Kenai, Alaska, USA

Kenai sits on the western Kenai Peninsula where the Kenai River meets Cook Inlet, about 65 miles southwest of Anchorage by air. The river, tidal flats and views of the distant Aleutian Range give the city a strong connection to fishing and the coastal landscape. Kenai occupies part of the traditional homeland of the Dena’ina people, and a Russian trading post and Orthodox mission later made it one of Alaska’s oldest continuously settled communities. The city had about 7,900 residents in 2025. Salmon fishing, oil and gas, tourism, retail and regional services remain central to its character and economy.