Upper Copper - Upper Susitna Drainage Fishing Spots

Walk in pub­lic fish­ing access to Sil­ver Lake and Van Lake; you’ll find won­der­ful scenery and good rain­bow trout fish­ing in both lakes.

MP 46.9 Denali Hwy. North Side of Road, Lake & out­let excel­lent for large grayling.

Short hike down steep hill to South; Sum­mer Fish­ery. MP 10.4 Denali Hwy

MP 171 Richard­son Hwy. Pull-off’s present; best fish­ing at outlet.

Spring fish­ery & BLM Campground

Small pull-off, short hike down to out­let; sum­mer fish­ery. MP 10 Denali Hwy

This Alas­ka State Fish and Game stocked lake pro­vides a qui­et and pic­turesque lit­tle stop for the fish­er­man or camper. There’s a good chance you’ll have the lake to yourself.

Pull-off present and sign post­ed at MP 168 Richard­son High­way. There’s a ¹⁄₄ mile trail to reach the lake.

Clear­wa­ter creek par­al­lels the Denali High­way and offers excel­lent fishing. 

Small lake stocked with rain­bow trout acces­si­ble just off the Glenn Highway.

Road­side lake just off the Glenn High­way with a small grav­el park­ing area. Lake is stocked with rain­bow trout.

Access stun­ning views of Land­mark Gap Lake by hik­ing the Land­mark Gap Trail North.

Grav­el road from the Richard­son High­way leads to a point where you can access the Lit­tle Ton­si­na where it meets the Ton­si­na Riv­er. Arc­tic grayling, Dol­ly Var­den, sock­eye salmon, king salmon, and coho salmon depend­ing on the sea­son. Check with ADF&G for cur­rent regulations.

Access from the Glenn High­way via Tol­sona Lake Road at mile 170 just before Glen­nallen. There’s a lodge, as well as a pub­lic access point. Can fish for grayling and burbot.

This swift, glacial­ly-fed riv­er deliv­ers one of the top sports salmon fish­eries in the Cop­per Basin, with pro­duc­tive bank­side fish­ing for famed Cop­per Riv­er reds and decent oppor­tu­ni­ties to land a big king salmon. You’ll find good park­ing and direct access to pub­lic ease­ments along the riv­er in Cop­per Cen­ter. Many pro­fes­sion­al guides also oper­ate in the community.

Acces­si­ble via the Richard­son High­way. There’s a large park­ing area near the bridge. Pop­u­lar salmon fish­ing spot when in sea­son. Refer to ADF&G for cur­rent guidelines. 

Lake vis­i­ble from the Richard­son High­way at junc­tion with the Edger­ton High­way. There’s a pub­lic access with an unmain­tained boat launch. Good fish­ing for rain­bow trout.

An alter­nate, and much more dif­fi­cult, option involves start­ing on the Tan­gle Lakes along the Denali High­way, and pad­dling south, portag­ing from one lake to anoth­er to a point where the Mid­dle Fork begins.

Acces­si­ble via Lake Louise Road, then fol­low turn for Old Lake Road Trail. Rain­bow trout fishing.

Small lake to fish for grayling at mile 7 of Lake Louise Road.

Acces­si­ble via Lake Louise Road, then fol­low turn for Old Lake Road Trail. Rain­bow trout fish­ing. Across the street is Old Road Lake.

Fish for rain­bow trout at this small lake acces­si­ble via a ¹⁄₄ mile trail off of the McCarthy Road.

Fish for grayling and rain­bow trout. Sign vis­i­ble from the Glenn High­way. Fol­low road to a small grav­el park­ing area.

BLM camp­ground at mile 175 of the Richard­son Hwy. Lake fish­ing avail­able for rain­bow trout, grayling, bur­bot and whitefish. 

If you’re not head­ing right back to Anchor­age, here’s anoth­er great side trip. A scenic 19-mile dri­ve north takes you into the park. Lake Louise is known for its trout and grayling fish­ing, views of Tazli­na Glac­i­er and Lake, and berry pick­ing — har­vest wild straw­ber­ries and blue­ber­ries in July and August, or cran­ber­ries come September.