Copper River Highway

Overview

Copper River is home to the Copper River Wild Salmon fishery and is home or flyover stop for over 500,000 migratory birds. Native peoples have traveled the area for thousands of years by kayaks or dugout canoes and across land on foot, snowshoes, and dogsleds. From 1911 to 1938, the Copper River and Northwestern railroad brought over $300 million worth of rich copper ore to the harbor town of Cordova. Today the lower 52 miles of abandoned railroad cross some of Alaska’s most remarkable natural scenery.