BEARFOOTING IN HOMER
Homer Services
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Homer is literally the "End of the Road" in Alaska. A breezy, hip, open, friendly town, it's more tuned in to aesthetics, art, environmental causes — even vegetables — than many other towns you'll find in Alaska.
It offers access to ocean and mountain vistas as you drive into town, and a spectacular beach. Homer has two nationally-known residents. One of them is Tom (“We’ll Keep The Light On For You”) Bodett, who advertises Motel Six. (Though there isn’t a Motel Six in rustic Homer.) Another famous Homer-ite is the singer known as Jewel. Getting To Homer
The Sterling Highway ends in Homer. Homer is 226 miles from Anchorage by road. The highway sweeps down a hill along the bay, bypassing the older part of town, and runs on to the Homer Spit. You can also fly to Homer on regional aircraft.
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Things To Do In Homer
THE HOMER SPIT
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ISLANDS & OCEAN CENTER
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BOARDWALKS IN HOMER
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Go To Homer For Halibut. When people go to Homer to fish, they’re most likely to fish for halibut. While there, enter the Homer Jackpot Halibut Derby. An Oregon man who recently won the derby received $48,504 for pulling in a 310 lb. halibut. (The runner-up got a 308 lb. halibut, and $1,000.)
Visit The Pratt Museum and Islands & Ocean Center. The Homer Museum has information about the 6 Native cultures of the area. There’s also plenty about the sea, fishing, wildlife and Homer history. See the collection of 150 local plants in the extensive gardens outside. Behind the Pratt Museum, there’s the Harrington Cabin. It was home to a series of people arriving in Homer over the years. One of the problems of moving to rural Alaska, even today, is that there is often a shortage of housing. Stand outside the cabin and listen to actual audio narrations by long-time local residents, recalling their arrival and the time they spent in the Harrington Cabin. The Islands & Ocean Center has many displays about Kachemak Bay.
Go To The Shorebird Festival. This is a good spot for finding shorebirds in May. There’s a 3-day Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival with speakers, workshops, bird walks and field trips to view birds. You can view sandpipers, yellowlegs, dowitchers, terns, cormorants, murrelets, snipe, tattlers and wigeons. Contact the Homer Chamber for more information. If you're in Homer during the spring, you may want to take part in the Shorebird Festival, which promotes awareness of the importance of the Kachemak Bay tidal flats to the 20 or more species of shorebirds that stop here on their way to northern breeding grounds.
Spend A Day In Town. Homer mixes civic pride with an appreciation for art, culture and the great outdoors. After a day of clam digging, exploring tidal pools, fishing, walking the beaches, or scouting for eagles in and around Homer or up the coast, you can spend an evening at a swank place in town. There are several fine restaurants, art galleries, and often there are local cultural activities. Beyond its tourism aspect, Homer also functions as a fishing town and a major port for the Kenai Peninsula.
See “Old Homer.” The Sterling Highway sweeps through the city of Homer, cutting across the "original" town. To see Homer properly, therefore, it is a good idea to find the original Main Street and wander through the center of town. Homer is on a hill, and the spectacular views of the Bay are reflected in the names of its streets: "Skyline Drive," "City View," "Island View," "Mountain View," and even (registering a slight pang of disappointment) "No View."
Check Out Kachemak Bay & Homer Spit. Homer is located on Kachemak Bay, home of the biggest estuary scientific research reserve in America, totalling 365,000 acres. (An estuary, by the way, occurs when the tide flows into the broad mouth of a river.) Homer is also a former coal-producing town. There is still so much coal around that you can pick it up for fuel. The Homer Spit, a natural feature which extends several miles out into the Bay, once had a railroad track that carried the coal. The ocean dashes onto the rocks of 5-mile long Homer Spit, the absolute end of the road in Homer. A good bike trail along the road lets you enjoy the views of old boat yards, and homes along the spit where local people have embedded large spruce trees upside down in the sand. You can also see Bald Eagles, which come to roost on the bare tree roots. The spit terminates in a ferry dock. It's a freewheeling, summery place, with a fishing hole, boardwalks, stores, and people camping in the warm breezes - surrounded by the rolling surf of Kachemak Bay.
See The Seafarer’s Memorial. It’s on Homer Spit. The wild, untamed seas off Alaska take their toll of fishermen. Homer’s poignant Seafarer’s Memorial honors the many fishermen who have died in the icy waters of Alaska.
Go Fishing at the “Fishing Hole.” The Fishing Hole on the Homer Spit is a great place to try your luck. More often than not, you will come away with a fish. You will come upon the Fishing Hole right before you reach the small boat harbor. And salmon are not the only fish to try for. Homer also features excellent halibut fishing. The Spit is a great place to hire a charter that will take you out into the waters of Kachemak Bay.
Visit The Pratt Museum and Islands & Ocean Center. The Homer Museum has information about the 6 Native cultures of the area. There’s also plenty about the sea, fishing, wildlife and Homer history. See the collection of 150 local plants in the extensive gardens outside. Behind the Pratt Museum, there’s the Harrington Cabin. It was home to a series of people arriving in Homer over the years. One of the problems of moving to rural Alaska, even today, is that there is often a shortage of housing. Stand outside the cabin and listen to actual audio narrations by long-time local residents, recalling their arrival and the time they spent in the Harrington Cabin. The Islands & Ocean Center has many displays about Kachemak Bay.
Go To The Shorebird Festival. This is a good spot for finding shorebirds in May. There’s a 3-day Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival with speakers, workshops, bird walks and field trips to view birds. You can view sandpipers, yellowlegs, dowitchers, terns, cormorants, murrelets, snipe, tattlers and wigeons. Contact the Homer Chamber for more information. If you're in Homer during the spring, you may want to take part in the Shorebird Festival, which promotes awareness of the importance of the Kachemak Bay tidal flats to the 20 or more species of shorebirds that stop here on their way to northern breeding grounds.
Spend A Day In Town. Homer mixes civic pride with an appreciation for art, culture and the great outdoors. After a day of clam digging, exploring tidal pools, fishing, walking the beaches, or scouting for eagles in and around Homer or up the coast, you can spend an evening at a swank place in town. There are several fine restaurants, art galleries, and often there are local cultural activities. Beyond its tourism aspect, Homer also functions as a fishing town and a major port for the Kenai Peninsula.
See “Old Homer.” The Sterling Highway sweeps through the city of Homer, cutting across the "original" town. To see Homer properly, therefore, it is a good idea to find the original Main Street and wander through the center of town. Homer is on a hill, and the spectacular views of the Bay are reflected in the names of its streets: "Skyline Drive," "City View," "Island View," "Mountain View," and even (registering a slight pang of disappointment) "No View."
Check Out Kachemak Bay & Homer Spit. Homer is located on Kachemak Bay, home of the biggest estuary scientific research reserve in America, totalling 365,000 acres. (An estuary, by the way, occurs when the tide flows into the broad mouth of a river.) Homer is also a former coal-producing town. There is still so much coal around that you can pick it up for fuel. The Homer Spit, a natural feature which extends several miles out into the Bay, once had a railroad track that carried the coal. The ocean dashes onto the rocks of 5-mile long Homer Spit, the absolute end of the road in Homer. A good bike trail along the road lets you enjoy the views of old boat yards, and homes along the spit where local people have embedded large spruce trees upside down in the sand. You can also see Bald Eagles, which come to roost on the bare tree roots. The spit terminates in a ferry dock. It's a freewheeling, summery place, with a fishing hole, boardwalks, stores, and people camping in the warm breezes - surrounded by the rolling surf of Kachemak Bay.
See The Seafarer’s Memorial. It’s on Homer Spit. The wild, untamed seas off Alaska take their toll of fishermen. Homer’s poignant Seafarer’s Memorial honors the many fishermen who have died in the icy waters of Alaska.
Go Fishing at the “Fishing Hole.” The Fishing Hole on the Homer Spit is a great place to try your luck. More often than not, you will come away with a fish. You will come upon the Fishing Hole right before you reach the small boat harbor. And salmon are not the only fish to try for. Homer also features excellent halibut fishing. The Spit is a great place to hire a charter that will take you out into the waters of Kachemak Bay.
Homer's Population & Character
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Homer's population is around 4,500 people.
This Is A Town Full Of Artists. Homer has a large, well-known artist colony at Halibut Cove, and there are live theater performances here all summer. Watch for the Kenai Peninsula Orchestra Summer Music Festival, "Concerts on the Lawn," and Summer Street Fairs. |
