Kenai Peninsula Points of Interest

Ken Tarbox is your guide to this area. Ken's a retired fishery biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. He's lived in the area for 32 years and wouldn't change a thing about it. 

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...

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...

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.

Sure, Homer's the "Halibut Fishing Capital of Alaska," but even non-anglers will revel in this end-of-the-road Alaska town. An eclectic mix of artists, fishermen, and outdoor lovers make up the lifeblood of Homer, drawn by its slow pace and postcard-ready setting by the clear-water bay. The heart of town is the Homer Spit, a long, narrow finger of land jutting into the bay.

In an area that’s famous for fishing, here is one spot where you don’t need a tackle box to blend in. As the name implies, this is a clamming town— with thousands of razor clams harvested annually from the sandy beaches.

Best of all, there is a pretty short learning curve for clamming: all you need is a little gear, a few safety pointers and a license, all  More...

Homer is known throughout Alaska as the state's premier artist community, home to dozens of galleries and artists. You'll find a convenient cluster of galleries worth visiting along "Gallery Row," the stretch of Pioneer Avenue between Main Street and Lake Street. Here are three we like.

Picture Alaska (448 E. Pioneer Ave.) features original paintings and fine art  More...

Grab your optics and let’s take in the 360-degree view here at the start of the Kenai River, Alaska’s world-renowned salmon fishing hot spot. See wildlife up on the hillsides, songbirds, waterfowl, and the brilliant ice-blue Kenai Lake and River. Breathtaking.

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...

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.

Let's go caribou-spotting on the wide open spaces at the mouth of the world-famous river system. This spot is one of your best bets for viewing these beautiful, stately beasts.

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

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...

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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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...

When the original town site of Seward was established in 1903, Lowell Creek ran down what is now Jefferson Street. (At 100 feet, Jefferson Street is the widest right-of-way in Seward.) Lowell Creek originates in the ice fields of the rugged Kenai Mountains, producing from one to three severe floods per year. Until the Diversion Tunnel was constructed in 1939, large quantities of  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.

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...

Take a stroll down the boardwalk as it winds along the river. There are several interpretive signs with information about fishing, dall sheep, rafting and boat safety. You'll also find access to Pioneer Village where you can pan for gold at Prospector John's Authentic Gold Panning.

The town of Kasilof  (pronounced kuh-SEE-loff) has a lot of the great activities that other Kenai Peninsula towns do—fishing, camping and wildlife viewing. But this tiny town 15 miles south of Soldotna, on the Sterling Highway, is also a vibrant dog sledding  community—while here you can visit the kennel of Dean Osmar, an Iditarod champion, and take a ride  More...

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.

Stick to your workout routine with Seldovia Village Tribe’s Exercise Room. The SVT Exercise Room is located inside the Seldovia Conference Center and enjoys a near-panoramic view of Seldovia Bay.

(pop. 489)

Digging for clams is easy and fun—kinda like fishing, but without all that waiting. Here are the top road-accessible clam havens south of Anchorage:

Anytime, though the best season is from April through September. Taste peaks in early  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.

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

Lawing was once named Roosevelt. “Alaska Nellie” purchased a cabin there in 1923 and later married Billie Lawing of Seattle. Together they ran a lodge and trophy museum that became a featured stop for Alaska Railroad passengers. Nellie loved to tell stories and her guests enjoyed her tales of daring and adventure on the Last Frontier.

Driving from Anchorage to Whittier to play in Prince William Sound? You’ll go through Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel—the longest (2.5 miles) highway tunnel in North America, and the first designed for -40 Fahrenheit temperatures and 150 mph winds! 

The one-lane tunnel must be shared by cars and trains traveling in both directions, and it usually needs to be  More...

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.

If you need a moment to yourself, this lonesome lake is a great place to find quiet solitude--and some excellent rainbow trout fishing. But that's not all it's great for. 

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.

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. 

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...

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...

By midday, fishing boats have returned with their catch. Walk over to the fish cleaning tables to see halibut, salmon, and other quarry from the deep.

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.

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.  

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.

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.

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.