6 Best Sights in Kodiak Island, The Kenai Peninsula and Southcentral Alaska

Just the opportunity to view Kodiak brown bears alone is worth the trip here. Approximately 3,000 Kodiak brown bears, the biggest brown bears anywhere—sometimes topping out at more than 1,500 pounds—share the refuge with a few other land mammals: red foxes, river otters, short-tailed weasels, and tundra voles. Additionally, a number of mammals have been introduced to the archipelago: Sitka black-tailed deer, snowshoe hare, beavers, muskrat, Roosevelt elk, and mountain goats. The 1.9-million-acre refuge lies mostly on Kodiak Island and neighboring Afognak and Uganik Islands, in the Gulf of Alaska. All are part of the Kodiak Archipelago, separated from Alaska's mainland by stormy Shelikof Strait.

Within the refuge are rugged mountains, tundra meadows and lowlands, and thickly forested hills, plus lakes, marshes, and hundreds of miles of pristine coastland. No place in the refuge is more than 15 miles from the ocean. The weather here is generally wet and cool, and storms born in the North Pacific often bring heavy rains. Dozens of species of birds flock to the refuge each spring and summer, including Aleutian terns, horned puffins, black oystercatchers, ravens, ptarmigan, and chickadees. At least 600 pairs of bald eagles live on the islands, building the world's largest bird nests on shoreline cliffs and in tall trees. Six species of Pacific salmon—chums, kings, pinks, silvers, sockeyes, and steelhead—return to Kodiak's waters from May to October. Other resident species include rainbow trout, Dolly Varden (an anadromous trout waiting for promotion to salmon), and arctic char. The abundance of fish and bears makes Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge popular with anglers, hunters, and wildlife watchers.

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. There are also ongoing workshops and live Alutiiq dance performances.

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. There are also eight campsites and five RV hookups.

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, which still operates as a church, dates to 1945.

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.