Anchorage Daily News

HALIBUT COVE -- Paddling along the shores of Halibut Cove lagoon, Reilly Hall spotted a blip in the glass-smooth surface of the water ahead.

"Look, an otter!" she squealed, grabbing her paddle and trying to move our inflatable kayak toward the creature.

Indeed, something was eyeing us, bobbing in the water, then dipping below and resurfacing, closer and closer. But as we paddled near, we saw it was not an otter but a bulbous-headed harbor seal, staring at us with big round eyes.

This discovery was even more thrilling for my 7-year-old, and we stopped paddling to watch the animal's antics. So far we had spotted sea otters rolling in kelp, porpoises surfacing in the late-afternoon sun and even a little vole peeking out from under the cabin.

We had fished for king salmon, hiked the trails and roasted s'mores around a campfire in front of our public-use cabin.

In fact, our four-day, three-family mini-vacation to Halibut Cove included all the activities that make for a well-rounded Alaska camping trip.

Tucked into the central portion of Kachemak Bay State Park and State Wilderness Park, Halibut Cove is a secluded getaway 10 miles from Homer and hidden even from the cluster of homes that make up the village of Halibut Cove. Alaska's first state park encompasses about 400,000 acres of mountains, glaciers and water.

Three public-use cabins, operated by Alaska State Parks, are available in the lagoon area, and they are usually booked in season. Two others, the China Poot Lake Cabin and the Moose Valley Cabin, are accessed by trail from the lagoon.

Our trip came just as the king salmon were beginning to show up; the cabin had been reserved six months earlier.

SLICE OF PERFECTION

Slowing our skiff as we entered Halibut Cove, we breathed a sigh of relief, having survived choppy seas on the way over.

Kachemak Bay can be notoriously windy, especially in the afternoon, so we traveled as a pair with another couple in their boat.

Ahead of us in their Zodiac, friends Liz Shen and Sam Dennis gave us a thumbs-up and we reciprocated. We motored past postcard-perfect waterfront homes painted in cheerful colors and perched on the rocks. About 20 people live here year round.

Just as I thought we were nearly there -- the open water of Kachemak Bay was far behind -- we turned a bend in the cove; another expanse of water that led to the lagoon stretched ahead. Always deceiving, Alaska's coves and bays dip like long, graceful fingers, etching their way into the mountainside and rewarding the curious visitor with special spots like this.

Halibut Cove's public-use cabins can only be reached by boat or floatplane, and boaters must plan carefully around the tides. The inlet channel is not navigable at mid to low tides, so we had been forced to cross at high tide, which coincided with the afternoon winds we'd hoped to avoid.

But back here in the lagoon, all was peaceful. A sea otter bobbed in front of us, and waterfowl and shorebirds flitted from rock to rock and among the nearby trees. The sun, high in the sky, warmed us.

Then, after another 20 minutes of slow travel, picking our way around bull kelp, we were there. Halibut Cove Lagoon Public Dock is an impressive mooring station. Used to running our flat-bottomed skiff onto some remote beach, my husband, Andy, and I were relieved to not face that hassle, and simply slipped into an open space.

The dock, an aluminum wonder built with settlement money from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, is a floating 80-foot structure that can handle boats up to 26 feet. A long ramp leads to the bluff above, where we spotted our home for the next three nights -- the Overlook Cabin, which offered a bird's-eye view of the lagoon.

Over the next few days, we would find the dock a welcome place to relax, take in the sun and let the kids practice casting. It is open to cabin users, water taxis and park staff, who maintain a ranger station nearby.

Halibut Cove is one of the most popular destinations in the Homer area, according to Linda Broadhead of the Homer Chamber of Commerce. And while most visitors prefer the luxury of a water taxi and dinner at the popular Saltry restaurant, the only full-service restaurant in Halibut Cove, she is seeing broader interest this year.

"The Danny J (water taxi) has been going over there with visitors for years and years," she said. "This year it seems like everyone who walks in our door has a question about Halibut Cove.

"There's kayaking, hiking, camping, wildlife viewing -- you name it, you can do it out there."

Jess and Lee Tenhoff know all about that. Because of demand for alternative forms of camping in Kachemak Bay, the couple was awarded a contract to run their Nomad Yurt shelters in the area. They started in 2003 with six yurts throughout the park ---- including two at Halibut Cove. Now there are nine.

"The word is still getting out about them," Jess Tenhoff said. "It's starting to catch on.

"I think that the yurts kind of open up the park to a broader group of users too, because the elderly can come out and babies. It's so much easier than tent camping," Tenhoff said.

ENDLESS CHOICES

Our Overlook Cabin was ideal for two families. We hauled our gear from our skiff to the cabin, up the ramp and about 500 yards along a wooden boardwalk. Unlike most public-use cabins, Overlook boasts two bedrooms as well as a main kitchen and sitting area.

It easily slept four to a room and allowed plenty of space for spreading out gear in the main room. A small deck provided excellent views of the lagoon.

The third family with us, Bob and Susan Shaw and their daughters, Katie and Jennifer, stayed at the nicer but smaller Lagoon East Cabin, about 250 yards away. A third cabin, the Lagoon West Cabin, is perched on a rock bluff overlooking the lagoon up a steep set of stairs.

With gear unloaded, we turned our attention to recreation. What to do? Fish? Hike? Go tide pooling? Kayak?

In the end, we decided to do it all. That, of course, is what makes this area so special.

Unlike places like Clam Gulch, where clamming is the goal, or Bishops Beach, where tide pooling is the order of the day, all is possible in Halibut Cove.

So when we awoke to rainy skies and low clouds, hiking seemed like the ideal activity to warm us up.

More than 80 miles of trails honeycomb Kachemak Bay State Park and Wilderness, much of it accessible from the cabins at Halibut Cove. We explored the China Poot Lake Trail and hiked the Coalition Trail another day.

"I would say the state park is really high on the list of things that people want to do, and I'm hearing more and more about hiking trips," Broadhead said.

The weather, blissfully, changed for us after that first rainy morning, typical for maritime weather.

The remainder of our trip included blue skies and a warm sun the likes of which we've not seen since.

We spent our days in an inflatable kayak that allowed the children to practice their strokes and stop at rocky beaches.

We took out the Shaws' boat and went fishing with the children, who returned with smiles on their faces after cheering on Susan Shaw, who reeled in the first king of the season.

And we relaxed. With a setting so incredible and the freedom to choose several outdoor activities, Halibut Cove quickly inched up a notch over our previous Kachemak Bay favorites -- Seldovia and Tutka Bay. Here we had it all.

Returning to Homer on a sunny Monday morning, with mirror-smooth water ahead and not a breath of breeze in the air, we hauled the last load from our cabin back into our little skiff and made our goodbyes.

As Alaskans, we knew to be grateful for such ideal boating conditions. In one sense, I had hoped it would be raining again or the seas too rough to navigate.

That would have meant one more day in Halibut Cove -- not a bad option at all.

Find Melissa DeVaughn online at adn.com/contact/mdevaugh or call 257-4482.

IF YOU GO

• CABIN RESERVATIONS: Halibut Cove cabins and others in Kachemak Bay State Park are $65 a night during the peak summer season and can be reserved online at www.dnr.state.ak.us/parks/cabins/kenai.htm. Nomad Yurts are available for rent, also for $65, at www.nomadshelter.com.

• WATER TAXIS: Available for those without their own vessels. Contact www.homeralaska.org for suggestions.

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