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: islandsandocean.org
Alaska SeaLife Center
Alaska's only public aquarium and world-class cold water marine research facility is situated on the shores of Resurrection Bay. Visitors to this "window on the sea" have close encounters with marine life while peeking over the shoulders of ocean scientists studying Alaska's rich seas and diverse sea life. View seals, octopuses and sea lions up close and watch puffins dive and swim underwater in a huge viewing tank. 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 are available.
Where: 301 Railway Ave., Seward
When: 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Mondays to Thursdays; 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Fridays to Sundays, May 1 to Sept. 15
Cost: $20 adults, $15 children ages 12-17, $10 children ages 4-11; family and group discounts
Phone: 1-888-378-2525, 224-7908
Web: 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. There are daily guided walks.
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, $6 seniors, $5 children younger than 18
Phone: 235-6667
Web: 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: $105 adults, $73 children younger than 12; $155 for combination tour; $5 for harbor tour
Phone: 235-6667
Web: 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: cooperlandingmuseum.com
Homer Jackpot Halibut Derby
Homer's halibut derby, in its 24th year, is one of the state's longest-running fishing derbies. Last year, Jeff Pardi of San Rafael, Calif., hooked a 348.2-pound fish and a $45,475 prize. There are prizes for monthly winners, thousands of dollars in tagged-fish prizes and an end-of-year $5,000 prize for a released fish. In 2008, more than $180,000 in prize money was awarded.
Where: Must leave from and return to Homer harbor
When: May 1 to Sept. 30
Cost: $10 daily; 10-day ticket for $75
Phone: 235-7740
Web: 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: 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: 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; racing pigs; fruit, flower, craft and vegetable displays; and the Backwoods Girl competition.
Where: Ninilchik Fairgrounds, Ninilchik
When: Aug. 21-23
Cost: $8 adults, $6 seniors and children younger than 13, free ages 5 and younger
Phone: 567-3670
Web: kenaipeninsulafair.com
Kenai River Festival
The festival is a celebration of the Kenai River. The family event includes food, live music, games, crafts, puppet shows, artisan booths and educational programs. The Run for the River 5-kilometer and 10-mile races are June 13.
Where: Soldotna Creek Park, Soldotna
When: June 13-14
Cost: Free
Phone: 260-5449
Web: www.kenaiwatershed.org
Kenai Visitors and Cultural Center
Top contemporary artists will be featured during the center's summer art show, "Reflections on Alaska Statehood: The 49th at 50." The show opens April 24 and will run throughout the year. Throughout the summer, the center offers interpretive programs and entertainment. The center is home to Kenai's cultural and natural history museum. Travel information is available.
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: $5 for cultural and historical exhibits, free for those younger than 18
Phone: 283-1991
Web: visitkenai.com
Mount Marathon Race
In its 82nd running, nearly 1,000 racers will climb and descend 3,022-foot Mount Marathon in this grueling 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, live music, crafts, games, a carnival and a community parade.
Where: Downtown Seward
When: July 4
Cost: Free to watch
Phone: 224-8051
Web: www.seward.com
Pratt Museum
The award-winning 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 "Reflections of a Spill: 20 Years Later" in May and June, "Spirit of Kachemak Bay and Environs: Paintings by Elizabeth Petersen" in July and August and "New Works by Kat Tomka" in August and September. Popular exhibits are the live BearCam and SeaBirdCam, live wildlife cameras controlled remotely from the museum's galleries. 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 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: $8 adults, $6 seniors, $4 children ages 6-18, $25 family
Phone: 235-8635
Web: www.prattmuseum.org
Russian River Falls
The 2 1/2-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 $11
Web: www.fs.fed.us/r10/chugach/trails/russian-lakes.html
Phone: 224-3374
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: 10 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 54th 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. 8-16
Cost: $10 daily, $50 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 25-26
Cost: Free
Phone: 262-9814
Web: www.soldotna chamber.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
