Some years later, the commercial harvest and processing of fish became the mainstay of the local economy, and lead the growth of Homer into the commercial and transportation hub of the Southern Kenai Peninsula. Today, Homer’s economy relies on commercial fishing and the growing tourism industry.

Homer is primarily a fishing, fish processing, trade and service center, and enjoys a considerable seasonal tourist industry. Approximately 10 cruise ships dock in Homer each summer. During summer months, the population swells with students and others seeking cannery or fishery employment. Sport fishing for halibut and salmon contributes significantly to the economy.

520 area residents hold commercial fishing permits. The fish dock is equipped with cold storage facilities, ice manufacturing and a vacuum fish-loading system. A sawmill processes borough timber, and Circle De Pacific Corp. is exporting wood chips from Homer to Japan. Plans for a multi-million dollar U.S. Fish & Wildlife Visitors Center for the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge are underway.

Homer’s climate is heavily influenced by its proximity to the ocean. Summer temperatures are typically in the 60’s, but rainy days are common, and a breeze off the water can cool things off into the 40’s and 50’s.

Winter weather in Homer is cold, with both rain and snow. Average annual precipitation is about 25 inches, with about 50 inches of snow a year.

A regional airport lies near the coast as well, with two local airlines: Homer Air, and Smokey Bay Air flying scheduled routes, as well as Era Aviation and PenAir. Homer constructed its first traffic light in 2005.

Homer is accessible by the Sterling Highway to Anchorage, Fairbanks, Canada and the lower 48 states. It is often referred to as “The End of the Road,” because it lies at the terminus of the Sterling Highway.

The State owns and operates the Homer Airport, with a 6,700′ asphalt runway and float plane basin, and a seaplane base at Beluga Lake. Homer is served the Alaska State Ferry, and small water taxi service is also available to nearby Seldovia. In the summer months, cruise ships will occasionally visit Homer as a port of call.

The City is served by several scheduled and chartered aircraft services. There are four additional private landing strips in the vicinity. The Alaska Marine Highway and local ferry services provide water transportation. The deep-water dock can accommodate 30-foot drafts, and 340-foot vessels. There is a boat harbor with moorage for 750 vessels, and a 5-lane boat launch ramp.

Homer is 110 miles from Anchorage with numerous flights operating daily year-round. You can also get to Homer via regular scheduled shuttle service from Anchorage. There is also seasonal shuttle service from Seward. Once in Homer, there are car rentals, several taxi companies and bike rentals available.
Homer is a port of call for the Alaska Marine Highway for travelers heading out to Kodiak and Dutch Harbor. Once a month during the summer, the M/V Tustumena travels 400 miles along the Alaska Peninsula to the Aleutian Islands, stopping in six different villages: Chignik, Sand Point, King Cove, Cold Bay, False Pass, and Akutan.

There are 1,523 households out of which 31.6% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.3% are married couples living together, 9.8% have a female householder with no husband present, and 36.9% are non-families. 29.7 % of all households are made up of individuals and 6.1% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.40 and the average family size is 2.99.

In town the population is spread out with 27.6% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 28.2% from 45 to 64, and 10.1% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 39 years. For every 100 females there are 97.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 98.7 males.

The median income for a household in town is $42,821, and the median income for a family is $53,571. Males have a median income of $38,063 versus $30,494 for females. The per capita income for the town is $21,823. 9.3% of the population and 7.7% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 11.6% of those under the age of 18 and 6.8% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Homer was named for Homer Pennock, a gold mining company promoter, who arrived in 1896 on what is now the Homer Spit and built living quarters for his crew of 50 men. However, gold mining was never profitable in the area. Currently, tourism, sport fishing, commercial fishing and logging are important industries in the Homer area. Homer, Alaska attracts a multitude of artists who produce and sell artwork in many different genres.

Homer was founded in 1896 by gold seekers. Among these early adventurers was Homer Pennock, from whom the town took its name. Near the turn of the century, coal mines were developed; and eventually, one of Alaska’s first railroads was built to haul coal to waiting ships anchored off Homer Spit. The mines and railway shut down during World War II.

The original town at the end of Homer Spit burned down when an exposed coal seam caught fire, and the town was rebuilt on the present town-site. Homer became a city in 1964. The town’s economy is based on tourism, farming, fishing and seafood processing.

The beauty of the town has inspired painters, potters, jewelers, weavers, woodcarvers, and doll makers to create magnificent works that can be found at local art galleries, gift shops or studios in throughout the Homer Alaska area. At the Pratt Museum, you will also find an excellent selection of traditional Alaskan art.

A good deal of the halibut fishing in Homer Alaska occurs around the waters of the Cook Inlet and Kachemak Bay. This area is known for some of the largest and tastiest halibut in the world. With that in mind, if you are planning to do any halibut fishing in Homer Alaska, it behooves you to have heavy gear. Many anglers prefer to drop a heavily weighted, baited-hook or artificial lure overboard to jig just above the ocean floor.

Once the halibut is hooked, it will need to be reeled to the surface. Make sure you get in shape prior to going halibut fishing in Homer Alaska. This process is a strenuous workout. Fortunately, many of the halibut, once hooked will float to the surface without a fight. They may well be preserving their energy for thrashing about once they are on the ship.

Its most distinguishing feature is the Homer Spit, a narrow 7 km (4.5 mile) long gravel bar that extends into the bay, on which is located the Homer Harbor.

Much of the coastline as well as the Homer Spit sank dramatically during the Good Friday Earthquake in March of 1964. After the earthquake, very little vegetation was able to survive on the Homer Spit.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 58.1 km² (22.4 mi²). 27.4 km² (10.6 mi²) of it is land and 30.7 km² (11.9 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 52.83% water.
The town’s most interesting geographical feature is Homer Spit, an arm of sand and gravel that reaches several miles into the bay.

Views across the bay and Cook Inlet provide vistas of the Kenai Mountains, glaciers and the volcanoes of the Alaska Peninsula. Reaching Homer can be done by taking the Sterling Highway south from the Seward Highway and Anchorage. Also, the Alaska Marine Highway provides ferry service to Kodiak, Seldovia and southwest Alaska. Homer offers a full service airport with daily flights in and out, as the weather permits.

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.

Ketchikan receives service to two separate ferry lines. Ketchikan sits on the Alaska Marine Highway’s Inside Passage route and sees a large number of ships northbound (to the rest of Alaska) and southbound (to Prince Rupert, British Columbia ” where a connection can be made to the BC Ferries system ” and Bellingham, Washington).

Ketchikan also sees regular day service from the Alaska Marine Highway vessel M/V Lituya, a day boat that shuttles between Ketchikan and Metlakatla, its homeport. The newly-inaugurated Inter-Island Ferry Authority serves Ketchikan daily (and, in the summer, twice daily) with the day boat M/V Prince of Wales from its homeport in Hollis on Prince of Wales Island. Ketchikan often serves as a connection between the Prince of Wales and mainline Alaska Marine Highway vessels that run to the rest of Southeast Alaska.

If you fly into Kethikan, the International Airport is on Gravina, and you will take a small ferry ride across the Tongass Narrows to Ketchikan. In this picture, you can faintly see the light line that deliniates the Tongass Narrows. Ketchikan is on Revillagigedo Island. I have only circumnavigated Gravina Island once by boat; there is some good fishing at Volker Point which is on the left side of Gravina, close to Tongass Narrows.

Ketchikan serves as the first port of call in Alaska for cruise ships and Alaska Marine Highway vessels. Air Transportation - The State-owned Ketchikan International Airport serves Ketchikan and the surrounding region. The 7,500′ runway is paved and lighted with daily scheduled jet service.

The airport is located on Gravina Island, which is a short ferry ride from Ketchikan, which is on Revillagigedo Island. Additionally, there are four floatplane-landing facilities. Mass Transportation - The Ketchikan Gateway Borough runs a fixed-route bus service, “The Bus,” which also services Saxman. Service was recently reduced due to fiscal constraints.

During the summertime precipitation is generally light and sporadic and daytime temperatures average in the high sixties (F). Wintertime is marked by heavy, cold, wind-driven rain, for months at a time with barely any respite and temperatures in the high thirties.

The area lies in the maritime climate zone noted for its warm winters, cool summers, and heavy precipitation. Summer temperatures range from 51 to 65; winter temperatures range from 29 to 39. Ketchikan averages 162 inches (13.5 feet) of precipitation annually, including 32 inches of snowfall.
The climate of Southeast Alaska is typically cool and damp.

Annual rainfall exceeds 160 inches at Ketchikan and in other parts of Southeast Alaska. Summer temperatures rarely exceed 70 degrees F. and average in the fifties. In this maritime climate, travelers should always be prepared rain. Fog and low visibility. Weather can vary greatly, even in the summer.

Be prepared for cold weather and precipitation at all times. If you travel in the backcountry, be prepared for insects. Mosquitoes and black flies are plentiful and ravenous. Even on short hikes, be aware of the danger of hypothermia, the lowering of the internal body temperature that may lead to mental and physical collapse. Hypothermia is caused by exposure to the cold, and it is aggravated by wetness, wind, and exhaustion-all circumstances which can occur rapidly in Alaska’s changing climate.

Spring, summer, and fall: A light shirt, short or long sleeved, makes an excellent first layer. Your second layer should consist of something for warmth like a sweater or fleece pullover. The ideal outer layer is a light waterproof jacket. Layers should be lightweight and easy to remove depending on weather changes or your activity. Don’t forget shorts or sleeveless shirts for those warmer days!

Winter: Use a heavier jacket as your outer layer. Be sure to bring a hat, scarf and pair of gloves.

There are four float plane landing facilities: Tongass Narrows, Peninsula Point, Ketchikan Harbor, and Murphy’s. Ketchikan is the first port of call in Alaska for cruise ships and Alaska Marine Highway vessels. Harbor and docking facilities include a breakwater, a deep draft dock, five small boat harbors, a dry dock and ship repair yard, boat launch, and a State ferry terminal.

The shipyard is privately-owned, and is used for repairs to the Alaska Ferry and offshore fish processors. The Inter-Island Ferry Authority, based on Craig, is coordinating funding to develop a twice-daily, year-round ferry service between Ketchikan and Hollis.

Separated from the mainland by the 150-mile Behm Canal, Ketchikan is accessible only by boat. Even the airport is located on a nearby island, and passengers must land and then ferry across the sound to the town itself. Within Ketchikan itself, a mere 20 miles of roads allow access to nearby parks and recreation areas.

Around 500 cruise ships dock at Ketchikan, Alaska each summer, and you too could be on one of them. I won’t recommend any of the cruise lines because I lived there, I didn’t travel there. I’m sure they each have pros and cons. his image shows how huge the cruise ships are; 8-9 stories above the waterline. They dwarf downtown Ketchikan. The cruise ship shown is from the Holland-American line, but I couldn’t remember the name.

The best way to get to Ketchikan, and many other ports in Southeast Alaska is via the Alaska Marine Highway system. It if probably more affordable than the cruise ships and offers the opportunity to bring your car with you so that you can get off and drive around at different ports of call. I say probably less expensive because, it isn’t really all that inexpensive! Gee. But, if you want to see more than a few hours in each town this is the way to travel through Alaska.

Ketchikan is a town where people use boats for more than recreation; they are transportation and people’s homes as well. Here is a sailboat in the Tongass Narrows. The island behind the sailboat is Pennock Island. Behind Pennock Island is downtown Ketchikan, and towering above is Deer Mountain. Sailboats have the right of way, by the way.