Kenai Peninsula Points of Interest

Drive a steep dirt road right up into alpine tundra terrain, rising from pristine white spruce forest onto tundra-covered hillsides surrounded by mountain ridges and rocky peaks. Camping is optional.

Russian fur traders colonized this fishing village in 1820. Steeped in the history of early Russian America, it offers an old-world setting with its Russian Orthodox Church on the hill, quaint fishermen's cottages and log homes. Information signs tell the history of Ninilchik and walking tour maps are available at local businesses. A trail leads to the church and cemetery on the hill.  More...

Heading south, a pullout on right-hand side offers views of Sixmile Creek. This is a popular spot for whitewater rafting tours, with most rapids being class IV. Tours are offered by Nova River Runners.

As you head down the Homer Spit, you'll see a collection of grounded boats. Some are occupied, and others are abandoned. All add to the charm of the Homer Spit. 

A day trip across Kachemak Bay to the charming village of Halibut Cove offers you wildlife-viewing opportunities, an up-close look at a bustling bird sanctuary, and time to explore a tiny island community of artists, craftspeople, and anglers. Go there on the Danny J, a classic wooden fishing boat that ferries both visitors and residents across the bay, twice a day between Memorial  More...

See the small body of water to the right? This is the upper end of Hidden Lake. Find out what natural changes have occurred to it over time. 

Fire can be hugely important in an ecosystem. Pyromaniacs should note that they're only positively effective when controlled and contained. 

The City of Seward is the historic town where the Alaska Railroad got its start. It was the original headquarters of the Engineering Commission, those pioneers that were tasked with the construction of the rail line.

This little town 16 miles north of Kenai makes a nice spot for families to stop for a meal, stock up on supplies at M&M Market, and get advice on local fishing hotspots and camping locations.

At Captain Cook State Recreation Area, 13 miles further north, you can get a great camping site—with great views of the Cook Inlet, Mt. Spurr, Mt. Redoubt, & Mt.  More...

If you're a bird watcher, you'll love this half-mile trail of Aspen and Spruce forest. Get out your binoculars and see which birds are out there. 

Stop at the turnout to photograph this beautiful hanging glacier high on the mountainside.

This spot, about a mile outside the town of Seldovia, offers big views that stretch out to the mouth of Kachemak Bay and even to Cook Inlet.

 Across the Inlet, you can also see the Pacific Ring of Fire, including Mount Illiamna and Mount Redoubt, each standing at10,000 and 11,000 feet. Even though they're some 75 miles away, on some days they seem like they’re  More...

A most spectacular view from the head of Kachemak Bay to Augustine volcano, this 180 degree panoramic view of ice, sea, mountains and sky makes a great backdrop for your souvenir Alaskan photos. The view changes season to season according to what wildflowers are in bloom and depending upon varying cloud, sky, and snow conditions.

Established in 1964, Seward’s Small Boat Harbor is located on the northern edge of Resurrection Bay, which multiple publications have ranked as one of the top sailing destinations in the United States. From the harbor you'll find easy access to Exit Glacier, Kenai Fjords National Park, fishing, kayaking, camping, flight-seeing, and an assortment of other activities.

Seward  More...

The Jesse Lee Home for Children is the second of three child welfare institutions in Alaska to bear the name. The first was established at Unalaska in the Aleutian Islands in 1890. The home was moved to Seward on Resurrection Bay in 1926. Following damage to the home in the 1964 earthquake, the Jesse Lee Home was relocated to its present location in Anchorage in 1965.

After the disastrous 1988 oil spill in Prince William Sound, the state used some of the oil company’s settlement money to purchase this fleet of ships. They were designed for one reason only: to protect the fragile Alaskan coastal environment from possible future disasters.

One of the most spectacular and accessible glaciers along the rail line, Spencer Glacier also has an interesting history. Listen to find out how it got it’s name and hear tales of what life was like for those who worked in the wilderness building the rail line.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? On this lake it could be either.                             

A facet of life in Homer that can be watched on television is the "Deadliest Catch" about commercial crab fishing in Alaska's icy waters. Co-captains Johathan and Andy Hillstrand have produced a new book about their adventures, Time Bandit: Two Brothers, the Bering Sea and One of the World's Deadliest Jobs. Anyone who has fished Alaska’s waters, whether winter or summer and for any species, know that it is a challenging and risky profession.

This is a must stop for photos of beautiful Kenai Lake. The lake was formed from glacier water is a majestic blue and green tone. You'll find several parking areas along the lake and signs that give you a little history about it.

Above Homer, up East Hill and right on Skyline Drive a mile and a half (a beautiful drive along the bluffs overlooking Homer), watch for the Wynn Nature Center, managed by the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies. You can stroll in the wilderness among the beautiful flora and watch for wildlife or take a tour guided by a well-informed naturalist.

The Keen-Eye Nature Trail is .75 miles long through a wooded area with a side trail leading down to Headquarters Lake. The Centennial Trail provide an additional 1.9 mile loop through a wooded area with further opportunity to view wildlife in the area. There are three basic options on these refuge trails. First and easiest is the 0.3 mile (one way), "accessible with assistance,"  More...

As the Seward Highway approaches Girdwood, travelers can see the remains of trees whose roots were swamped with salt water and killed during the 1964 Earthquake. Portage was devastated when much of the ground along Turnagain Arm sank five to nine feet. At high tide, the town that once lay at sea level was now under water. The ruins of buildings in the water are testament to that  More...

Local mushers run their teams behind 4 wheelers along South Cohoe Loop Road and down to the beach. Even though the road continues past this point it becomes too sandy to drive, so park here and walk down to the beach. If the dogs are training you'll see them whiz past with tongues lolling and sand flying.

You don't have to go into the art galleries (although that's a good idea) to enjoy art in Homer. Many of the businesses, especially on Pioneer Avenue, adorn their buildings with outstanding outdoor art works.

Having trouble being efficient with all your resources? You could probably take a lesson from the ecosystem found here. 

Technically, Portage is no longer a roadside glacier, as it recedes an average of one foot a day and is now no longer visible from the road, but its big blue icebergs are often found along the shore of the lake, right in front of the parking area. On Byron, ice worms are common, if you get down and look. There are also beautiful ice caves and rivulets to see, but be careful not to walk  More...

Seward has one of the few relatively intact Main Streets in Alaska, and gives you a good idea of what the territory’s early coastal towns looked like. Despite two destructive fires, some of the town’s earliest buildings are still standing. In its early days, it was a rough and rowdy area, a place where one of Seward’s most famous mascots held sway – for a  More...

Stop at the Scenic View RV Park for a breathtaking view of four volcanoes. Mt. Iliamna, Mt. Redoubt, Mt. Augustine and Mt. Spurr. These smoldering mountains are part of the pacific “ring of fire” with Mt. Redoubt erupting as recently as March 2009. Look for the interpretive sign to learn more about Alaska volcanoes.  

When people visit Homer, they may like to spend a day or two going “across the bay”— taking a boat or air taxi across Kachemak Bay to explore the quaint villages that straddle the line between towns and wilderness.

Here you’ll find 375,000 acres of forest, fjords, mountains and ocean. You can hike along 40 miles of trails, fish for salmon or rainbow  More...

Turn here for a scenic drive to an off-the-beaten-path town that sits on the edge of Turnagain Arm.  Established in the 1890's, it was one of the first gold mining towns in Alaska. Many of the town's original buildings are still standing, including the Seaview Cafe and Bar. There's still a hitching post in front of the mercantile, just in case you decide to bring  More...

The Swiss Kilcher family came to this country on a boat in the 1940s escaping the horrors of World War II in Europe, blessing Homer with outstanding talents in the performing as well as visual arts. They homesteaded 600 acres at mile 12.5 East End Road, near the head of Kachemak Bay.

The city of Kenai has plenty of natural wonders going for it: Overlooking the mouth of the Kenai River, it has great views of Cook Inlet as well as miles of sandy beaches, two mountain ranges and four active volcanoes.

Soldotna’s twin city has lots of cultural assets, too. Originally settled in the eighteenth century by Russian fur traders, the Peninsula’s oldest  More...

This little town 10 miles northeast of Soldotna shares its name with the highway that cuts through the Kenai Peninsula. Ironically, one of the best reasons to pull over here is to steer a different kind of vehicle: a canoe.  The Swan Lake Canoe Route starts 12 miles down Swan Lake Rd and offers a 17-mile float into town on the Moose River and over 60 miles of lakes and short  More...

Check out this salmon-friendly habitat and learn why so many salmon spawn here annually. 

This creek near Cooper Landing was one of Alaska's earliest gold finds. Peter Doroshin, a mining engineer for the Russian American Company, discovered gold in the area in 1850. Joseph Cooper later discovered gold in 1884, but he did not file a claim. Charles Sickels filed the first claim on Cooper Creek in 1895. Cooper returned in 1896 to stake claims on his namesake creek. The  More...

Visitors driving down to Homer (south west from Anchorage) find a perfect pull out rest stop on the right side of the highway on the hill above town. From this vantage, they get a preview of the pleasures to come. Fishing boats' windows twinkle out in Cook Inlet and Kachemak Bay, the Spit stretches half way across Kachemak Bay, and the snowy mountains on far side of the bay, embracing Kachemak Bay State Park, plus of course the the town itself.

An amazing array of invertebrates (animals without backbones) live within Homer's intertidal zone-between the water's reach at high tide and the water's edge at low tide. All you need is a pair of rubber boots and a tide book to explore their world.

This tiny town along the Sterling Highway may be known as “North America’s Most Westerly Highway Point,” but it has another, lesser publicized claim to fame: this is where locals love to come fish.

In the spring, it’s king salmon, followed by Dolly Varden and silver salmon in the summer; in the fall, you can catch steelhead until freeze-up.

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