kenai/soldotna
 

I am going on a business trip to Kenai/Soldotna & will have about half a day free to look around. Any recommendations for this shot time?

Assuming this is something coming up in the next few months ... the best choice might be a flight-seeing trip over glaciers or Cook Inlet. If it was in warmer time, I'd say do a half-day Kenai Canyon float.

Request the Soldotna visitor guide. http://soldotnachamber.com/visitor/

When are you going to be there? Are you going to have a car?

Yes, I will have a car. This is for next week.

This is a tough one because this area is flat and not the prettiest part of Alaska. The visitors center in Kenai is very nice and has an interesting exhibit. Across the road, Ski-mos has great take out type of food (and peanut butter shakes). The best gift shop is Malfunction Junction (furs on ground floor). See if Hobo Jim is still playing at the bar in Soldotna. If you are driving down from Anchorage, the scenery will be spectacular along the way. If you are flying into Kenai, you'll miss it. If the weather is agreeable, you could drive out to Captain Cook State Park. There's not a lot to see but you might spot some wildlife along the way. There's a stretch of road thru a marshy area between Kenai and Soldotna where you might get lucky too. Watch out for moose! Check out Kasilof beach area. Read Peter Jenkins "Looking for Alaska" on the plane before you get there.

p.s. Here's a link to the local newspaper so you can see what's going on. You can also check out their visitor guide.
http://www.peninsulaclarion.com/index.shtml

Thanks. Have you been to Homer or Seward? Looks like it is a 2 hour drive to either. Wondering how scenic it is.

I think Homer is more scenic than Seward because you arrive on top of a mountain and you can see Homer and the water below you. Really breathtaking.

homer is a bit more scenic than seward, but the drive from soldotna to seward is a lot more scenic than the drive from soldotna to homer.

If you want to spend that much time on the road, i'd hit seward and visit exit glacier and maybe the sealife center. but be aware that bad weather will make either town pretty miserable and cover much of the scenery.

I agree the scenery on the road to Homer isn't very scenic. If the weather is good, the overlook before you enter Homer is great and so is the drive overlooking the airport and spit. I think there's a new wildlife center in Homer that opened after we visited. I think the decision depends on whether you would like the Sealife Center or the Pratt Museum better. We liked both but the short videos at the Pratt were very interesting esp the one on Homesteading in the 50s. You should check hours. I imagine the Homer Spit is pretty quiet right now but bald eagles winter in that area. You can read about the Eagle Lady of Homer or do a google search.