Homer to Kenai, Alaska – 10 August 2024

We arrived at the Port of Kenai, on the Kenai peninsula, in pouring rain. There were very few RVs in the campground adjacent to a small harbour with run down buildings. It looked very dismal. The site we had been allocated was sandy and completley waterlogged. There were no staff on site so we phoned in and managed to get another site which was a little less muddy. That day we walked around the area and then hunkered down inside the RV for the evening.

Luckily the following day the weather cleared and the clouds lifted to reveal an amazing view of two active volcanoes, Iliamna and Redoubt, which rise more than 10,000 feet and vent steam from snow capped peaks. Every spring and fall the Beluga whales follow the fish runs up the Cook Inlet to the mouth of the river right in front of the dock. Would have loved to see them. There were many birds at the port – hundreds of gulls and many eagles as well as an active seals community. Pretty amazing morning and evening views across the river.

The following day we took a drive south to the city of Kenai and parked in a church parking lot on a cliff above the banks of the Kenai river. There were lots of people fishing and walking along the sandy beach alongside the river, and along a trail just before the beach. We walked through the historic old town which had a number of homesteads and buildings from the early 1900’s, as well as an ornate Holy Assumption of the Virgin Mary Russian Orthodox Church built in 1895, and smaller St Nicholas Chapel built in 1906.

Then we walked down to the beach over a small bridge. The beach was dark and sandy and the water a slate grey colour. This area is well known for its world class salmon fishing and where a world record holding king salmon, weighing more than 97 lbs was caught.

The Kenai Peninsula is known as “Alaska’s Playground”. It contains the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge which encompasses nearly two million acres of the peninsula. We were delighted to see many bald eagles who nest in this area during spring and summer. While the adults have white heads and black bodies, the Juveniles are mottled brown in color with a little white, but no distinctly white head or tail for the first four years of life. We managed to video several Eagles, some flying right above our heads. It was incredible to see them up close.

The following day we drove north to Soldotna, located at the center of the Kenai Peninsula, to look for the old Cannery, which according to Google had shops and restaurants. All we found was an abandoned building and a large housing development. We drove up to the Kenai lodge to see if there was anything there. It looked pretty nice but was closed. So we went back to the main street and wandered around the Soldotna Creek Park which has a walkway along the Kenai River offering multiple access points for fishing with stairs leading down to a platform right by the water. It seems that everywhere we go in Alaska, people are fishing crazy.