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Homer

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Arriving in Homer is like opening one of those pop-up greeting cards – an unexpected thrill. Three miles before Homer, the Sterling Highway provides a few teasers that whet a visitor's appetite but never fully prepare them for the charming, colorful town that lies ahead. As the road makes a final turn east along the bluffs overlooking Kachemak Bay, Homer unfolds completely. It's a truly incredible panorama of mountains, white peaks, glaciers and the famous Homer Spit, a long strip of land that stretches into that beautiful deep blue bay.

About Homer

Downtown Homer is strung along Pioneer Avenue on a sloping hill between high bluffs to the north and Kachemak Bay to the south. It's little wonder that many Alaskans choose to vacation in Homer: the scenery is inspiring and the climate exceptionally mild. This community of 5,390 residents is protected from the severe northern cold by the Kenai Mountains to the north and east. Winter temperatures rarely drop much below zero degrees, while summer temperatures rarely rise above 70 degrees. As a visitor, this is a town that tempts you to stay for a while. Between the excellent museum, restaurants and art galleries, great scenery and interesting side trips to the other side of Kachemak Bay, you could easily spend a week – or a lifetime – here.

Things to do

Scattered throughout the commercial district are a wide range of restaurants and numerous art galleries. Few small towns have the culinary variety of Homer, where there are coffee bars on nearly every corner next to gourmet sandwich shops and fine restaurants. The art galleries along with museums, a live theater and music venues lend credence to Homer’s reputation as the cultural capital of Southcentral Alaska.

On the other side of the bay from Homer is Kachemak Bay State Wilderness Park, a 350,000-acre paradise of glaciers, mountains, protected coves for paddling and an extensive trail system to explore on foot. Kayakers, backpackers and campers hop on water taxis and to escape the bustle of Homer to an idyllic wilderness.

The Homer Spit, a 4.5-mile long needle of land stretching halfway across Kachemak Bay, is a hub of bustling activity during the summer. It hums with throngs of tourists, people camping on the beach, charter boats heading out to catch a record-breaking halibut, beachcombers, and birders amazed at how many bald eagles they can spot. This is where visitors book a fishing charter or simply rent a rod and reel to try their luck at the Homer Spit lagoon, fondly known as the Fishing Hole. King salmon can be caught here from mid-May to the end of June, while silver salmon run in August.

Homer

Homer is located 227 road miles south of Anchorage on the southwestern tip of the Kenai Peninsula via the Sterling and Seward highways. Visitors also reach Homer by regularly scheduled air service from Anchorage, air charter from smaller communities and via ferry on the Alaska Marine Highway System.

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Homer

Nearby Parks

Kachemak Bay State Park and State Wilderness Park

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Attractions

Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center +

Dedicated to the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center features interesting natural history displays covering those distant Aleutian Islands. Interactive exhibits include a replica seabird colony, complete with bird calls, films, a hands-on discovery lab and daily guided walks.
Bear viewing +

Thanks to its across-Cook-Inlet location, Homer is a major departure point for bear-watching trips to Katmai National Park and Preserve. Located on the Alaska Peninsula, 100-plus miles southwest of Homer by floatplane, the park is home to some of the largest brown bears in Alaska. During the summer air taxi companies offer flightseeing trips so passengers can witness bears feeding on spawning salmon or strolling along the Katmai's wilderness coastline.
Birding +

During the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival more than 100,000 shorebirds arrive at Mud Bay in early May, making it the largest bird migration site along the Alaskan road system, and that in turn attracts hundreds of birders to the four-day festival. During Early May the tidal flats around Homer become the staging area for 130 species of birds, including more than 20 species of shorebirds.
Charter fishing +

With more than two dozen charter captains working out of the Spit, fishing is one of Homer's most popular activities with the most sought after species being halibut. Most captains try to take advantage of the two slack tides and often leave early in the morning for a 12-hour trip with passengers spending the day jigging for the giant bottom-feeder.
Flightseeing +

The easiest way to see the spectacular mountains and glaciers of Kachemak Bay State Park is to head to the Homer Airport and book a flightseeing tour with a charter air service. Even a tour of Katmai National Park and Preserve can be arranged.
Gull Island +

Located halfway between Homer and Halibut Cove on the other side of Kackemak Bay is Gull Island whose 40-foot high cliffs attracts more than 16,000 nesting seabirds: puffins, kittiwakes, murres and cormorants among them. Several charter boat operators offer tours to the birding paradise on cruises that often include spotting sea otters as well.
Homer Jackpot Halibut Derby +

Spanning five months, the Homer Jackpot Halibut Derby begins in May and often ends with the winning angler weighing in a 200 to 300-pound halibut. Tickets can be purchased for the event and a list of the leading fish viewed at the Halibut Derby Office located in the Small Boat Harbor on the Spit.
Karl E Wynn Nature Center +

Situated on the bluffs above Homer and operated by the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies, Carl E Wynn Nature Center is a 140-acre reserve that features short interpretive trails focusing on native flora and fauna. There is also a visitor center with additional exhibits and from which naturalist-led hikes depart daily in summer.
Kayaking +

The best sea kayaking in Homer lies across Kachemak Bay in the protective coves and bays of Kachemak Bay State Park. Kayaks can be carried across the bay and dropped-off with a water taxi operator or rented from an outfitter that maintains a supply of boats within the state park.
Pratt Museum +

Pratt Museum is Homer's outstanding cultural center. The museum is filled with local art and Alaska Native artifacts as well as interactive displays on the area's wildlife, including a remote gull-cam, which you can watch Gull Island's roosting birds in real time. The museum's award-winning exhibit is "Darkened Waters," an emotional look at the Exxon oil spill. Outside is the Forest Ecology Trail, where paths wind through the trees and past small exhibits.
Seafarers Memorial +

Located appropriately near the bustling Small Boat Harbor on the Homer Spit is the Seafarer's Memorial, a solemn and touching monument dedicated to the locals who have been lost at sea.
Whale watching +

Kachemak Bay is home to an abundance of marine wildlife and charter boat operators can help visitors view the largest species; whales. The cruises often last six hours or more with passengers searching for humpbacks, orcas, minkes, finbacks and gray whales in Kachemak Bay and Kennedy Entrance.