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Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center

The visitor center is a window to the largest seabird refuge in the world. From sea stars to sea lions, the art-covered facility depicts the amazing diversity of life found in Alaska's island and ocean habitats. Beautiful exhibits and films take visitors on a virtual tour of the 4.9 million-acre Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, into a seabird colony and on a visit to a wildlife biologists' field camp. Guided walks and programs include the slough, tide pools and marine discovery lab. The center is on a 60-acre site, and trails lead to Bishop's Beach. It is a partnership of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge and the Kachemak Bay Research Reserve.

Where: 95 Sterling Highway, Homer

When: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, Memorial Day to Labor Day

Cost: Free

Phone: 235-6961

Web: www.islandsandocean.org

Alaska SeaLife Center

Explore an exciting undersea world at this facility on the shores of Resurrection Bay. The center is dedicated to understanding and maintaining the integrity of the marine ecosystem of Alaska through research, rehabilitation, conservation and public education. View seals, octopuses and sea lions up close and watch puffins dive and swim underwater in a huge viewing tank. Common, Steller's and spectacled eiders are housed in a special outdoor habitat. The center's exhibits also include aquariums with marine invertebrates, an exhibit on the journey of salmon and the Discovery Touch Pool, where visitors can feel sea stars, anemones and other sea life. Behind-the-scenes tours, scheduled animal feedings, lectures and special presentations take place regularly. There is a gift shop at the center.

Where: 301 Railway Ave., Seward

When: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, May 1 to Sept. 15

Cost: $20 adults, $15 children ages 12-17, $10 children ages 4-11; family and group discounts

Phone: 1-800-224-2525, 224-6300

Web: www.alaskasealife.org

Carl E. Wynn Nature Center

The 140-acre center run by the Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies has several trails, including one that is wheelchair-accessible. The trails lead through lush wildflower meadows and spruce forests. Daily guided walks at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. put an emphasis on medicinal and Native uses of plants, forest and meadow wildlife and ecology. Self-guided tours, evening and children's programs also are offered.

Where: Mile 1.5 E. Skyline Drive, Homer

When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, open until 8 p.m. Fridays, June 15 to Labor Day

Cost: $7 adults, $5 seniors and children younger than 18

Phone: 235-6667

Web: www.akcoastalstudies.org

Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies

In addition to operating the Wynn Nature Center, the center offers tours of the marine life in Homer Harbor and guided natural history tours across Kachemak Bay. The tour includes a 30-minute boat ride, viewing the Gull Island seabird rookery, exploring the diverse marine life in intertidal areas and guided hikes featuring geology, archaeology and coastal forest ecology. The tour leaves from Homer harbor. Guided tours that combine hiking and kayaking are available as well as overnight stays. Reservations are required.

Where: 708 Smokey Bay Way or the center's yurt on the Spit in Homer

When: Daily, Memorial Day to Labor Day

Cost: Tours: $100 adults, $68 children younger than 12; $150 for combination tour; $5 for harbor tour

Phone: 235-6667

Web: www.akcoastalstudies.org

Cooper Landing Museum

The museum sits alongside the Kenai River and offers visitors a taste of Peninsula history. Artifacts from the community include furniture and other items used by early residents, medical instruments, a skeleton of a 20-year-old brown bear and a slab of an approximately 600-year-old Sitka spruce tree. The museum's two buildings originally served as the local school built in 1955 and as a cabin built in the 1920s that also was the community post office for 40 years, starting in 1963.

Where: Mile 48.7 Sterling Highway, Cooper Landing

When: 1 to 6 p.m. daily except Tuesdays, May 15 to Sept. 15

Cost: Free

Phone: 595-3500

Web: www.cooperlandingmuseum. com

Homer Jackpot Halibut Derby

Homer's halibut derby, in its 23nd year, is the state's longest-running fishing derby. Last year, Jerry Saunders of Chugiak hooked a 358.4-pound fish and $37,243. There are prizes for monthly winners, more than $120,000 in tagged fish prizes and a $10,000 prize for a released fish.

Where: Must leave from and return to Homer harbor

When: May 1 to Sept. 30

Cost: $10 daily

Phone: 235-7740

Web: www.homerhalibutderby.com

Kenai Fjords National Park

One of the best ways to enjoy the majesty of the 607,000-acre park is to hop on a boat and enjoy the park's coast on one of the tours offered daily throughout the summer. Tours take visitors into the fjords, past glaciers and islands and into the company of a variety of wildlife. Another way to enjoy the park is to visit Exit Glacier, the only part of the park accessible by road. Visitors can walk the trails, listen to programs or get close enough to the glacier to touch the ice, if conditions are favorable. Guided walks to the glacier are at 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. daily. The Harding Icefield Trail takes hikers on a seven-mile round-trip hike to an overlook of the ice field, one of the largest in North America. Guided hikes to the ice field are offered at 9 a.m. Saturdays in July and August, and wildlife encounters are possible. Exit Glacier is accessible from Exit Glacier Road.

Where: Outside Seward

When: Open daily year-round

Cost: Free; tours have a range of prices

Phone: 224-7500

Web: www.nps.gov/kefj

Kenai Fjords National Park Information Center

The center provides information about the park, brochures, maps and a sales area with books and related items. Videos are shown throughout the day. Staff members are available to answer questions.

Where: 1212 Fourth St., Seward

When: 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, Memorial Day to Labor Day; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Labor Day to Sept. 29

Cost: Free

Phone: 224-7500

Web: www.nps.gov/kefj

Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center and Headquarters

The visitor center provides information about the 2 million-acre refuge, including details about wildlife observation, hiking, canoeing, camping, birding, fishing and hunting. Enjoy wildlife displays, a small gift shop, a mile-long nature trail with interpretive signs and a two-mile hiking trail. Interpretive programs are offered throughout the summer.

Where: Ski Hill Road, Soldotna

When: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends

Cost: Free

Phone: 262-7021

Web: kenai.fws.gov

Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Contact Station

Rangers and volunteers staff the facility and provide information on wildlife observation, camping, hiking, fishing and boating in the refuge. There are toilet facilities adjacent to the contact station.

Where: Mile 58 Sterling Highway

When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, mid-June to the first week in August

Cost: Free

Kenai Peninsula State Fair

Enjoy a small-town fair with all the regular trappings: a rodeo; music acts; food booths; a parade; fireworks; fruit, flower, craft and vegetable displays; Great Alaska Pig Races; and the Backwoods Girl competition.

Where: Ninilchik Fairgrounds, Ninilchik

When: Aug. 15-17

Cost: $8 adults, $6 seniors and children younger than 13, free ages 5 and younger

Phone: 567-3670

Kenai River Festival

The festival is a celebration of the Kenai River. The family event includes food, live music, games, crafts, puppet shows, a parade, artisan booths and educational programs. The Run for the River 5-kilometer and 10-mile races are June 7.

Where: Soldotna Creek Park, Soldotna

When: June 7-8

Cost: Free

Phone: 260-5449

Web: www.kenaiwatershed.org/kenairiverfest.html

Kenai Visitors and Cultural Center

Top contemporary artists will be will be featured during the center's summer art show, "Alaskan Light: Mystery Revealed." The show opens May 9 and closes Sept. 9. Throughout the summer, the center offers daily interpretive programs. The center is home to Kenai's cultural and natural history museum. Travel and fishing information is provided.

Where: 11471 Kenai Spur Highway, Kenai

When: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekends, Memorial Day to Labor Day

Cost: $3 for cultural and historical exhibits, free for those younger than 19

Phone: 283-1991

Web: www.visitkenai.com

Mount Marathon Race

In its 81st running, nearly 1,000 racers will climb and descend 3,022-foot Mount Marathon in this unusual footrace that starts and ends on the streets of downtown Seward. Hundreds of men, women and youths will enter the race. Other Fourth of July activities include fireworks, food booths, crafts, games, a carnival and a parade.

Where: Downtown Seward

When: July 4

Cost: Free to watch

Phone: 224-8051

Web: www.seward.com

Pratt Museum

The Pratt is one of three museums given the 2005 National Award for Museum Service. The museum's main exhibit, "Kachemak Bay: An Exploration of People and Place," continues this summer. The exhibit features community-based videos, photo essays, computer interactive displays and remote video technology to take visitors beyond the museum's walls to historic and contemporary life around Kachemak Bay. Special exhibits this summer include "Concerning Climate Change" in May, "Pratt Juried Art Exhibition" in June and July and "Native Ways in Changing Times" in August and September. Popular exhibits are the live BearCam and SeaBirdCam, live wildlife cameras controlled remotely from the museum's galleries. The BearCam is streamed online in partnership with National Geographic. Ongoing exhibits include art, Native cultures, commercial fishing, homesteading and marine aquaria. In addition, there are films on bears and an exhibit on the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Outdoor exhibits include "Facing the Elements" along the forest ecology trail, a historic homestead cabin, a botanical garden and walking tours at the Homer harbor.

Where: 3779 Bartlett St., Homer

When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, mid-May to mid-September

Cost: $6 adults, $5.50 seniors, $3 children ages 6-18, family $20

Phone: 235-8635

Web: www.prattmuseum.org

Russian River Falls

The two-mile Russian River Trail takes visitors to a viewing platform for the falls. It's a good place to watch salmon navigating upriver toward their spawning grounds at Upper Russian Lake. It's possible to see brown or black bears.

Where: Mile 52.6 Sterling Highway

Cost: Free; parking is $8

Web: www.fs.fed.us/r10/chugach/seward/rec/trails/russian.htm

Seward Museum

The museum takes visitors on a historical trip through Seward's past. Exhibits include information about the building of the Russian ship the Phoenix in 1794, the founding of the town in 1903, President Warren G. Harding's visit, the railroad's role in the town, the Iditarod Trail and the 1964 Good Friday earthquake. There are slide shows at 7 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, June to August. There is a gift shop.

Where: 336 Third Ave., Seward

When: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, mid-May to mid-September

Cost: $3 adults, 50 cents ages 5-18

Phone: 224-3902

Seward Silver Salmon Derby

This is the 53rd derby, and thousands of fish and dollars are up for grabs. Silver salmon return to Resurrection Bay every August, and the derby is a chance to catch some fish, cash and other prizes. There are dozens of cash and merchandise prizes totaling more than $100,000, including a $50,000 tagged fish.

Where: Resurrection Bay

When: Aug. 9-17

Cost: $11 daily, $52 for derby

Phone: 224-8051

Web: www.seward.com

Soldotna Homestead Museum

The museum, located next to the Soldotna Visitor Center, is a collection of homesteading-era buildings. Several of the cabins are furnished. There also are wildlife mounts, Native artifacts and crafts. The historical society also has renovated the city's first post office at Corral Street and the Kenai Spur Highway. The restored post office is open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays during the farmers' market, which operates June to mid-September.

Where: Centennial Park Road, Soldotna

When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily Tuesday to Saturday, noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, May 15 to Sept. 15

Cost: Free

Phone: 262-3832

Soldotna Progress Days

The annual community event includes a parade, 5-K run, rodeo, car shows, live entertainment, food and vendor booths.

Where: Parker Park and Soldotna Creek Park, Soldotna

When: July 26-27

Cost: Free

Phone: 262-9814

Web: www.soldotnachamber.com

Soldotna Visitor Information Center

The center offers maps and information about the area as well as a 250-foot fish walk along the Kenai River. There are stairs to the river and interpretive signs about the river, salmon and the environment. On display is the late Les Anderson's world-record 97-pound, 4-ounce king salmon.

Where: 44790 Sterling Highway, Soldotna

When: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, mid-May to mid-September

Cost: Free

Phone: 262-1337

Web: www.visitsoldotna.com