Renowned for stunning scenery, the peninsula is home to incredible natural wonders and an abundance of wildlife. The areas rich cultural heritage is best revealed through tales of her people. Come to the peninsula to understand why founding pioneers never left; and why those who visit today want to stay.

Exploration by any mode is truly a memory in the making.

You might drive along one of the various scenic routes... like frames in a motion picture, every single bend delivers a breath-taking backdrop. Traveling by rail is equally remarkable, as winding tracks take you across massive gulches, past snow-capped peaks and over raging rivers.

One of the most panoramic ways to view the grandeur of the peninsula is by flight. Helicopters and small airplanes afford a bird's eye view of exquisite landscape and geologic marvels like the Harding Ice Fields in Kenai Fjords National Park. Harding was created, when massive valley glaciers converged, leaving only the tallest of peaks and ridges to rise above the cavernous surface.

Choose one of several marine tours which delight passengers with face-to-face encounters to witness gigantic calving icebergs thundering into glacial lakes or ocean bays.

Marine tours are also excellent vehicles to view another spectacular glacial formation: fjords. Fjords (pronounced "Fee-yords) are created when tidewater glaciers retreat, leaving steep-sided alpine valleys submerged in ocean waters.

...an exciting variety of marine mammals flourish along the coast...

There are 15 species of whales found in Alaska waters; three are quite common in peninsula waters. The 16 to 45 ton gray whale migrates 5,000 miles from California each year. Native here, the smaller beluga whale is highly vocal and appropriately called "sea canary". Killer whales, known as orcas, or "wolves of the sea," are intelligent creatures with striking black and white coloring and an acrobatic aptitude. Humpback, finback, minke and sei whales can also be seen.

Resembling a small whale, the beakless harbor porpoise and sleek Pacific white-sided dolphin are often spotted gamboling in the waves. Stately Steller sea lions and playful harbor seals are found lounging on jagged island rocks. Equally engaging is the adorable sea otter, often seen frolicking near coastal harbors.

The early settlers of the Kenai Peninsula... the Dena'ina Indians, an Athabascan Indian tribe which subsisted off the land for thousands of years.

The tranquility and ways of the Native people were greatly affected by the arrival of Russian fur traders in 1786. To continue their quest for sea otter pelts, the Russians were eager to organize posts - including those at the mouths of both the Kasilof and Kenai rivers.

In 1848, Russian pioneers unearthed another valuable commodity: gold.

Long after Russia sold Alaska to the United States in 1867, and prospectors, homesteaders, fish processors and oil men had discovered the resource-rich region, another group of Russians built a community on the Kenai Peninsula - this time, for entirely different purposes

Nikolaevski, known as the Russian Village or the Village of Old Believers, was founded in 1967, as a refuge for those who had faced religious persecution for hundreds of years over disagreements within the Russian Orthodox Church. Today, the settlement near Anchor Point is home to about 500 people who keep their culture alive through colorful traditional dress and staunch religious beliefs.

Flowering plants along the Peninsula paint the landscape incredible colors.

Soft blue and lavender hues tint such flowers as the daisy-like Siberian aster, star-shaped Jacob's ladder, full-bloomed Arctic lupine and Alaska's state flower, the alpine forget-me-not. The common fireweed blankets many meadows with thousands of bright pink blossoms arranged around tall shoots.

How to get around:
Kenai Peninsula is served by 2 airlines, a bus line, 3 car rental services, an RV/Motorhome rental service, 2 ferries, a railroad and a travel agency.

What to do? Kenai peninsula hosts:

4 Art galleries a Boat rental service 2 Canoe trips 4 Fine dining establishments 54 Fishing charters Pan for gold 2 Golf courses 4 Historical and Cultural tours Horseback trips

Hot tubbing Live Theater a Museum 3 Package tours 2 Rafting companies 3 Sailing companies 2 Sea Kayak Tours 9 Malls and Shops Sled Dog rides

Some of the services available on the Kenai Peninsula:

• Auto Repair
• Cellular Service
• Medical Service
• Relocation services
• Taxidermy
• 11 Trip planning and Reservation Services

Where to ask for help on the Kenai Peninsula:

• 17 visitor information services

Where to Stay on the Kenai Peninsula:

• 78 Bed & Breakfasts and Single Unit Lodgings
• 6 Cabin services
• 40 Hotels, Motels and Inns
• 12 RV parks and Campgrounds
• 9 Wilderness Lodges

Parks on the Kenai Peninsula:

• Lake Clark National Park & Preserve
• Alaks Division of Parks & Outdoor Recreation
• Kenai Fjords National Park
• U.S. Forest Service/Chugach National Forest

For more information, contact:
Kenai Peninsula Tourism Marketing Council, Inc.
10819 Kenai Spur Highway Suite 103-F
Kenai, Alaska 99611-7848
Phone: (907) 283-3850
kptmc@recworld.com

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