Homer is a town located in Kenai Peninsula Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population was 5,364. Homer is nestled among rolling hills and overlooking Kachemak Bay and the Kenai Mountains, this seaside community has 4,000 residents and another 8,000 beyond the city limits. In addition to the downtown area of Homer, a unique attraction is the Homer Spit, a long, narrow finger of land jutting 4.5 miles into Kachemak Bay.

The Spit is home to our harbor and over 700 charter and commercial boat operators year round, growing to 1,500 in the summer months. Homer offers all the amenities of a small, first class city, including a hospital, medical clinics, pharmacies, police and fire departments, and a U.S. Coast Guard cutter for safety at sea. Local, state and federal government offices operate here, as does the Kenai Peninsula College and a senior citizens center.

The town of Homer owes its beginnings to the coal and gold miners of the late 1800s who came to the area looking for riches. Although the big strike was not to be found here and these first settlers eventually moved on, Homer Pennock’s name was left behind as a reminder of what once was.

Later, in the 1920s, Homer began anew. Homesteaders began settling the area and constructing the community that you find today. Now, just over 4,000 people live and work in the town of Homer, making it a hub of south-central Alaska’s fishing and tourism businesses.

Like a beckon finger, the Homer Spit, a naturally occurring phenomenon extending four miles from the mainland into the depths of Kachemak Bay, motions visitors to immerse themselves in this Alaska wonderland. Overhead, bald eagles take to flight in the fresh air. Circling high above, these massive birds with startling white heads and tails and yellow beaks, search for a meal from the sea. Their urge for a fresh-fish banquet is equaled by the sport and commercial fishermen who try their luck on the bay, Cook Inlet and the nearby Gulf of Alaska.

During the night visitors can choose from bed and breakfasts ” some perched on the bluffs above Homer, some along the shore ” or hotels and motels, or world-famous wilderness resorts. There are places to park a motor home or camper, and there are places to put up a tent roll out a sleeping bag and light a campfire. The Kachemak Bay Campus of the Kenai Peninsula College-University of Alaska Anchorage, educates adults, while numerous educational options ” public, private and home schools ” are available for Homer’s younger students.