McNeil Canyon is located on the Kenai Peninsula, along the northern shore of Kachemak Bay, and trends south for about 2 miles (3.2 km) along the lower course of McNeil Creek, approximately 57 miles (92 km) south of Kenai and 12 miles (19 km) northeast of Homer, Alaska. William Healey Dall of the US Geological Survey first reported the creek’s local name in 1895. McNeil Creek flows south for 3.5 miles (6 km) from wetlands at an elevation of 1,480 feet (451 m), draining a watershed of approximately 15,500 acres (6,273 ha). The geology of the Kenai Peninsula north of Kachemak Bay consists mainly of unconsolidated deposits—fluvial floodplain, glacial, alluvial fan, landslide, and swamp—dating from the Quaternary period. The creek has incised these sediments, exposing rocks of the Sterling Formation, which date from the Miocene to the Pliocene. These rocks consist of weakly lithified, interbedded sandstone, siltstone, mudstone, carbonaceous shale, lignite coal, and minor amounts of volcanic ash. The Sterling Formation is up to 10,000 feet (3,050 m) thick. At the mouth of the creek and canyon, sea cliffs expose rocks of the Beluga Formation, dating from the Miocene. These rocks resemble those of the Sterling Formation, but the Beluga Formation is only about 5,000 feet (1,525 m) thick. Sea cliffs are often found along shores where wave erosion rather than deposition is the dominant coastal process. During severe storms at high tide, waves erode the base of the cliff, gradually undermining it until its structural integrity is compromised and the cliff collapses. The weakly lithified rocks of the Sterling and Beluga Formations frequently collapse onto the beaches of Kachemak Bay, breaking apart into the sand and silt sediments that form the extensive mudflats exposed at low tide.
Archaeological middens excavated along the north shore of Kachemak Bay represent people from the Kachemak culture that inhabited the area from about 3,000 years ago to 1,400 years ago. Coastal settlements yielded evidence of people who hunted caribou, moose, bears, seals—and possibly whales—while fishing and gathering birds and mollusks. Finds include stone lamps, carved stone figures, copper tools and later pottery. Highly stylized rock paintings depicting men and animals further enrich the record. Although little is known of early dwellings, later structures built from stone and whale vertebrae evolved into semi‑subterranean log houses. For about 1,000 years the Denaʼina have occupied the north coast of the bay. This Athabaskan people, migrating from the interior, uniquely claim coastal territory along Kachemak Bay and the North Pacific. Adopting many techniques from the maritime Alutiiq, they excelled in salmon fishing and shellfish gathering. Russian fur traders first encountered the area in the 18th century, when explorers in Cook Inlet found that Kachemak Bay lay within Dena’ina lands. In 1786, English trader Captain Nathaniel Portlock discovered coal near modern Port Graham on the bay’s southern shore. By 1798, Alexander Baranov of the Shelikov-Golikov Company experimented with coal from Coal Cove for iron smelting. In 1855 the Russian-American Company opened Alaska’s first coal mine at Coal Cove; the 1867 Alaska Purchase then transferred the territory to the United States. In 1891 Lieutenant R.P. Schwerin of the U.S. Navy transported 200 tons of coal from four bay locations to San Francisco for New York investors, but a sample from McNeil Canyon dissuaded further development. Prospecting in Eastland and McNeil Canyons by the North Pacific Mining and Transportation Company and Alaska Coal Company continued until 1897. In 1940 Yule Kilcher purchased 150 acres near the mouth of McNeil Canyon, later acquiring an additional 160 acres. Kilcher, a delegate at Alaska’s pre‑statehood constitutional convention, served in the state senate from 1963 to 1967. His successful land acquisition underscores the region’s enduring economic promise even as earlier coal ventures proved unviable.
Approximately 50% of the McNeil Creek watershed is privately held, comprising both residential and undeveloped land. The remaining 50% is publicly owned. Cook Inlet Region Incorporated, an Alaska Native corporation, controls a large headwater parcel that covers roughly 34% of the watershed. Kenai Peninsula Borough holds about 12%—including the McNeil Canyon Elementary School property, a solid waste transfer site, and undeveloped tracts in the lower reaches—while the Alaska Division of Parks and Recreation owns the balance, approximately 4%, which incorporates the Eveline Trail system. Recreational access is provided by three trail systems that begin above the canyon in the upper watershed. McNeil Ski Trails, located on borough land adjacent to private property, offer seasonal skiing opportunities. Wolf Ridge Ski Trail, maintained under a permit with Cook Inlet Region Incorporated, caters to a different audience, while the Eveline State Recreation trails occupy 80 acres (32 ha) and form a developing network of scenic routes on gentle terrain. In winter the Eveline system connects with the trails used by McNeil Canyon School, providing a seamless outdoor experience. Environmental monitoring of McNeil Creek began in 1997 when Cook Inletkeeper joined forces with the University of Alaska Anchorage’s Environmental and Natural Resource Institute as part of a regional water quality assessment. A control site was selected in the undeveloped upper reaches of the watershed, and volunteers from the Citizen Environmental Monitoring Program began sampling the lower reaches in 2000. They continued until late 2009, conducting a total of 81 site visits and contributing valuable data on the creek’s condition to support ongoing conservation efforts in the region. This monitoring has helped local officials address emerging concerns about water quality amid growing recreational and residential development, with the collected data offering insights into seasonal variations and long-term trends that inform conservation strategies and land-use planning throughout the watershed. Read more here and here. Explore more of McNeil Canyon and Kachemak Bay here: