Page 99 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide 2017 - Alaska

ALASK A AREA B Y AREA  97

THE KENAI PENINSULA

Frequently referred to as Alaska’s Playground for the range of
outdoor activities it offers, the Kenai Peninsula is a microcosm
of the state. Its eastern half has forested slopes and icefields,
and a coast cut by deep fjords and dramatic valleys that
usher glacier ice into the sea. The west is gentler, with
muskeg bog, rolling, lake-studded lowlands full of
wildlife, and seas that brim with marine life.

Situated on the northern shore of the Gulf helped make the region one of the
of Alaska, the penin sula derives its name most populated, best connected,
from the Kenaitze people of the Dena’ina and most visited in the state. With its
Athabaskans, who moved here from the relatively dense road network, the Alaska
interior regions of Alaska. With the coming Railroad, the Marine Highway, and the
of the Russians in the late 18th century cruise ship port at Seward, the peninsula
and the establish ment of the towns is an easily accessible destination for
of Ninilchik and Kenai, Native culture most indep endent travelers and those
gradually began to give way to Russian on package tours.
influences, as the peninsula became the The area offers stunning drives that
main focus of Russian activity in Alaska. wind through the Chugach National
After the US purchased Alaska in 1867, Forest. Kenai Fjords National Park
the area remained a backwater until the and many state parks offer campsites,
discovery of gold near Hope in the 1890s. beaches, and miles of hiking trails. In the
Since then, Seward has gained impor­ summer, outdoors enthusiasts bound for
tance as a center for transportation and activity­packed weekends crowd onto
shipping, Homer thrives on its fisheries, the scenic Seward Highway, while anglers
and the economy around Kenai and gravitate toward the Kenai River, or opt
Soldotna is driven mainly by sport­fishing for deep­sea fishing in Kachemak Bay.
and waning oil and gas extraction in For those interested in soaking up
Cook Inlet. The entire peninsula has also Russian ambience and history, the
benefitted from tourism. Its proximity to towns of Ninilchik, Nikolaevsk, and
Anchorage and its diverse landscape has Seldovia make good stopping­off points.

Rolling fields and verdant mountains of the Kenai Peninsula
Fresh catch of halibut and other fish displayed on the dock at Seward

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