July 7, 2018
After Captain Cook State Rec Area, we landed at Ninilchik Scenic
Overlook and State Campground for two nights. The village of Ninilchik, along
with the campground, are 44 miles northeast of Homer off the Sterling Highway and
we decided it would be our base for accessing touristy Homer. The decision was
made after arriving on a beautifully sunny afternoon, looking around, and
finding one campsite left with a clear panoramic view of Mt. Redoubt straight
across Cook Inlet with Mt. Iliamna to the left, a perfect location for resting
and taking in the landscape’s beauty before heading in to Homer the next day. The
beach below at the bottom of 60 or 70 steps, was clean sand. A large loop drive
and parking area, with a small marina area led us to believe it was a popular fishing
spot – at least when the fish are in. The Ninilchik River flows into the Inlet
here and the old buildings that make up Ninilchik Village are built along the river
and up the steep hill above it. At the top of that hill we found The Holy
Transfiguration of Our Lord Russian Orthodox Church. Ninilchik Village was
settled at the turn of the 19
th century and is the “old” village. (The
“new” Ninilchik is located on the Sterling Highway) In my book, it’s definitely
in the running for Most Picturesque Village in Alaska! The next afternoon when
I walked the beach and parking area over to the boatyard, I saw seven bald
eagles – two adults sitting out on a big rock in the shallow water, three
adults and a juvenile sitting on a low tide sand bar, and one adult flying over
me back toward camp.
Our first afternoon at Ninilchik we drove a couple of miles
down the road to Deep Creek State Recreation Site. This is a busy fishing area
with lots of boats out in the water not far off the beach, boats coming and
going with the help of the launch workers and their boat launch “tractor.” Three
bald eagles sat in the nearby wetland area.
The next day on our way into Homer, we detoured on the
Anchor River Beach Road which took us along the Anchor River past Coho Campground,
Steelhead Campground and finally Halibut Campground where the road dead ends on
the shore of Cook Inlet. There a big sign reads “Most westerly point on the North
American continent accessible by a continuous road system.” Well, since we drove
to the eastern edge of Cape Breton in Canada nine years ago and now we were
standing on the edge of the Cook Inlet on the Kenai Peninsula, AK, we couldn’t
help but feel like we had the east/west span of North America covered!
 |
| Russian Orthodox Church,Ninilchik |
 |
| Ninilchik River |
 |
| Cemetery by the church |
 |
| Cook Inlet Overlook,Ninilchik hilltop |
After Captain Cook State Rec Area, we landed at Ninilchik Scenic
Overlook and State Campground for two nights. The village of Ninilchik, along
with the campground, are 44 miles northeast of Homer off the Sterling Highway and
we decided it would be our base for accessing touristy Homer. The decision was
made after arriving on a beautifully sunny afternoon, looking around, and
finding one campsite left with a clear panoramic view of Mt. Redoubt straight
across Cook Inlet with Mt. Iliamna to the left, a perfect location for resting
and taking in the landscape’s beauty before heading in to Homer the next day. The
beach below at the bottom of 60 or 70 steps, was clean sand. A large loop drive
and parking area, with a small marina area led us to believe it was a popular fishing
spot – at least when the fish are in. The Ninilchik River flows into the Inlet
here and the old buildings that make up Ninilchik Village are built along the river
and up the steep hill above it. At the top of that hill we found The Holy
Transfiguration of Our Lord Russian Orthodox Church. Ninilchik Village was
settled at the turn of the 19th century and is the “old” village. (The
“new” Ninilchik is located on the Sterling Highway) In my book, it’s definitely
in the running for Most Picturesque Village in Alaska! The next afternoon when
I walked the beach and parking area over to the boatyard, I saw seven bald
eagles – two adults sitting out on a big rock in the shallow water, three
adults and a juvenile sitting on a low tide sand bar, and one adult flying over
me back toward camp. 
Our first afternoon at Ninilchik we drove a couple of miles
down the road to Deep Creek State Recreation Site. This is a busy fishing area
with lots of boats out in the water not far off the beach, boats coming and
going with the help of the launch workers and their boat launch “tractor.” Three
bald eagles sat in the nearby wetland area.
The next day on our way into Homer, we detoured on the
Anchor River Beach Road which took us along the Anchor River past Coho Campground,
Steelhead Campground and finally Halibut Campground where the road dead ends on
the shore of Cook Inlet. There a big sign reads “Most westerly point on the North
American continent accessible by a continuous road system.” Well, since we drove
to the eastern edge of Cape Breton in Canada nine years ago and now we were
standing on the edge of the Cook Inlet on the Kenai Peninsula, AK, we couldn’t
help but feel like we had the east/west span of North America covered!
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