Experience - Low Tide at the Homer Ferry Dock and the Lee Shore of the Spit

Sea stars under the ferry dock

Summary

Low tide is one of my favorite times to visit the beach and the area around the base of the ferry dock is one of my favorite places.  Although I also really enjoy Bishop’s Beach and Mariner Park.  At low tide, you can get a glimpse of sea life you would

Hiking - Hidden Creek Trail

Hidden Creek

Stats

Distance:  2.6 miles                     Difficulty: Easy to Moderate                            Time:  2 hrs

Summary

The best part of the Hidden Creek Trail is when it meets up with the marshlands

Experience - Flowers of Alaska

Fields of Fireweed

As we wander into the Alaskan wilderness (or even just around our back yard) we see flowers everywhere.  Many are small and hard to spot.  This post is a collection of photos of the wildflowers we have found

Adventure - Tutka Bay Cooking Class

Tutka Bay Lodge

Stats

Difficulty: Easy                                                                                                   Time:  Half-day

Summary

There is no shortage of activities available on the Kenai Peninsula.  One of the more unexpected is a cooking lesson at the Tutka Bay Cooking School.  This half-day trip starts with a ride from the Homer docks (unless you are already staying at the Tutka Bay Lodge).  For there you take a water taxi to Tutka Bay Lodge where you are met and escorted to the long house where the cooking lessons are taught.

Opinion

This was a blast.  Not only do you learn to cook a dish on the style for the weekend (Italian, French, Alaskan), you get a full multi-course meal and the all the recipes for the meal.  Not only that,

Hiking - Bishop's Beach at a Very Low Tide

Low tide at Bishop's Beach

Stats

Distance:  Up to you                             Difficulty: Easy                                   Time:  Up to you

Summary

Bishop's Beach is probably the best known beach in Homer.  This beach is popular for dog walking, clamming, and driving.  On an unusually beautiful Saturday in May the low tide was lower than -3 ft.  We decided to hike on the beach to see if we could find sea stars.

Opinion

At high tide Bishop's Beach is a fairly ordinary beach, but at low tide it becomes something special.

Adventure - Kayaking with True North Kayak Tours

Kayaks on the beach

Stats

Difficulty: Easy to Moderate                                                                               Time:  half-day

Summary

Every May, the Homer Chamber of Commerce hosts the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival.  The festival celebrates the passage of huge numbers of migratory birds through Kachemak Bay.  It lasts 3 days and is jam-packed with bird-watching, hikes, talks, kayaking, and boat tours.  One of the activities we chose to do was a kayaking trip with True North Kayak.

Opinion

This trip was a lot of fun.  The price is surprisingly reasonable and

(Closed due to massive undercutting of trail) Hiking - Diamond Creek Trail to Kachemak Bay Beach

Young Eagle on the Beach

Closed due massive undercutting of the trail
-- We'll update this post when it gets opened again.
-----------------------------------
Stats

Distance:  0.5 miles +           Difficulty: Easy / Moderate           Time:  30 min +

Summary

This hike is in Homer, AK.  The first time we walked this trail was 16 Jun 2013.  It was a beautiful day, so we decided to go for a walk on the beach.  We hiked the trail again a couple of weeks later.  It is close and easy, so we'll be doing this hike often.

The link to the official web site is http://www.cityofhomer-ak.gov/recreation/diamond-creek-trail.  This is limited site that lists a few of the hikes in the Homer area.



Opinion

We love this hike for an easy day hike.  We prefer this hike and beach access to the better-known Bishop Beach.  The beach here is more interesting

Winter Hiking - Spitting in the Winter (Hiking the Homer Spit)

Ice flow on the east side of the Spit

Stats

Distance:  Up to you                       Difficulty: Easy                              Time:  Up to you

Summary

The Spit is a Homer landmark.  It is exactly what its name says, a spit of land reaching into Kachemak Bay.  In summer, the spit is best know for the fishing charters, shopping, and fish packing.  In the winter, the spit belongs to strollers, photographers, and dog walkers.

Opinion

In winter, this is still one of our favorite hikes.  

Hiking - Portage Glacier Trail (all the way to the beach)

Stats

Distance:  4.7 miles                  Difficulty: Strenuous                                Time:  5 hrs

Summary

We chose to try the Portage Glacier Trail on 10 Jul 2013.  The hike goes up a nearly continuous inclined for a 750 ft elevation change, then back down (more gently) the full 750 ft to reach the portage glacier lake.  We found the hike on the National Park Service map (NPS Portage Glacier Trail).  This page is useful, but someone dated, see The Hike section of this post for updated information.

Opinion

This is a fabulous hike!  But we wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who is not at least reasonably fit.  The highlights of the hike include

Adventure - Blueberry Picking at the Peterson Research Station

Sunset at Peterson Research Station

Stats

When: Early – Mid August                         Where: Peterson Research Station

Summary

Alaska seems to be the US capitol for berries.  More berries grow in this state than I’ve ever heard of anywhere else.  We’ve got blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, salmon berries, watermelon berries, elderberries, currant, marionberries, cranberries, lingonberries (low bush cranberry), nagoonberries, crow berries, serviceberries, and strawberries.  Most of these grow wild, but several cultivars are grown in home yards and farms as well.  Truly, I didn’t know half these berries existed until I moved here.

On 11 Aug 2013 our neighbors asked if we wanted to take a boat ride across Kachemak Bay to go blueberry picking at the Peterson Research Station.  The Peterson Research Station belongs to the Center for Alaska Coastal Studies based out of Homer.  The station is situated on 5 acres of wild land and coastline and their lower trails go through extensive blueberry fields, with a mix of currant and salmonberry randomly distributed throughout.  The berries are fair game to visitors, although they ask that you leave a few for the bears.

Opinion

This was a blast.  We picked berries for about 2 hours and came home with 7.5 lbs (22.5 cups)

Experience - Walking Among Lupines

Lupine on Kachemak Bay

Stats

When: June - July                                                                                            Where: All over Alaska

Summary

The Lupine bloom is the first of the big flower blooms in Alaska; although there are other wildflower that bloom before they don't grow in such huge clusters.  Like most flora displays the timing and quality vary from year to year. 

Opinion

While not a spectacular as the Fireweed bloom the Lupine season is quite dramatic and well worth seeing.

Adventure - 4-Wheeling with Alaska Wilderness 4-Wheeler Tours - Riding On the Beach at Homer

Sea and Sky on the Beach

Stats

Difficulty: Easy                                                                                       Time:  Half-Day +

Summary

Dan Eidem runs Alaska Wilderness 4-Wheeler Tours, an tour on ATVs, for small to medium groups.  He usually tours the Homer backcountry, but when we joined him on 26 May 2013, the backcountry was still deep in snow and mud.  So he took us to his alternate site, the beach starting at Bishop’s Beach.

Opinion

This trip was a blast!  We were hoping to see

Hiking - Walking The Spit Starting at Mariner’s Park

Stats

Distance:  Up to you                       Difficulty: Easy                              Time:  Up to you

Summary

The Spit is a Homer landmark.  It is exactly what its name says, a spit of land reaching into Kachemak Bay.  The spit is best know for the fishing charters, shopping, and fish packing, but is also a popular place for beach strolls and clamming.  We took a hike on the west side of the Spit starting at Mariner’s Park on 9 Jul 2013.

Opinion

This is one of our favorite hikes when we are in the mood for an easy stroll on the beach.  The common sites include Bald Eagles, gulls of several varieties,

Hiking - Grewingk Glacier Lake and Saddle Trail (Summer)

Grewingk Glacier and Lake

Stats

Distance:  4.5 miles                   Difficulty: Easy / Moderate                                 Time:  5 hrs

Summary

On 8 Jun 2013, the Kachemak Bay State Park had its annual “Trails Day”.  The purpose of trails day is to clean and repair the many managed trails in the park.  In addition to the maintenance hike, the state park also sponsors a guided family hike to Grewingk Glacier.  The hike started with a boat ride to the beach to take the Glacier Lake Trail to the glacier, the returned to the bay via the Saddle Trail.  

Since the start and end points are not the same, this particular route requires someone with a boat to drop you off and pick you up; if you don’t have a convenient friend with a boat, you can take one of the Water Taxis operated out of Homer.  This particular hike, as part of Trails Day, was sponsored and supported by Mako Water Taxi.

We did this hike before we started this blog, so we don’t have GPS maps of the route we took.  You can find good trail maps at the web site above.  We will upload a GPS track of the route the next time we take this hike.

Opinion

This is one of our favorite full day hikes; it is well worth the water taxi fee.  We also recommend planning a nice picnic lunch at the glacier.  The Glacier Lake Trail