Cooper Landing Area Points of Interest

Shop for unique Alaskan-made art, jew­el­ry, and much more at this one-of-a-kind log-cab­in gift shop in Coop­er Land­ing. Con­ve­nient­ly locat­ed just 90 miles from Anchor­age and 50 miles from Seward, you can also try your hand at gold pan­ning right out­side the store.

Quick: what’s the longest com­bined rail and high­way tun­nel in North Amer­i­ca? It’s the Ander­son Memo­r­i­al Tun­nel, and you’ll dri­ve through it on the scenic and his­toric dri­ve to Whit­ti­er. The Kenai Moun­tains-Tur­na­gain Arm Nation­al Her­itage Area is a place whose val­leys and moun­tains, com­mu­ni­ties and peo­ple tell the larg­er sto­ry of a wild place and a rugged fron­tier. This audio guide gives you the inside scoop on its fas­ci­nat­ing his­to­ry. You’ll…  ...more

Learn how the fish are raised from small alevin to fry and beyond to smolt size before being released into sur­round­ing lakes and bays. Depend­ing on the fish cycle, there may or may not be fish to view, so please call ahead. If there are no fish to be seen, you’re wel­come to look at a small pho­to gallery and learn about the fish pro­duc­tion cycle, and under­stand why hatchery’s play such an impor­tant role in keep­ing our fish population…  ...more

Take a stroll down the board­walk as it winds along the riv­er. There are sev­er­al inter­pre­tive signs with infor­ma­tion about fish­ing, dall sheep, raft­ing and boat safe­ty. You’ll also find access to Pio­neer Vil­lage where you can pan for gold at Prospec­tor John’s Authen­tic Gold Panning.

Boat launch in Coop­er Land­ing south of the bridge at the out­let of Kenai Lake at MP 48 of the Ster­ling High­way. There’s a large park­ing area with a vault toi­let, as well as a great wildlife view­ing deck over­look­ing the water. 

This is a must stop for pho­tos of beau­ti­ful Kenai Lake. The lake was formed from glac­i­er water is a majes­tic blue and green tone. You’ll find sev­er­al park­ing areas along the lake and signs that give you a lit­tle his­to­ry about it.

Sounds Wild: Birds Smell­Tern Lake has lots to offer but few peo­ple use the old Ster­ling high­way to access the bore­al for­est near this lake. Dri­ve into the recre­ation­al area and as you turn left toward the restrooms you will see an old road to your right. You can walk for miles down this road and enjoy the smell of the woods and the sound of the birds.More Information   ...more

Kenai Lake marks the begin­ning of the Kenai Riv­er Spe­cial Man­age­ment Area. Estab­lished in 1984 to pro­tect this very impor­tant resource, the 105-mile area stretch­es almost all the way to the city of Kenai. Take a walk to the view­ing decks with infor­ma­tive signs about this area. You will be able to see the Kenai Riv­er along the high­way for the next 10 miles.

Grab your optics and let’s take in the 360-degree view here at the start of the Kenai Riv­er, Alaska’s world-renowned salmon fish­ing hot spot. See wildlife up on the hill­sides, song­birds, water­fowl, and the bril­liant ice-blue Kenai Lake and Riv­er. Breathtaking.

Mile­post 17.7, Seward High­wayKe­nai Lake offered a flat tree­less path to trav­el in win­ter. This trail was one of two over­land routes to Sun­rise and Hope. (The oth­er over­land route was through Portage Pass.) Min­ers trav­eled by dogsled from Seward to Snow Riv­er and on to Kenai Lake. At the oth­er end of the 17 mile lake, trav­el­ers would fol­low Quartz Creek north through Tur­na­gain Pass along Canyon Creek to the gold rush towns of Sun­rise and Hope.  ...more

Close to Anchor­age and endowed with abun­dant recre­ation­al oppor­tu­ni­ties, cen­tral Kenai is Alaska’s play­ground. Two high­ways, numer­ous trails, and sev­er­al major rivers slice through the spine of the Kenai Moun­tains. World-class fish­ing, hik­ing, riv­er raft­ing, and canoe­ing – plus alpine lakes and gold his­to­ry – make for an ide­al day trip or week-long vacation.