The Port of Homer lies on Kenai Peninsula on the northern shores of Kachemak Bay in southern Alaska. Located 135 nautical miles north-northeast of the Port of Kodiak and 265 nautical miles west-southwest of the Port of Cordova, the Port of Homer is located on the Sterling Highway that links the town of Seward with the Cook Inlet area. In 2005, over 5300 people lived in the Port of Homer.

The Port of Homer has a sense of humor. Residents are proud to call it "the end of the road" and the "cosmic hamlet by the sea." They also don bumper stickers advertising: "Homer - A quaint little drinking village with a fishing problem." The Port of Homer is a trade center for a large surrounding farming area. It is also home to a busy artists' community that creates sculptures, pottery, paintings, and many crafts that support the local economy. The Port of Homer is also the gateway to the Kachemak Bay State Park and State Wilderness Park and is located near the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.

Archaeological evidence suggests that the Alutiq people camped in the area of the Port of Homer, though they lived on the other side of Kachemak Bay.

In the 1890s, a large reserve of coal was discovered in the Port of Homer area. The Cook Inlet Coal Fields Company then constructed a town, a dock, a coal mine, and a railroad.

The Port of Homer was named after Homer Pennock, a gold mining promoter who came there in 1896, building a place for his 50-man crew to live at the Homer Spit. Unfortunately, mining for gold was not a profitable business in the Port of Homer.

The Port of Homer is a busy fishing port, known as the "halibut fishing capital of the world." Together with the commercial fishing industry, the Port of Homer economy depends on logging, sport fishing, and tourism. In 2006, the Port of Homer was co-host to the Arctic Winter Games.

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