Kenai, Alaska is a small town of about 6,000 located in the northwest corner of the Kenai Peninsula. It is located along Cook Inlet and has beach access. There are several grocery stores, hardware and automotive stores. We visited here as a day trip from nearby Soldotna.
We toured the Kenai Visitor and Cultural Center which has a very large mount collection, including lots of birds from the region, as well as mammals. They also have a very good collection of native artifacts on display. On Saturdays they have a farmer’s market, which also included a large amount of craft items, in the visitor center parking lot.
There is a walking tour through the historic section of town including the Chapel of St. Nicholas built in 1906 and the Holy Assumption of the Virgin Mary Russian Orthodox Church, built in 1894.
Chapel of St. Nicholas
The Holy Assumption of Virgin Mary Russian Othodox Church
Veronica’s cafe was a happy surprise
Veronica’s Cafe was a surprise find. It is a cozy little restaurant where the food is delicious. We stopped in for lunch. I ordered a quiche with spinach, tomato, mushroom and bacon with a cup of tomato basil soup. My lunch also came with a piece of cornbread that was very moist and tasty. Mike had the special of the day which was a savory roll served with a side salad and a cup of New England clam chowder.
Quiche with tomato basil soup and cornbread
Savory roll with clam chowder
Captain Cook State Recreation Area is located about 15 miles north of Kenai. On the drive north we spotted a female moose and her calf in the woods. We also saw a pair of swans with their cygnets on Stormy Lake. There are two camping areas, picnic areas and access points on the beach side of the park. Both take you to Cook Inlet. You can walk on the beach here and look for marine life. There area also boat launches to several of their large lakes. On clear days you can view Mt. Redoubt, Mt Spurr and Mt. Iliamna across the Inlet. It is a small but scenic park.
Stormy Lake
Cook Inlet beach
Beach at Captain Cook State Rec Area
