2 Best Sights in Kenai, Sterling, and Soldotna, The Kenai Peninsula and Southcentral Alaska

In addition to fishing, clam digging is popular at Clam Gulch, 24 miles south of Soldotna on the Sterling Highway. This is a favorite of local children, who love any excuse to dig in the muddy, sloppy goo. Ask locals on the beach how to find the giant razor clams (recognized by their dimples in the sand). Ask also for advice on how to clean the clams—cleaning is pretty labor-intensive, and it's easy to get into a clam-digging frenzy when the conditions are favorable, only to regret your efforts when cleaning time arrives. The clam digging is best when tides are minus 4 or 5 feet. A sportfishing license, available at grocery stores, sporting-goods shops, and drugstores, is required for clam diggers 16 years old and older.

In this area where the prevailing architecture is modern strip-mall, the Holy Assumption in Kenai's cute Old Town stands out with its bright teal onion-shaped domes. Completed in 1896, it's the oldest standing Russian Orthodox church in Alaska. The church has a small gift shop and offers daily tours.