One Week of Summer in Cooper Landing, AK

We spent what was possibly our only week of summer weather hiking and paddling near the little town of Cooper Landing on the Kenai Peninsula. The shorts and sandals even made an appearance.

Being near the confluence of the Kenai and Russian Rivers, Cooper Landing is known for fishing. But a boondocking spot on Upper Trail Lake brought us to the area. Alaska is very boondocking friendly but most boondocking sites near tourist areas are just roadside pullouts. That’s fine for a night, but not what we want to do for a week. Upper Trail Lake was off the road and lakefront and big rig friendly.

We were entertained by float planes that regularly took off and landed on the lake. And by launching our kayaks right from our campsite.

We did a couple of hikes in the area. The Slaughter Ridge Trail took us to a point almost 3000 ft above Kenai River/Lake and Cooper Landing.

It was tough and we earned our beer and brisket nachos from Two Brothers Roadhouse.

We also wanted to drive the Skilak Lake Loop through Kenai National Wildlife Refuge because it is the best place on the peninsula to see bears. This little black bear is the first bear we’ve seen in Alaska! He was quickly headed toward a campground.

We stopped to hike the Skilak Lake Lookout trail but that was the first time we’ve battled with the infamous Alaska mosquitos.

Next up, we move back to the coast and spend the week of July 4th in Seward!