5 Best Sights in The Kenai Peninsula and Southcentral Alaska, Alaska

Home to one of the largest collections of Alaska Native materials in the world, the Alutiiq Museum contains archaeological and ethnographic items dating back 7,500 years. The more than 150,000 artifacts include harpoons, masks, dolls, stone tools, seal-gut parkas, grass baskets, and pottery fragments. The museum store sells Alaska Native art and educational materials.

As part of America's North Pacific defense during World War II, Kodiak was the site of an important naval station, now occupied by the Coast Guard fleet that patrols the surrounding fishing grounds. Part of the old military installation has been incorporated into this park north of town. Self-guided tours take you past concrete bunkers and gun emplacements, and trails wind through moss-draped spruce forest. There's a highly scenic overlook, great for bird and whale watching, and inside a bunker a volunteer group runs the Kodiak Military History Museum.

The ornate Russian Orthodox church is a visual feast, both inside and out. The cross-shaped building is topped by two onion-shaped blue domes, and the interior contains brass candelabra, distinctive chandeliers, and numerous icons representing Orthodox saints. Three different churches have stood on this site since 1794. The present structure, built in 1945, is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Formerly the Baranov Museum, this spot has been designed to collect, educate about, and inform on the many diverse perspectives and stories of Kodiak's rich past—from the 7,500 years of Alutiiq history to the role of the region in World War II. The museum’s permanent and temporary exhibits are housed in an old building first commissioned in the 1800s by Alexander Baranov, the chief manager for the fur-trading Russian-American Company. This building is considered the oldest building in the state that is not an Alaska Native structure.

Indispensable for those exploring the wildlife refuge, this center a block from the downtown ferry dock is an interesting stop on its own. Wander through exhibits about the refuge's flora and fauna, attend an interpretive talk, and marvel at the complete 36-foot hanging skeleton of a male gray whale on the second floor.