Kodiak- Fossil Beach & Surfers Beach

Most of our adventures during the summer are last minute and determined by schedule and weather, which was exactly how our trip to Kodiak worked out. We had returned from Port Alsworth on a monday, and had five more days till we had to be back in the valley.

I’ve lived in Alaska for twenty five years but I’ve never had the oppertunity to visit Kodiak.

In the spring, when Woodsen and I were brainstorming ideas for summer trips, visiting Kodiak was high on my priority list. Four days seemed like a reasonable amount of time to familiarize ourselves with the island, and with a decent weather window lining up, we listed for an evening flight out of Anchorage, booked an Air bnb and car, and set kids to work packing their bags.

Prior to having kids Woodsen and I both loved to backpack internationally and as our kids get older it’s something we would love to share with them. We thought our trip to Kodiak would be good practice for traveling without checked bags, so with loaded backpacks, we headed to the terminal.

We arrived in Kodiak in the evening, settled into our Air bnb, and went to bed anticipating the adventures we would have the next day.

The next day we loaded up and made our first stop at Bean & Bloom for some coffee. Next we headed out of town on the Chiniak hwy.

We curved and winded on the road spotting dear, cows, and breath taking views. At the T in the road we took the Pasagshak Road heading for Fossil beach.

“Dreamy” was the first word that came to mind when pulled into the gravel parking area surrounded by beach.

The wind was minimal and the sun was out making it feel like an Alaskan version of a tropical beach day.

Of course, it wasn’t long before the kids were dipping their toes in the water.

Next it was full commit and swimsuits.

They call this “swimming”.

When Atlee & Melozi had their fill of freezing cold water, we set off to the left side of the beach where I had read fossils could be found.

We had coordinated our time at the beach with low tide and the kids enjoyed climbing on rocks and exploring tide pools. Aside from shells embedded in rocks we didn’t find any fossils, but we also didn’t try too hard.

When we returned Yukla and Eska were having fun playing in the creek.

After hours playing and exploring the beach we headed back to the car as a few clouds started rolling in.

Before reaching the beach we had driven through the Alaska Aerospace Spaceport complex , on the way back we stopped to snap a few photos.

While at Fossil beach one of the other few beach goersl told Woodsen that Gray Whales were feeding and breaching nearby at Surfers Beach, so we headed that way.

When we arrived the wind had picked up and clouds had rolled in, but whales could be seen spouting off shore which made for some excitement.

On the way back to the car we met the only other people at the beach, two dads who had taken their cumulative 10+ kids on a trip to the beach to swim and surf. The kids were decked out in wet suites, and Steven (I believe that was his name) told us how he had been out on a surfboard near a Gray whale when it submerged and likened it to a boat sinking beside you. Can you imagine? He also told us about a road that takes you up on top of the cliffs to the right of the beach where we could possible see the whales from above.

Leaving the beach we easily found the road leading to Lupine Lake and followed its winding path, dodging potholes and cows along the way

The cliffs were beautiful, and we did see Gray Whales, although I learned that gray whales don’t breach as often as humpbacks do so we mostly spotted their backs emerging from the water and spouts below.

On our way back we came to a cow lying in the middle of the road. As we approached Melozi had her head hanging out the window and yelled to the cow “are you going to MOOOve?’’ We all couldn’t help but laugh at her well timed joke.

, When we got to the T in the road, instead of heading back to town, we headed out further on the Chiniak Highway. Near the end of the road we spotted the sign for Clay Creek Pottery, along with a man weeding dandelions by the road. We asked if they were open for customers and he welcomed us in. We went away with a mug and a pitcher after meeting Sue the Potter.

There were many places I would have liked to pull over and explore on the way back, but with Eska no longer enjoying her car seat, we made a beeline for town. It had been an Epic first day in Kodiak!