Destination: Clam Gulch

Secluded Beach Camping on the Kenai Peninsula

     This past weekend Campgirl and I drove down the west coast of the Kenai Peninsula to spend two nights at Clam Gulch. As the name implies there are clams in Clam Gulch (razor clams to be exact). Almost the entire western coast of the Kenai Peninsula has clams and it is a pretty popular activity in the summer. Unlike a lot of things in Alaska, clamming doesn’t require a lot of gear. A $30 shovel or a fancier $60 clam gun plus a $5 plastic bucket and you can get yourself some clams. I was excited to give it a try.

      Clam Gulch is a beautiful camping spot. A mile back from Sterling Highway at mile marker 117 is a wide beach staring across the Cook Inlet at the Aleutian Range. This range is home to Redoubt, the active volcano that was blowing smoke when I decided to move to Alaska. Because it’s a gulch, there is a large bluff that helps block weather, so unless you catch a really bad day, the weather stays moderate. There are pay sites and RV spots up top, but it is free to camp on the beach.

Sunset at Clam Gulch.

      An all wheel drive Subaru is all the more car you need as well. Well, unless you don’t put your Ford Ranger in 4 wheel drive, then you can get stuck as I learned. The only downside is that a really high tide can cut you off from the road for a couple hours, which just means a few extra hours around the fire.

This is not a car commercial.

     We got a late start due to some car troubles (a reoccurring theme this trip) so didn’t get in until 10 p.m. Campgirl got to work setting up the tent while I gathered wood and started a fire. Within half an hour a beer was cracked and I set about making dinner. I was excited to use my new recommissioned fire grate. The first night was tin foil halibut with onions, peppers and potatoes. I put it on the grate and an hour later we had delicious steaming halibut. Campgirl and I threw a few more logs on the fires and stayed up late into the night staring at the fire and listening to the waves.

Preparing dinner. Photo courtesy of Campgirl.

     Clam Gulch is an hour north of Homer. I have a new client (Spit Life - pick up a sweet locally designed and printed hoodie when you go down) who I wanted to finally meet face to face so Campgirl and I headed down Saturday morning. She had an order from a friend in Anchorage to pick up the newly designed Salty Dog Saloon hoodie, probably the most popular hoodie in all of Alaska, and picked up an old design on pink camouflage for herself (the girl’s alright sometimes). I meanwhile walked away the proud owner of a brand new Spit Life t-shirt.

Steak with peppers, onions and potatoes.

     We came back early in the afternoon, but digging my truck out of the sand took the wind out of my clamming sails, so I focused on drinking a beer and starting dinner. Saturday night was super posh night and we had tin foil steak with peppers, onions, carrots and potatoes with a couple spoonfuls of cream of mushroom soup to make its own gravy in the packet. (We made a third so we could have steak and eggs in the morning - excellent idea.) We were eating as the party crew of about eight arrived and before long the grate was cooking the sausages and chicken kabobs they brought. After dinner, we cut up some large drift logs and made a bonfire. The rest was a blur of good times drinking beer and having laughs on a beautiful Alaskan night. Clam Gulch – a posh camping must do.

Relaxing on the beach. Photo courtesy of Campgirl.