Vacation in one of the world’s best salmon-fishing regions and watch beluga whales from this Alaskan city with a Russian heritage.
Charter a boat or fly-fish in Kenai’s waters for salmon approaching 100 pounds (45 kilograms). This community on the Kenai Peninsula originated with ancient Dena’ina Athabascans, was settled by Russians in the 1700s, became an oil boomtown after 1957 and has evolved to become one of the best sport-fishing regions in the world.
Kenai’s salmon draw many fishermen to the area during the pleasant summer season. Prepare to catch king, red, Coho and pink salmon. In 1985, a 68-year-old fisherman caught a world-record 97-pound (44-kilogram) king salmon on the Kenai River. Even if you don’t fish, watch the antics of spawning salmon and excited fishermen.
Enjoy scenic views of the Kenai Peninsula, with mountains of the Alaska Range reaching toward the sky. Identify the area’s three active volcanoes: Mount Iliamna, Mount Redoubt and Mount Spurr. Bring binoculars to look over the mouth of the Kenai River at the Beluga Whale Lookout. In spring and summer, whales swim up the river to feed on salmon.
Learn about the area’s Russian development at the Kenai Visitor and Cultural Center. Fort St. Nicholas was established near here as a fortified trading post. See its memorial St. Nicholas Chapel, built on the site in 1906. Inspect the artifacts in the onion-domed 1895 Holy Assumption of the Virgin Mary Russian Orthodox Church, the oldest Orthodox church on mainland Alaska.
Near Kenai are two large natural reserves. Canoe and hunt for agates in the Captain Cook State Recreation Area. Look for moose, bears and trumpeter swans in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.
When you’re not fishing, get exercise at the North Peninsula Recreation Center, with pool and fitness facilities open to the public for a fee. Play golf or disc golf or watch the Peninsula Oilers, a summer college baseball team.
Kenai is about a 3-hour drive from Anchorage. To reach the city from other spots, fly to Kenai Municipal Airport. Charter boats and rent gear in the town for a once-in-a-lifetime Alaska fishing experience.
![The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. As of 16 February 2015, it runs 66°33′45.6″ north of the Equator.
The region north of this circle is known as the Arctic, and the zone just to the south is called the Northern Temperate Zone. The equivalent polar circle in the Southern Hemisphere is called the Antarctic Circle.
The Arctic Circle is the southernmost latitude in the Northern Hemisphere at which the sun can remain continuously above or below the horizon for 24 hours (at the June solstice and December solstice respectively). North of the Arctic Circle, the sun is above the horizon for 24 continuous hours at least once per year (and therefore visible at midnight) and below the horizon for 24 continuous hours at least once per year (and therefore not visible at noon). On the Arctic Circle those events occur, in principle, exactly once per year, at the June and December solstices, respectively. However, in practice, because of atmospheric refraction and mirages, and because the sun appears as a disk and not a point, part of the midnight sun may be seen on the night of the northern summer solstice up to about 50′ (90 km (56 mi)) south of the Arctic Circle; similarly, on the day of the northern winter solstice, part of the sun may be seen up to about 50′ north of the Arctic Circle. That is true at sea level; those limits increase with elevation above sea level, although in mountainous regions there is often no direct view of the true horizon.
The position of the Arctic Circle is not fixed. It directly depends on the Earth's axial tilt, which fluctuates within a margin of 2° over a 40,000-year period,[2] notably due to tidal forces resulting from the orbit of the Moon. The Arctic Circle is currently drifting northwards at a speed of about 15 m (49 ft) per year; see Circle of latitude for more information.
#snow](https://images.trvl-media.com/place/6140564/a9f9449e-bab4-40a6-a9a1-5356b0cc2aa8.jpg?impolicy=fcrop&w=512&h=288&q=medium)
