Homer, Alaska is a little coastal town at the end of the Kenai Peninsula. Right on the stunning Kachemak Bay, it is a beautiful town with a population of just under 6,000 people. We recently visited Homer for the second time and it quickly jumped to one of my personal favorite places we’ve explored in Alaska. And, much like most places we’ve visited in Alaska, both times we’ve left Homer, my list of things I want to do there got longer instead of shorter. Homer is a beautifully scenic 4 hour drive from Anchorage. Once we arrived, we checked into our adorable Airbnb and got started on dinner. We knew our kids would need a break from running around so we decided to grab some groceries on our way down so we could have an easy dinner and settle in for the next few days of adventures. So our first full day was actually our second day there and that’s where we’ll begin our itinerary: Day 1Last time we visited, we didn’t plan ahead for this particular adventure so we made it a priority for this trip. On our first day we booked the ferry to explore the tiny coastal town of Seldovia. Seldovia is 15 miles from Homer, across the Kachemak Bay and it is not on any road system so it is only accessible by plane or boat. It has 255 residents, according to the last census, and is just the epitome of authentic, Alaskan vibes. We were first greeted with the stunning harbor…who doesn’t love a small, moody harbor? Where my girls took awhile leaving the dock after spotting jelly fish and anemones along the walk. We sauntered over to the “Historic Boardwalk” and came up to a bridge with the beautiful scenes of houses built on stilts along the river. We also saw some kids fishing from the shore and the bridge and we sat and watched an otter feasting on mussels. We made our way into “downtown” and grabbed some delicious lunch at Jack and Aiva’s and afterwards, we rented a couple of golf carts to get around town before we had to get back on the ferry. We explored a few of the beach areas and had a good time racing each other along the dirt roads out of town. I do want to say that we really had no plans for what to do when we got to Seldovia. It was a pure exploration day and it was just so much fun. Tourist areas are what they are for obvious reasons but there’s just something about those little towns that help you appreciate the majesty of Alaska and the heartiness of the people who live here. After we got back into Homer, we grabbed dinner at Fat Olives! Always a hit with their pizzas. Day 2The next day was a grand adventure for me in particular. Both times we took my parents to Homer with us with the goal of doing a bear watching tour. Last year we went to Lake Clark National Park, which was such an awesome experience, but this year, we booked at flight with Northwind Aviation and had a once in a lifetime experience visiting Katmai National Park - specifically Brooks Falls. Brooks Falls is a popular annual fishing ground for the big brown bears living in this coastal region of Alaska. Think the Disney movie Brother Bear in real life ;) It was an indescribable experience. There are many ways to get to Brooks Falls but I’m going to argue that flying from Homer is the best way. We flew past volcanoes and around mountains in our float plane, following the rivers that lead the way around the vast landscape of untouched wilderness. All the while, hearing stories and chatting with our pilot/guide who is local to Homer and very knowledgable about the area and history. This trip was incredible and definitely something to look into when visiting Homer. You can read more about this particular experience here. Day 3This day was particularly fun because we put the kids in charge of the itinerary. Mom and the Grandparents had ditched them the day prior so I told them they got to choose the activities for the day. First stop, Wild Honey Bistro for the most delicious crepes for breakfast. Do not sleep on this one! Only open Wednesday-Sunday from 8-2 this is *the* place for a hearty breakfast that everyone will enjoy. True to form, my kids will always order the Nutella crepes. Last time I had their cinnamon roll crepe but this day I was craving something savory and the crepe madam hit the spot! And now that I’m drooling on my keyboard just thinking about it… After breakfast, the kids chose to head to the beach. Bishop’s beach is just down the road from Wild Honey Bistro and is a great place to explore when the tide is out. It is worth mentioning here that beach days in Alaska are much different than beach days in other places. It’s cold, for one, and commonly rainy, so everyone is geared up in rain boots and rain jackets. But the kids were in heaven looking for little sea creatures in the streams of water heading out with the tide. Last year we spotted so many sea stars but this time we saw clams and crabs and even a little halibut that had gotten stuck in the low tide. This spot is also a popular spot that the planes fly over for tours, which is especially exciting for a little 2 year old boy so it’s fair to say that we took our time here. Next we took the crew down to the “Spit”. The Homer Spit is a long, narrow, piece of land extending 4.5 miles into Kachemak Bay. It’s an extremely rare natural formation created from glacier deposits and tidal forces. In Homer, this is where the tourist shops and restaurants are located. But our main goal - or the goal of the kids - was to find the swings under the boardwalk. An obvious attraction. Exploring the spit is always fun with the eclectic shops along the way. Our pilot from the previous day had suggested the rock fish tacos from the Boardwalk fish and chips and my dad said they hit the spot. We also wandered over by the harbor and saw seals swimming and star fish waiting for the tide to come in. It was a very relaxed day of exploring and there’s not much better than that. We left the next day and slowly made our way back to Anchorage. We ended up staying the night in Cooper Landing, which is a great halfway mark. My Dad and Jon wanted to do a little fishing in the world class Russian River. Because it is such a great place for fishing, it draws in humans and creatures of all sizes. We didn’t see any bears but we saw lots of signs posted of recent bear activity. We saw bald eagles watching over their domain, which is always a fun sight. While this concluded our trip to Homer, it didn’t conclude my list of things to do there. As previously stated I always leave places like this with more things on my list that I’d like to do rather than shorter. For instance, our pilot and guide from our bear tour told us about a new tour they offer where guests are flown to a yacht in a scenic/remote location and are then taken on a jet ski tour to water falls and spot wildlife. He even shared a video of one of the guests getting a close up visit of a whale (smh in disbelief as I fight back my fomo). Guests are then treated to a dinner on the boat with a private chef and flown back to Homer. What an epic experience! As in any of the major coastal towns in Alaska, there are obviously many fishing charters to choose from. We haven’t taken any but we love watching them come in, bring in their catch and weigh every thing. We saw a few nice sized halibut! Homer is the halibut fishing capital of the world so if you’re into fishing, this is the place to do it! If you’ve been around our social media for any amount of time, you know my love of glaciers. So it tracks and another epic experience I think would be incredible is to explore Grewingk Glacier. Grewingk Glacier is located across the Bay from Homer is located in Kachemak Bay State Park and is accessible by a water taxi that drops visitors off at the trailhead and comes back at a designated pick-up point at the end of the day to take visitors back to Homer. The Glacier itself is 13 miles long and can be seen from Homer but as with other glaciers, nothing beats getting up close and personal with these incredible geological formations. Visitors can expect the hike to take about 2 hours each way. The view from the lake is supposed to be stunning, where you can watch icebergs calve, lounge on the beach, or even take a guided kayaking tour. There is so much to do in Homer and the surrounding areas! If you’re interested in a one-on-one chat to help plan a custom trip to Alaska, check out our options here! Make sure to pin so you can come back to this post! Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram or TikTok for some of our day-to-day adventures and until next time, get out and explore where you live!
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AuthorWe're just a military family enjoying where we live, one PCS at a time. Follow us as we explore our current home, South Carolina, and beyond. The world is our backyard. Archives
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