Located on Chiniak Bay at the northeastern tip of Kodiak Island, the town of Kodiak is home to more than 770 commercial fishing vessels that ply the waters of the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea in search of king crab, salmon, halibut, cod, shrimp, and many other varieties of seafood. Although the Alutiit people have called the island their home for nearly 8,000 years, it wasn’t until the arrival of Alexander Baranov in 1792 that a permanent settlement was established next to the sheltered natural harbor he christened St. Paul. In creating a fur trading outpost on the site, he also founded what was to become the first capital of Russian America. By 1804, just twelve years after the Russian’s arrival, the sea otters had been hunted to near extinction, so Baranov moved the company’s operations far to the west where he founded a new settlement known today as Sitka. With the demise of the fur trade and the 1867 purchase of Alaska by the United States, the local economy shifted to commercial salmon fishing, which has remained a mainstay of the local economy ever since. Two hundred years after the departure of Baranov and his workers, Kodiak still maintains ties to its Russian heritage, most notably in the Holy Resurrection Russian Orthodox Church, with its blue onion-dome spire and Russian cross; in the Baranov Museum nearby, which was built by Baranov’s men as an otter pelt warehouse; and in numerous street, place, and business names throughout the town.

Kodiak today offers visitors far more than just fresh Alaskan seafood, liquid sunshine, and spectacular views. An estimated 3,000 Kodiak brown bears live on the island along with large numbers of deer, foxes, mountain goats, bald eagles, and shore birds and the waters near shore are home to orcas, humpback whales, sea otters, and Stellar seal lions. Visitors need only walk the shores, hike the trails, drive the roads, or paddle the rivers and bays to immerse themselves in the natural wonders that make Kodiak such an extraordinary destination in Alaska.