Copper Center Alaska
A little town surrounded by rushing rivers and distant ice-capped mountains.
Copper Center Alaska
A little town surrounded by rushing rivers and distant ice-capped mountains.
Copper Center Alaska
A little town surrounded by rushing rivers and distant ice-capped mountains.
Copper Center
Copper Center is the gateway to America's largest national park, 13-million-acre Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Preserve. It sits on the silty banks of the Copper River through which droves of Coho and sockeye salmon run every summer. The area is also the ancestral home of Alaska's indigenous Ahtna Athabascans.
Over the years, Copper Center has evolved from a single roadhouse providing supplies, food, and lodging for gold rushers heading north to the Klondike, to a busy small town central to commerce in every direction. It has the feeling of a sleepy outpost again these days, one that is rich in both history and natural beauty. It's also the home of the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park Visitor Center.
Lodging choices in Copper Center are somewhat limited, but because the enjoyable Copper River Princess Wilderness Lodge is among them, a slew of options aren't needed. The lodge sits on a bluff looking toward Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. There is an expansive patio and outdoor dining area to enjoy on sunny days. The lodge also runs free shuttles to the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park Visitor Center.
With the famous Copper River flowing through the area, popular Copper Center activities include salmon fishing and rafting. Exploring the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park is also a highlight, including a side trip to historic mining towns of McCarthy and Kennicott. Farther down the road, Valdez offers additional choices like kayaking and a day cruise Columbia Glacier.
With Copper Center's ideal location along Wrangell-St. Elias, we include it as a destination in several of our "Alaska by Rental Car" self-drive vacation packages. You can easily drive from Anchorage to Copper Center in about four hours. Others traveling independently opt to ferry their car from Whittier to Valdez, or drive south from Fairbanks via the Richardson Highway.
