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The downtown Pratt Museum , 3779 Bartlett St (daily 10am-6pm; $6), features high-quality works by local craftspeople, as well as Inuit and other Native artifacts, aquariums and historic Homer oddities. Many of Homer's most popu-lar activities, however, revolve around the Spit. To Alaskan anglers, Homer is " Halibut Central ": a full day's fishing excursion with any of the charter companies begins at around $140. If you don't mind joining the crowds, it's cheaper and simpler to visit the Fishing Hole , a tiny bight on the Spit, which is stocked with salmon and offers good fishing from mid-May to mid-September.

The prime tourist attraction in the Homer area is exploring the 250,000 acres of forested mountains, glaciers, pristine fjords and inlets that comprise Kachemak Bay State Park , directly across the bay from Homer. Bird species here include puffin, auklets, kittiwakes and storm petrels, and marine creatures such as seals, sea otters and whales are also plentiful. Rainbow Tours on Cannery Row (tel 907/235-7272) operates two-hour sightseeing cruises ($20) to Gull Island - a 15,000-strong rookery. The most popular destination is the gorgeous hamlet of Halibut Cove , where boardwalks link art galleries and The Saltry restaurant: the Danny J   ferry (tel 907/235-7847) makes two daily trips to Halibut Cove, on the south shore of the bay, via Gull Island rookery, for $44 round-trip, $22 if you book in for an evening meal.

The area's best trails, most of them manageable in a day, are those in the Kachemak Bay State Park on the south side of Kachemak Bay: pick up the park's hiking trails leaflet ($1) and other information from the Alaska National Marine Wildlife Refuge , 202 Pioneer Ave in Homer (tel 907/235-6546). The most-traveled route, up to Grewingk Glacier , is an easy three-and-a-half-mile trek above the spruce and cottonwood forest to the foot of the glacier, from where you get splendid views of the bay.