-inclusive 3 days / 4 nights

Enjoy the seren­i­ty of this inti­mate, all-inclu­sive lodge, which sits on a pri­vate beach just a 20-minute water taxi ride from Homer. Fam­i­ly-run and com­plete­ly ren­o­vat­ed in 2022, the Lodge at Otter Cove offers 5 lux­u­ry cab­ins with 7 pri­vate rooms and 3 deli­cious meals a day. Choose your activ­i­ty each day from fish­ing, kayak­ing, hik­ing, and more. 

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Bear Viewing Lodges View All

Fly-in lodges, and boat-based bear viewing multi-day experiences accessible from Homer

Season: July 1 - Aug 20 $1050+ per person 1 - 6 nights

See the bears of Lake Clark and Kat­mai Nation­al Park on their own turf at this bliss­ful­ly remote cab­in-based eco lodge. This is a glamp­ing expe­ri­ence with incred­i­ble views — both of the bears liv­ing in their own habi­tat, and of the nat­ur­al scenery that you get from your hosts, who also run Homer’s only heli­copter-based adven­ture safari company.

Season: May 24 to Aug 22 $6395 to $6595 (+ internal air) 6 Days / 5 Nights

In the best way pos­si­ble. you’re out­num­bered by bears dur­ing your stay at this pri­vate fly-in wilder­ness camp. Fly by char­tered plane from Homer to Alas­ka Bear Camp on a 5‑night, 6‑day all-inclu­sive pack­age. This deluxe back­coun­try camp accom­mo­dates just 14 guests in some of the best bear habi­tat in the world. In con­trast to day trips cater­ing to dozens of vis­i­tors at a time, Bear Camp offers a rare and exclu­sive wilder­ness immersion.

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Bed & Breakfasts View All

Guests who come to this sun­ny, com­fort­able inn just out­side the main hub of Homer might be for­giv­en for doing a spin on the front-yard mead­ow and break­ing into The Sound of Music.” After all, own­er Mar­cel­la Suy­dam says that guests often tell her that this spot reminds them of the Alps — and no doubt, the hills here feel pret­ty alive.

At this year-round B&B just out­side the heart of Homer, the notion of being a guest takes on a new mean­ing. In her sun­ny two-sto­ry home, innkeep­er Paula caters to just one par­ty at a time — whether you are trav­el­ing on your own, or have up to six in your group. That means the B&B caters entire­ly to your needs dur­ing your stay — and you have easy access to quaint Homer, just out­side the doorstep.

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Fishing Lodges View All

Season: May - September $3850 per person, all-inclusive 3 days / 4 nights

Enjoy the seren­i­ty of this inti­mate, all-inclu­sive lodge, which sits on a pri­vate beach just a 20-minute water taxi ride from Homer. Fam­i­ly-run and com­plete­ly ren­o­vat­ed in 2022, the Lodge at Otter Cove offers 5 lux­u­ry cab­ins with 7 pri­vate rooms and 3 deli­cious meals a day. Choose your activ­i­ty each day from fish­ing, kayak­ing, hik­ing, and more. 

Season: Memorial Day–Labor Day Call for rates

Acces­si­ble only by water, Tree­house Cove Wilder­ness Lodge is Alaska’s only ocean­front tree­house and hand-built beach house, with per­son­al­ized ser­vice and adven­ture pack­ages available.

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RV Parks & Campgrounds View All

Season: May 1 - Sept 30 Tent $30+, RV $70+

Ocean Shores offers amaz­ing views from all of its sites — plus, it’s warmer here than on the Homer Spit, since it’s not as windy. All sites have a pic­nic table and the side sites have fire pits. You’ll also find DirectTV, Wi-Fi, free show­ers as well as coin-oper­at­ed laundry.

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