Location: In Kachemak Bay State Park on the Kenai Peninsula, 12 miles southeast of Homer on the south shore of Kachemak Bay.
Description: A small community occupied primarily by self-employed artists; paintings, prints, pottery and batiks are produced and sold locally. Other residents work in seasonal construction jobs. The summer population grows to around 160; many homes in this area are used only seasonally. About a half-dozen residents hold commercial fishing permits.
Approximately half of all the residences have individual septic systems and are fully plumbed. There is no road access to Halibut Cove. Boats and float planes are the primary means of transportation. Kachemak Bay Ferry Service provides transportation from Homer. The community levies a 2 percent sales tax.
History: The cove was named by W.H. Dall of the U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey in 1880. Between 1911 and 1928, Halibut Cove had 42 herring slateries and a population of over 1,000, according to one resident. From 1928 to 1975, the population stayed around 40, mostly fishermen.