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Visit The Copper Valley in Alaska

Greater Copper Valley Chamber Of Commerce

  • Historic  Copper Valley Log Cabin
    This is the most authentic part of
    the Alaska road system.

    Photo: Jeremy Matlock, BLM

  • Trumpeter Swans
    The Copper Valley has the highest concentration
    of these swans in the world.

    Photo: Jeremy Matlock, BLM
  • Kennecott Mines in the Lower Copper Valley
    Historic mill at the end of the McCarthy Road. 

    Photo: NPS
  • Local Wildlife
    Camp Squirrel

    Photo: Jeremy Matlock, BLM
  • Lingonberries & Cranberries
    Low shrubs provide bountiful harvest.

    Photo: Bureau of Land Management
  • Modern-Day Copper River Cabin
    Kenny Lake, Alaska

    Photo: Neil Hannan
  • Tangle Lake
    One of the Copper Valley's many
    large lakes.
  • Wild Lupine
    Symbol of early summer.

    Photo: Marnie Graham, BLM
  • Caribou Crossing A Creek
    The famed Nelchina caribou herd roams
    the Copper River Valley.

    Photo: Bureau of Land Management
  • Wilderness Hiking
    Always check with BLM before heading
    out into the wilderness.

    Photo: Bureau of Land Management
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Welcome To Alaska's Copper River Valley 

 

About The Copper River Valley 


During the summer, the Copper Valley is on the move. 

For centuries, our rivers have teemed with migrating salmon. Millions of birds come to this enormous valley every summer to nest and raise their young before flying back south. A huge caribou herd regularly crosses the landscape, browsing for food.  

Human beings have also crossed this region for millennia, headed to hunting grounds, to smoke fish with their families, and, later, to work on highways or railroads... 

This is a part of Alaska where "travel" is more than a word. Many of the state of Alaska's few major (and minor) highways cross through the Copper River Valley. 

Yet, as you drive through this wilderness, you'll see signs of Alaska's grandeur everywhere you look. One of the remarkable aspects of the Copper Valley is that it has it all. It has everything people come to Alaska to see. 

The Copper Valley is a wild and rugged place. It's flanked by gigantic mountain chains that are covered with ancient glaciers.  It's crossed by raging rivers and streams. It's home to high, alpine Alaskan tundra, dotted with miniature flowers and plants. It has thousands of acres of gnarled, black spruce taiga. There are massive glacial lakes, historic Native American villages, old Alaskan homesteads, collapsing log cabins, abandoned copper mines... 

We've got it. And you can see all these amazing things when you come here. 

Going To Extremes 

The Copper Valley in East Alaska is also known as the Copper River Basin. The valley is huge. It covers approximately 20,649 square miles and is bounded by the Chugach National Forest to the south, the Alaska Range to the north, Wrangell Mountains of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve to the east, and the Talkeetna and Chugach Mountains to the west. 


This vast region has nine of the 16 highest mountain peaks in North America. The Copper River, one of North America's major rivers, has its headwaters in Copper Lake, at the base of the Wrangell Mountains and bisects the region, flowing 250 miles to the Gulf of Alaska near Cordova.

 Lodging, Dining, & Adventures

Learn About The Copper Valley

 
 
 
 

Where's The Copper River Valley?

When you see the Wrangell Mountains you'll know you're in the great Copper River Valley.

The Copper River curls around the Wrangell Mountains like the smoke from a cabin. It heads south from the headwaters traveling at 7 miles an hour - 286 miles to the Copper River Delta and the Gulf of Alaska in the North Pacific Ocean.


The Richardson Highway heads north-south through the Copper Valley, from the southern Port of Valdez to Fairbanks in the north.


The Glenn Highway comes from Anchorage and runs into the Richardson at the Glennallen "Hub" junction, then continues on to Tok and the Canadian Border.


Other roads in the Copper Valley include the Denali Highway, the Edgerton Highway, the Nabesna Road, the Lake Louise Road and the McCarthy Road.

Kathy Stratton runs the Chamber Office. Leave a message on the phone and she will get back to you, or better yet, send her an email at: chamber@cvinternet.net. In the winter season we have dinner meetings every month where you can meet other Chamber members.