Numerous Natural Beaches and other Kodiak Island, AK General Tips

unnamed cove around Anton Larsen

Bay

Favorite Thing: Much of the shoreline around Kodiak Island is a smooth beach fit for relaxing and watching the surf. While the sands might not be as granular and fine as beaches in Florida and California, the scenery both before and behind the beachcomber is also unlike that found in the contiguous U.S. In front, waves are gentle on a tide that scarcely fluctuates above eight feet, while the lush vegetation behind most beaches adds a sense of ruggedness and seclusion.

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General Tips: Boating Culture

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Written by mrclay2000

on Sep 1, 2003

a pair of sailing vessels, Anton

Larsen Bay

Favorite Thing: Most coves and protected inlets reachable by road on Kodiak Island are either hosts to seaplanes or small watercraft. On an island where only sixty miles of highway exist and most of it unpaved, the remoter parts of the island are reached by sea or air only. With fishing being so important to the local economy and culture, it is no surprise to find boats moored in every conceivable anchorage.

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General Tips: Made to Feel At Home

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Written by mrclay2000

on Sep 4, 2003

unlike the bears, deer are common

on the highways

Favorite Thing: The Sitka black-tailed deer is Kodiak Island's most successful and prolific among the nonnative species lately introduced to the island. Much smaller than black-tailed deer of the western United States, the Sitka deer still bound on four legs in unison (the tell-tale mark of their species) and are just as skittish as deer anywhere. For hikers in the backcountry, whenever you hear grasses rustle, realize that the agent is probably a fox or Sitka deer rather than a brown bear. Then again, prepare for all contingencies.

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General Tips: Not Meant for Travel by Foot

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Written by mrclay2000

on Sep 7, 2003

Olds River Road, where 'road' is an

apt term

Favorite Thing: As this page has shown elsewhere, Kodiak Island is a lush tropical preserve crisscrossed with mountains, hills and valleys, all drained by glaciers, creeks and rivers. These details, along with the vegetation and the porous surfaces throughout, make this a difficult paradise to explore on foot. If the visitor enjoys the luxury of limitless time, no part of the island is inaccessible, but for the average traveler, some knowledge of the island's primitive roads and ATV trails will ease an already difficult landscape of its worst and most common obstacles.

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General Tips: Kodiak's Military Past

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Written by mrclay2000

on Sep 7, 2003

a bunker at Ft Abercrombie and Mill

Bay

Favorite Thing: During the 1940s, most of Alaska was inaccessible to almost everything but winged creatures. The precautions taken by the war department during World War II helped to begin a road system that has since linked cities, towns and other places of importance around the state. On the island, Fort Abercrombie is only one reminder of Kodiak's military past. Within town there still exist concrete bunkers which local entrepreneurs are rapidly converting to B&B's. The road from Saltery Cove to the island's main highway was originally carved out of the bush by the war department. Everywhere is evidence of the military past.

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General Tips: If Former Proofs Were Not Enough

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Written by mrclay2000

on Sep 7, 2003

your granddaddy's pickup, abandoned

(Olds River)

Favorite Thing: It is an established fact that most of the island's residents seldom venture more than a few yards from Kodiak's road system. The motorcycle club (an island anomaly according to some residents) only motors as far as the pavement on the highway. Pot holes and poorly graded roads take a toll on most vehicles, deterrents in themselves to discourage driving too far outside of town. Everywhere on the island are indications of Kodiak's rugged character, from seemingly abandoned houses only a few miles from the island mainstays, to derelict vehicles of an earlier generation, left to rot and rust where the jungle ended their days.

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General Tips: Varied Berries

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Updated by mrclay2000

on Sep 9, 2003

berry bushes -- know when the

picking is good

Favorite Thing: Berries are as important to Kodiak Island as the spruce forests, the fish and the bears. Depending on the season of your visit, it might do well to understand which berries ripen and when, since these succulent and ubiquitous fruits are excellent supplements to your diet, and moreover bring a little local flavor (both aesthetically and culturally) to your visit.

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General Tips: Mortgaged Wilderness

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Written by mrclay2000

on Oct 16, 2003

abandoned houses south of Kalsin

Bay

Favorite Thing: In numerous places along the Kodiak landscape there are abandoned houses. Sometimes these were actual homes, sometimes halfway points along old routes during the U.S. occupation and partial buildup here during WWII, and sometimes they are seasonal shelters for brown bear hunters. Be not surprised to find a shack with busted-out windows graced with a stack of fresh-cut firewood on its grounds.

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General Tips: Kalsin Bay

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Written by mrclay2000

on Nov 22, 2003

Kalsin Bay

Favorite Thing: Kodiak Island is sculpted if not scalloped with countless bays, some of which are large enough to harbor the biggest ships in the navy. As usual with bays on the island where the general road passes, there are commonly a few outlets where passengers can eat or phone at area restaurants or cafes. Otherwise, boating and fishing is the primary activity, though for those without either the bays themselves are significant attractions.

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General Tips: Leaving Town Behind

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Written by mrclay2000

on Nov 22, 2003

unpeopled beach at Middle Bay

facing a storm