Best Things to Do in Copper Center

The Cop­per Riv­er Val­ley offers some of the best king salmon fish­ing in all of Alas­ka. In fact, each salmon up here aver­ages a whop­ping 40 pounds! Don’t miss your chance to fish these waters for salmon and oth­er species on a float trip with AK Fish Charters.

Expe­ri­ence a full- or half-day sport-fish­ing trip the way it was meant to be: with a relax­ing vis­it to an uncrowd­ed fish­ing hole. Depend­ing on the sea­son, you can try for kings, sock­eye, trout, or Arc­tic grayling, as you angle with fish­ing guides who know the ins and outs of these cold, glacial drainages.

Explor­ing the rivers of Cop­per Cen­ter, around 4 hours from Anchor­age and right on the edge of gor­geous Wrangell-St. Elias Nation­al Park, brings oppor­tu­ni­ties for every­thing from mild floats to Class III and IV rapids. Since the Cop­per Riv­er Basin is a lit­tle more remote than oth­er areas, you’ll be able to tru­ly appre­ci­ate the wilder­ness as you enjoy a relax­ing day on the water.

This inti­mate, 85-room lodge with amaz­ing views is the per­fect place to stay on the way to Amer­i­ca’s largest nation­al park, Wrangell-St. Elias. Look out your win­dow to the junc­tion of the Kluti­na and Cop­per Rivers, 200 acres of wilder­ness, and the park’s awe-inspir­ing mountains.

Get a taste of ear­ly 19^th-cen­tu­ry Alas­ka in Cop­per Cen­ter. This small com­mu­ni­ty locat­ed at the con­flu­ence of the Kluti­na and Cop­per Rivers, was estab­lished in 1898 as a camp for prospect­ing gold min­ers. After the Richard­son High­way route opened in 1900, road­hous­es sprung up every 15 to 20 miles, pro­vid­ing ser­vices for trav­el­ers between Valdez and Fair­banks. You could get meals, lodg­ing, mail ser­vice, med­ical help, hay for your horse, gasoline…  ...more

Just off the lob­by of the Cop­per Riv­er Princess Wilder­ness Lodge, the Whis­tle Stop serves up tasty pub fare and Alas­ka seafood; it also has a full bar, fea­tur­ing Alas­ka brewed beers on tap and 45 wines. Stop in for a rein­deer burg­er or fish and chips, or enjoy sun­set with a pint of Alaskan amber on the bustling deck over­look­ing the Wrangell St. Elias Range. The Whis­tle Stop is the only lunch option in the lodge and offers the same menu for…  ...more

Over­look­ing the peaks of Wrangell St Elias Nation­al Park, this restau­rant serves Alas­ka seafood din­ners and hearty break­fasts in a relaxed atmos­phere. It’s the nicest restau­rant with­in 100 miles, with a ded­i­ca­tion to fresh Alas­ka foods — includ­ing sea­son­al pro­duce and meat from local farms. Yet the din­ing room main­tains a casu­al ambi­ence, mak­ing it a great place to start or fin­ish your day. Fuel up for a day of sport fish­ing or hik­ing with the…  ...more

The muse­ums are housed in his­tor­i­cal cab­ins at the Cop­per Cen­ter Lodge. They con­tain ear­ly Russ­ian reli­gious arti­cles, Athabas­can bas­kets, tele­graph equip­ment, min­er­al dis­plays, cop­per and gold min­ing mem­o­ra­bil­ia and trap­ping arti­cles from the ear­ly-day Cop­per Val­ley. A short walk takes you to the Stam­ped­ers Cemetery.

Fol­low in the foot­steps of the orig­i­nal prospec­tors and native Alaskan inhab­i­tants by going for a hike or moun­tain bike ride along the Kluti­na Riv­er. This trail cov­ers the 23 miles between Cop­per Cen­ter and Kluti­na Lake, which was part of the orig­i­nal prospect­ing trail from Valdez to the Cop­per Riv­er. The riv­er is fed by the mas­sive glac­i­ers of the Chugach Moun­tains to the south, and the beau­ti­ful turquoise col­or of the water indi­cates the…  ...more

Housed in rus­tic log cab­ins, the muse­um offers the vis­i­tor a unique look at the var­ied past of the Cop­per Riv­er Val­ley area. Exhibits include ear­ly min­ing of gold and cop­per, and Russ­ian artifacts.

A pleas­ant trail sys­tem mean­ders through the for­est around the cam­pus of the Wrangel-St. Elias Vis­i­tor Cen­ter near Cop­per Cen­ter, offer­ing an intro­duc­tion to the local ecosys­tem as well as extra­or­di­nary views of three vol­ca­noes and the Cop­per Riv­er Valley.

His­toric Cop­per Cen­ter is one of the old­est non-native com­mu­ni­ties in Alaska’s Inte­ri­or. Found­ed as a gov­ern­ment agri­cul­tur­al exper­i­men­tal sta­tion, it lat­er served as a trans­porta­tion cen­ter for gold rush prospec­tors. Also find the inter­pre­tive sign where you’ll learn about the local fish species that make their home in dif­fer­ent habi­tat nich­es of Cop­per Riv­er water­shed creeks and rivers.

This 17b Ease­ment pro­vides access to pub­lic lands around Kluti­na Lake across pri­vate­ly owned Native land. A 60-foot wide ease­ment pro­ceeds approx­i­mate­ly 23 miles along the Kluti­na Riv­er and bluffs and ter­mi­nates at a one-acre site ease­ment where vis­i­tors can camp and park for up to 24 hours. It is rec­om­mend­ed for high clear­ance or 4‑wheel dri­ve vehi­cles only. This ease­ment extends about 7 miles through pri­vate lands, so camp­ing or parking…  ...more

Fol­low in the foot­steps of the orig­i­nal prospec­tors and native Alaskan inhab­i­tants by going for a hike or moun­tain bike ride along the Kluti­na Riv­er. This trail cov­ers the 23 miles between Cop­per Cen­ter and Kluti­na Lake, which was part of the orig­i­nal prospect­ing trail from Valdez to the Cop­per Riv­er. The riv­er is fed by the mas­sive glac­i­ers of the Chugach Moun­tains to the south, and the beau­ti­ful turquoise col­or of the water indi­cates the…  ...more

The muse­ums are housed in his­tor­i­cal cab­ins at the Cop­per Cen­ter Lodge. They con­tain ear­ly Russ­ian reli­gious arti­cles, Athabas­can bas­kets, tele­graph equip­ment, min­er­al dis­plays, cop­per and gold min­ing mem­o­ra­bil­ia and trap­ping arti­cles from the ear­ly-day Cop­per Val­ley. A short walk takes you to the Stam­ped­ers Cemetery.

A pleas­ant trail sys­tem mean­ders through the for­est around the cam­pus of the Wrangel-St. Elias Vis­i­tor Cen­ter near Cop­per Cen­ter, offer­ing an intro­duc­tion to the local ecosys­tem as well as extra­or­di­nary views of three vol­ca­noes and the Cop­per Riv­er Valley.