Diamond Creek is on the Kenai Peninsula and flows west from Diamond Ridge for about 5 miles (8 km) to Kachemak Bay, about 10 miles (16 km) southeast of Anchor Point and 6 miles (10 km) west-northwest of Homer, Alaska. The local name was first published by the U.S. Geological Survey on topographic maps in the 1950s. Diamond Ridge has an elevation of 1,202 feet (366 m) and is about 5 miles (8 km) long, located 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north of Homer.
The first salmon trap was built in Cook Inlet in about 1885. It was patterned after the pound nets used in the Great Lakes fisheries but was modified considerably to withstand strong tidal currents and waves. This type of salmon trap became known as a pile trap because whole log piles were driven into the sandy bottoms to support the trap and the webbing and wire netting were fastened to piles to form the walls. The first trap was so successful that more were built in other areas including Kachemak Bay which had 4 traps; one on the north shore between Travers Creek and Diamond Creek, and three on the south shore at McDonald Spit, Point Naskowhak, and adjacent to Flat Island on the mainland. By the 1930s, the fish traps were owned by the Fidalgo Island Packing Company, which also operated the cannery at Port Graham.
Diamond Ridge is the site of two recreational parks with trail systems. The Homer Demonstration Forest is a preserve that contains an arboretum and self-guided nature trails. There is also a trailhead for the Homestead Trail which crosses the Demonstration Forest and climbs Diamond Ridge. In winter months, an extensive network of groomed cross-country ski trails is maintained by a local ski club. The Diamond Creek Recreation Area presently has minimal development but provides non-motorized access on a primitive trail that follows lower Diamond Creek to Cook Inlet. An access road from the Sterling Highway is steep and extremely rough in places. However, the road leads to several parking areas that access hiking and mountain biking trails. The Diamond Creek Trail follows a deep ravine that terminates at a gravel beach on Kachemak Bay. Read more here and here. Explore more of Diamond Creek here:
