Copper Center

Traveling the Richardson Highway from Fairbanks to Valdez, Alaska.

July 18-20, 2013

One of the best things we did to increase our enjoyment of our driving tour of Alaska was to purchase the 2013 Milepost. We knew in advance where photo opportunities (and bathrooms!) were, could find gas stations (which are few and far between on the Richardson Highway), and could plan for stops at other points of interest. Well worth the money spent! That said, reading the Milepost while traveling from Fairbanks to Valdez was a bit challenging. Since the mile marker 1 is in Valdez, we had to read back to front. 

Our first major stop after leaving Fairbanks was at Rika's Roadhouse near Delta Junction. Rika's was one of several roadhouses built for the convenience of travelers along the Eagle-Valdez trail. Now in the National Register of Historic Places, Rika's Roadhouse, property and outbuildings have been restored and are under the control of Big Delta State Historical Park. The roadhouse was largely self-sufficient, growing crops and raising livestock in harsh conditions. 

Rika's : "a commodious roadhouse boasting of such luxuries as fresh milk and domestic fowls."

We broke up the drive with a two-night stay at the Copper River Princess Wilderness Lodge, located high on the mountainside across the highway from Copper Center. The views of the Wrangell and St. Elias ranges are stunning there. The Copper River Princess is a nice lodge, but is quite isolated. I wouldn't want to be trapped on a cruisetour there without transportation. Since we were in a rental car, the isolation was actually a bonus for us.The restaurant there is good. I had the best grilled Copper River salmon there, breakfasts were delicious, and we also enjoyed the more casual Whistlestop Cafe on our first evening.

We used our free day to visit the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park visitor's center. At 13.2 million acres, Wrangell-St. Elias is the nation's largest national park. The visitor's center has exhibits, films, ranger led talks and easy trails. There is also the Ahtna Cultural Center which has a number of exhibits detailing the way of life of the Ahtna people who populate the Copper River valley region. I wish we would have had dollars in the budget for flight-seeing, because the park is just too vast to appreciate from the ground, and very few roads go into the park. 

We also visited Copper Center, but frankly, it didn't take long to see the sights there. There is a mexican restaurant there that is supposed to be pretty good. Our server at Princess works there on weekends and she said that they have live entertainment on weekends. The fishing scene was lively, and we spent some time at the Klutina river watching the jet boats and salmon fishing.

Click here for more photos of the Richardson Highway, Copper Center and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.

Originally, we had planned to spend the two nights at the Kennicott Lodge in the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. We changed those plans due to the sky-high cost of renting a vehicle with sufficient clearance to be "approved" by the rental company for travel over the McCarthy Road. I'm disappointed that we didn't get to visit Kennicott and McCarthy. We did make a trip down the Edgerton Highway to Chitna and the beginning of the McCarthy Road in hopes of seeing a working fishwheel. We struck out on the fishwheel, but the Edgerton Highway drive was worthwhile if for no other reason that to stop at the turnout at J 21.5 for a stunning panoramic view of the Copper River valley. And the yak farm! 

Copper River Valley

South from Copper Center, the drive on the Richardson becomes more and more spectacular. First there is the Worthington Glacier in Thompson Pass of the Chugach Mountains, which is one of the most accessible glaciers in Alaska.

Worthington Glacier State Recreation Area

Then there is the spectacular scenery of Thompson Pass, the Blackberry Lake State Recreation area, and Bridal Veil Falls. We probably took 100 photos in about 24 miles on this stretch of road.

Click here to see more photos of Chitna and the Edgerton Highway, Thompson Pass and Bridal Veil Falls.

Next, we spend two glorious days in Valdez, Alaska. We wanted to move there, before we found out that last winter they had over 500 inches of snow. That's almost 42 FEET, and that was in town! Uh, NO.