Easily missed from the main road, a standard blue highway attractions sign points down a gravel lane – appropriately named Church Road. At the end of that short road lies a lovely little onion-domed Russian Orthodox church – a church that has been looking over its herd since 1901 and protected by the National Register of Historic Places since 1978.
The Holy Transfiguration of Our Lord Chapel sits on a bluff overlooking the tiny town of Ninilchik. With a population of 800 or so, the town isn’t much but the views from the bluff are spectacular. Across the water you have an uninterrupted view of Denali – that is unless a bald eagle flies by, as one did during my brief stop.
I highly recommend a slight detour off Sterling Highway for the view, the quirky architecture and a somber walk through the chapel’s cemetery.
