Day Harbor is a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

on the

Kenai Peninsula The Kenai Peninsula ( Dena'ina: ''Yaghenen'') is a large peninsula jutting from the coast of Southcentral Alaska. The name Kenai (, ) is derived from the word "Kenaitze" or "Kenaitze Indian Tribe", the name of the Native Athabascan Alaskan tribe ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It received its name in 1787 from Captain Portlock, because travel to the head of the bay from Seward typically takes 12 hours. The bay is 25 miles from Seward, and is accessible only by boat. It is a gently curving J-shaped bay separated on the west from nearby

Resurrection Bay Resurrection Bay, also known as Blying Sound, and Harding Gateway in its outer reaches, is a fjord on the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska, United States. Its main settlement is Seward, Alaska, Seward, located at the head of the bay. The bay received ...

by the Resurrection Peninsula. Recreational boaters often anchor at one of the two State Marine Parks due to the often choppy seas and unstable weather of outer Day Harbor. Lesser used anchorages on the eastern shore include Anchor Cove and Bowen Anchorage. Popular activities in the bay include hiking to Ellsworth Lake at the head of the bay where the retreating Ellsworth Glacier calves. The majority of the land surrounding Day Harbor is private, with over 400 different properties.

Parks

The bay is home to two

Alaska State Parks Alaska’s state park system is managed by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation. The system contains over 120 units spanning 3,427,895 acres, making it far larger than any other state park system i ...

. Driftwood Bay State Marine Park is of undeveloped wilderness. The primary activity in the park is boating for either fishing or sightseeing purposes, it is mostly a day-use park due to the lack of any facilities on shore. Safety Cove State Marine Park is , including waters in the bay. It is also undeveloped but offers a good spot for beach camping, a small freshwater lake, and access to the high country of the Resurrection Peninsula.Safety Cove SMP

Alaska Department of Natural Resources The Alaska Department of Natural Resources is a department within the government of Alaska in the United States. The department has the mission of responsibly developing Alaska's resources by making them available for maximum use and benefit c ...

References

External links

Map of Driftwood BayMap Of Safety Cove
Bays of Alaska Bodies of water of Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska {{KenaiPeninsulaAK-geo-stub