Kachemak Bay State Park and Kachemak Bay State Wilderness Park is a park in and around

Kachemak Bay Kachemak Bay ( Dena'ina: ''Tika Kaq’'') is a 40-mi-long (64 km) arm of Cook Inlet in the U.S. state of Alaska, located on the southwest side of the Kenai Peninsula. The communities of Homer, Halibut Cove, Seldovia, Nanwalek, Port Graham, ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

, United States.Official site
/ref> Kachemak Bay State Park was the first legislatively designated state park in the

Alaska State Parks Alaska’s state park system is managed by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation. The system contains over 120 units spanning 3,427,895 acres, making it far larger than any other state park system in ...

system. Kachemak Bay State Wilderness Park is the state's only legislatively designated wilderness park. No road accesses most areas of the park; visitors normally fly in or travel by boat from

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

. Kachemak Bay is considered a critical habitat area due to the

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

in the area. Wildlife within the park includes marine mammals such as

sea otters The sea otter (''Enhydra lutris'') is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between , making them the heaviest members of the weasel family, but among the smalle ...

sea lions Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. ...

, and

whales Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...

, large land mammals such as

moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult mal ...

and

black bear Black bear or Blackbear may refer to: Animals * American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species * Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species Music * Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...

s, and numerous sea and land birds. The terrain consists of both rocky and sandy beaches, dense mountain forests, and higher up, glaciers and

icefield An ice field (also spelled icefield) is a mass of interconnected valley glaciers (also called mountain glaciers or alpine glaciers) on a mountain mass with protruding rock ridges or summits. They are often found in the colder climates and highe ...

s. Because of the rugged conditions and unpredictable coastal weather, visitors are advised to be prepared for sudden wind, rain, or snowstorms at any time of year, especially at higher elevations, and to file a travel plan with rangers. The park is mostly wild land, although a few cabins and semideveloped campgrounds are seen. The park ranger station is located in

Halibut Cove Lagoon Halibut Cove is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, United States. The population was 76 at the 2010 census, up from 35 in 2000. Originally a fishing village, Halibut Cove is now home to several artists and busine ...

. The Kachemak Bay area was infested with

spruce bark beetle Spruce bark beetle is a common name for several insects and may refer to: *'' Dendroctonus micans'', the great spruce bark beetle *''Ips typographus The European spruce bark beetle (''Ips typographus''), is a species of beetle in the weevil sub ...

s during the late 1990s, and thousands of acres have dead trees still standing within the park. At least one

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire ...

, the Mile 17 fire, burned areas of dead standing spruce on park land.

References

External links

Friends of Kachemak Bay State Park

Kachemak Bay Water Trail

Kachemak Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
State parks of Alaska Protected areas of Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska Nature reserves in Alaska {{KenaiPeninsulaAK-geo-stub