experiences
Should You See Homer Spit?
I’d been to Denali, Barrow, and Seward, so when I booked my next trip to Alaska longer than one day, I chose the Kenai Peninsula as my destination. This was one of those trips where I follow a whim and research it later (if at all).
I saw Homer on the map and was delighted for some reason and put it on my “must see” list. I had actually planned to spend a night or two there, but fortunately opted for something farther up the Kenai Peninsula so it would be easier to get to other sites as well.
The drive down to Homer was beautiful, Homer itself was fine, but Homer Spit, the mile or so long bit of land jutting into the sound wasn’t quite what I had pictured. I had definitely romanticized it in my head, so as we were driving across the bridge to the narrow stretch of gravel just wide enough to rows of parked cars and a line of shops on each side, I kept waiting for it to change.
But we made it to the end (with the beautiful views) and it was still the same. Hmmmm.
We walked almost the entire length and back so my friend could get in enough fitbit steps and it was basically rows of boats, parked cars, restaurants and gift stores, and even small camp sites with glorious mountain views in the background.
Probably exactly what I should have expected, but instead I’d pictured some kind of end of the world sorta thing.
Oh well. I still had a nice time. I got to pose with a fake fish.
And check out the monument towards the end.
And at least here on the spit you’re pretty much guaranteed to have fresh fish wherever you eat since the cost of importing frozen fish when there’s so much fresh arriving on boats hourly would be ridiculous.
Should you go? Yes! Should you stay overnight on the spit if you don’t plan to fish? No. Stay more than an hour or so if you don’t plan to sail or fish? Definitely not.
More From This Trip
Where to Stay on the Kenai Peninsula
National Geographic Moment: Watching Salmon Run in Alaska
The Midnight Sun is Bad for My Health
Alaska Makes Wine!
Disappointed by the Soldotna Dump
My favorite stop on the Kenai Peninsula
One of the Best Restaurant Views in North America
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Elias
July 12, 2015 at 4:11 pm
My wife and I live in Alaska but hadn’t been to homer so this spring we decided to go. We drove down on a Friday night after work in early May and camped on the beach. It was early enough in the year that most of the seasonal traffic hadn’t arrived yet but late enough that it didn’t get below 50 degrees all night. We got up early and got to watch a family of about 50 otters eating breakfast, a dozen or more bald eagles, and many many different species of birds that I couldn’t identify. We waited until the tide went out and walked out on the barnacle encrusted rocks left behind and explored the tide pools. After we were done we went and got some fresh seafood for lunch and headed back to Anchorage. It was fun because it was a nice day and we got to see lots of wildlife with hardly anyone around
AAL
July 12, 2015 at 4:57 pm
You didn’t go to the Sawlty Dog?
One of the best things to do from the Homer spit is take a ride on the “Danny J” across the bay to Halibut Cove. Or, go to the end of the spit and walk along the beach. You can’t really appreciate the beauty from the road.
Christian
July 12, 2015 at 5:30 pm
I have to admit to some interesting mental images at your headline.