We always stop here when we are in Homer, we just didnt know it had a name. Its a must see for…read morevisitors- tucked down in the old town center. Stop by when you pop by the 2 Sisters Bakery and bring your binoculars and camera. You won't regret it. Lots of cool birds, flowers and view of the mountains and ocean.

This trail takes you along lower Beluga Slough, a salt marsh where the freshwater of Beluga Lake…read moremixes with Kachemak Bay's saltwater tides via shallow channels of flowing water. The tides of Kachemak Bay can reach 25 foot, though salt water fills the slough only when the tide rises above 18 feet. The bay is rimmed with Active volcanoes. The trail starts at Bishop's Beach parking area and goes 0.6-miles to the Alaska Islands and Oceans Visitor Center. The scenery transitions from the gray gravel and sand of Bishop's Beach through a grassy meadow of sedges and succulent plants. Then you ascend a hillside to pass through a spruce forest and finally reach the Alaska Islands and Oceans Visitor Center Visitor's Center. It is interesting to check out the Visitor Center to learn about the plants and birds here, and then go directly out and see them! Lots of plants and some trees on this walk. Also birds, birds, birds. Many of the birds are migrating shorebirds and waterfowl. You might see Canadian Geese, nesting cranes, swans, merlins, wigeons, swallows, sandpipers and others. You have a good chance of seeing a bald eagle or two flying around, or just hanging out in the trees near the Visitors Center. The Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival takes place here in May during peak migration. You can also start this walk at the Visitor's Center, of course, because it has its own parking area. It's located at 95 Sterling Highway in Homer. The trail is now a galvanized-steel grate deck (ADA accessible) to protect the wetland area.

Bishop's Beach is a beach-combing and walking beach to soak in the sweeping views of Kachemak Bay…read more All those mountains across the bay are active volcanoes. While other places have seagulls, here there are majestic eagles, which frequent the skies and land on the beach to check out food opportunities. The grey sand mixed with round beachstones goes for miles, not that you have to do that as it all kinda looks the same. You won't be swimming here. It is shallow, shallow, shallow, and I think it's quicksand under the water from the glacial silt and sand mix. Too cold also. Be content to look at it -- it's one of the best views in the world. Access to Bishop's Beach is two blocks from Old Town at the end of Bunnell Street. From Sterling Highway going west, just past W. Pioneer Avenue, go right on Ohlson Lane and go left on Bunnell Street. Facilities are a picnic shelter with BBQ grills and restrooms. This is your access because behind the beach is a cliff. This parking spot is also the trailhead for Beluga Slough trail. Homer is also known as the "Cosmic Hamlet by the Sea". It's an eclectic town - with folks proudly self-described as "friendly and helpful, artsy and outdoorsy, hardy and self-reliant, fun-loving and free spirited..." As in all of Alaska, don't ask 'em personal questions and you'll do just fine. This is the home port to the "Time Bandit" of Deadliest Catch fame. A town made famous as 'The End of the Road' in Tom Bodett's tales. A place where bald eagles feed on the beach is definitely worth five stars.

Very pretty beach with trails in the oldest part of Hope. We always visit this beach when we visit…read moreHope for several reasons- one, it's next to our favorite bakery, two, there is adequate parking and toilets if needed, three, the trails are easy to access and very pretty! I love meandering the beach looking at the weird kelp, rocks and other items that wash up on the beach here. Beach combing here is so fun and fascinating!

Had a blast !! We did what they call the 'Cook Inlet' tour and it took us approximately 90 minutes…read more There were some clouds around the volcano (so gorgeous to see from the small airplane we rode), and our pilot safely flew around the area. Super cool ! We saw the steam coming out of the volcano, plus several glaciers, lakes, and rivers with the most magical colors. We also saw several bears in the bay next to the volcano, and to top it off, two whales popped out on our way back ~ ! The ride was very pleasant and smooth. Our pilot Jing is very skillful, friendly, and full of good stories. Super recommended! Wish we could come back one day. Hopefully get the chance to bring my parents to experience it too.

We had the best experience from booking,flying and seeing the bears! Thank you for all you do!read more

AMAZING!!!!! We are visiting from California and have…read morevisited several places with a variety of companies promising whale sightings for a hefty fee. As soon as I heard the price for this place, we were ALL IN, and I'm so glad we did! Bryan was a great captain! He was knowledgeable in identifying all the wildlife we came across too. During our (extended) whale watching tour we saw: sea otters, puffins, seagulls (and full island), and MANY WHALE!!! We had so much fun, and appreciate the kindness and hospitality that we were shown during our trip. Definitely the highlight of our Alaskan vacation!

Awesome day with Captain John and Christy. Booked the simple 2-hr wildlife tour but Captain John…read moregot sidetracked and took us searching for whales after we saw birds (including puffin) and otters. Found a mama and her baby humpback. Captain John kept us in the area for an extra 40-mins to watch them breach repeatedly. What an experience. Even Captain John and Christy were excited.

One of the coolest experiences of our lives. The staff were great on every level. They were so…read morekind to us and they genuinely seemed to love their jobs. I didn't think what we experienced today was even possible and it's something I'll never forget.

Unbelievable experience! Perfect day starting with some awesome views on the plane circling Lake…read moreClark National Park and a volcano before landing on the beach and seeing 20 plus bears fish and play in the lake! Felt safe the whole time while feeling close enough to the bears to really enjoy this. Josh was our pilot and guide and did an amazing job! Super nice guy and very helpful with any questions and made a very enjoyable flight and tour experience. Thank you to Josh and the entire team, couldn't have asked for anything more, highly recommend!

Truly a beautiful place to visit. We came in and went out on a water taxi. Enjoyed hiking the…read moreGrewingk Glacier trail too

I took a 20-minute boat ride from downtown Homer Spit, AK over to here at Kachemak Bay State Park…read morefor a few hours of exploring. Well, the most popular activity at Kachemak Bay is to hike the Glacier Lake Trail to spend time looking at Grewingk Glacier! Yes, lol, I spelled that right - Grew-Ink...and the "g" is left silent. Let me tell ya...I had a lot of trouble pronouncing this name, it must have taken me quite a number of times for it to finally stick in my head! Grewingk = "GrewInk" I departed downtown Homer with 49North Alaskan Adventures. The roundtrip cost was $92 with taxes. I guess that price was okay for ultimately just riding with a water taxi. But, if I wanted to spend some time at Kachemak Bay and see Grewingk Glacier, this was the price I had to pay. A family and I of 5 for a total of 6 of us left Homer at 1pm and arrived at the shores of Kachemak Bay at 1:30pm. We then had 4 hours' worth of hiking at our own accord, getting to visit the glacier and lake and then return to the shores for a 5:30pm departure with arrival back in downtown Homer Spit at 6pm. And btw, the Spit of Homer is the 5-mile extension for where the "land meets the ocean." That's what Homer is famous for, this Spit of land, if anyone's interested in knowing, lol. For the 4 hours at Kachemak Bay, you start out by hiking on the Glacier Lake Trail, which goes for 3.2-miles along flat land with no elevation. On this 3.2 miles, I must say...I really ventured through some charming and picturesque settings. The hike had a pleasant essence about it. It felt as if I was casually walking through some rain forest aspects with plush trees and bushes, all while the dirt path trail was clear and defined. I was simply enjoying strolling about. The 3.2-miles went by extremely fast. The 3.2-miles took me about 1.5-hours. I then connected for just a 1/2-mile walk to Grewingk Glacier. It's that easy. Grewingk Glacier is set in the backdrop of a quiet and pristine lake. For me being very particular...I wish the glacier could have been closer and within reach because I did have to zoom in on my phone a lot. When that happens, the closer I zoom in, the fuzzier the appearances are. Still, the lake had glacial icebergs floating in the waters which made for photogenic aspects. The tourists/hikers there were sitting down relaxing and having lunch. I walked the edge of the lake doing my usual thing, trying to capture the best perspectives of Grewingk Glacier. I took a bunch of pictures before leaving after roughly 1-hour. But 1-hour is more than enough time to view the glacier and get a real feel for the surroundings of the lake and glacier. Then I walked back the 1/2-mile to the posted sign where I connected with the Saddle Trail for the remaining 1.5-miles to a different part of Kachemak Bay shore to eventually be picked up by the boat. In total, the trail was an efficient 5.7-mile path and along the way I got to appreciate the calming setting of the outdoors with time at "The Toe" of another Alaskan Glacier. It took me 1-hour to hike the Saddle Trail back to the beach shores which left me with a casual 30-minutes before the return boat arrived. I used this time to just wander the sandy beach and take some last remaining photos. In the end, spending a half day/5 hours' time getting to discover Kachemak Bay State Park and Grewingk Glacier was as worthwhile of an experience as I could have asked for. I just could have used closer access to the glacier for more prominent views. But...if you are interested in going on a little adventure taking a short boat ride from Homer Spit for hiking and exploring, then this Kachemak Bay is for you.

Joe was amazing from start to finish! Called him pretty last minute but he got us in and was very…read morethorough, on time and super patient! Highly recommend him for your Kachemak Bay water taxing needs :-D

Joe is the best! We needed a Spur of the moment water taxi ride to get across Kachemak Bay and Joe…read moreworked with our schedule to make it happen. Highly recommend!

With a group of about 15, it cost about $45 each way for a ~20 minute ride from Homer, AK, across…read morethe bay to Kachemak Bay State Park. If you have a big group, be aware they allow about 6 people at a time on their boats. Coming back, we were scheduled for a 3pm pickup. We ran late due to some issues while rafting and messaged them on our InReach, easily rescheduling for a 7pm pickup. We finished early and with only about 45 minute's notice, they came and got us at 5:45pm instead! The captains have all been friendly. You can sit outside or in their cabin. They're also knowledgeable about the trails in the area; some are not very well maintained and they will give you a head's up on those.

Be careful if you use this company or plan on using them. if you have ever left them a bad…read morereview-four years old. They may choose to leave you on the side of a mountain in November with a storm approaching. After agreeing to a price and a pick up time and location.

I had a great experience using True North Kayak. The night my friend and I arrived in Homer, we…read morewent to the Truth North office to see what type of hiking we could do the following day. The lady working the office (can't remember her name), was very helpful and suggested that we do the hike to the Grewingk Glacier. The following morning, August 16, we started at 8 a.m., and Forrest, the boat captain, dropped us off across Kachemak Bay. We hiked to the tram first and then the glacier. The tram is an awesome detour. The tram is a metal cart attached to a pulley system and goes over a river. In order to get to the other side, you have to pull a rope by hand. It's best taking turns if you have a partner so you don't burn out. The hike was pretty flat for the majority of the time until you start descending down to where the boat picks you up. If it's raining, which it wasn't on that day, I can see how muddy and wet the hike could become. Grewingk Glacier was probably the fifth glacier that I saw on my trip and the sight was still breathtaking. We took our lunch and relaxed by the glacier for probably an hour before hiking again. The hike itself did not take that long. Our pace was pretty slow yet deliberate, we stopped to take a lot of pictures, relaxed during lunch, and still made it back to be picked up at around 2:30 p.m. The following day, we went on the Elephant Rock ¾ day Kayaking trip, with guides Shannon and Brad. It had been a while since I've used a kayak, but it was pretty much like riding a bike; you'll pick it up again pretty fast. As opposed to ice climbing, you really don't need that much physical strength to kayak. The Kayaking trip was picturesque to say the least. The calm waters (fortunately it wasn't windy), the mountain ranges, and the lush green vegetation are something to behold. We also saw a lot of wild life including jellyfish, sea otters, whales, multiple bald eagles, and even baby eagles squawking and practicing flight. I could have spent all day hanging out and kayaking the area. Moreover, I had a great experience with the staff. Forrest, the captain of the boat, was very personable and reliable. For the hike, we were supposed to have been picked up at 5:30 p.m., but we called the office and asked to be picked up a few hours earlier. Forrest was very accommodating and picked us up not long after the call. On our trips across the bay, he would also stop to allow us to whale watch, which was an added bonus. Brad, one of the guides for the kayaking trip, was also a pleasure to talk with. He was always willing to answer any questions regarding Alaskan history and made sure we were taken care of and were having a good time. He seemed to be very knowledgeable about rock formation and plate tectonics. Also an avid collector of several types of seaweed, he discussed how seaweed can attribute to more nutrients and minerals than your average diet. Finally, our other guide from the kayaking trip was Shannon. Although this lady hails from relatively large family, she definitely stands out as a guide and a person. In the best possible way, Shannon is full of shann-anigans and her attitude, energy, and humor are very infectious. She was always attentively looking for wild life to make sure that we didn't miss anything. Quite often, she checked in on everyone to make sure that we were doing okay. Lastly, her smile matched the scenery, as they were both lovely. All in all, I had a great time during the glacier hike and the kayaking trip. The Truth North outfit gets my two thumbs up! If it's your first time visiting Homer, I highly recommend these trips and of course a halibut fishing charter! On my return trip, I plan to do more hiking and kayaking again. =)

Our guides were Ave and Ella. They were great. Both were knowledgeable about the area we kayaked…read morein, the wildlife and geology. As a novice paddler I felt completely safe with them watching over us .