Copper River Lodge Alaska?

[phabric]

Has anybody stayed there? It it worth staying 2 nights there? What is there to do at the Lodge?

[phdiva]

We stayed there for two nights several years ago and did a day-trip to McCarthy. There weren't many other places to stay in the area that offered private bathrooms.

[CruisinMama7]

When we went to Alaska last year, the Princess Copper River Wilderness Lodge was the best place we stayed at for our entire cruise tour. It even beat out the Denali Princess and the Fairbank Princess lodges. The people there were soooo friendly and accommodating. The place made us feel like we were in "true" Alaska. Make sure that you go to a local restaurant called "Yummy's". It's located in a historic roadhouse and you call the restaurant for a free shuttle pick-up to and from the lodge. The food is fantastic and they have killer homemade pie!:) We went there twice while staying at the lodge versus eating in the the lodge's two restaurants. We wanted to give our $$$ to the locals. Also while at Yummy's, walk the short loop around the "neighborhood" and you will discover hidden treasures like the oldest log church in the area and fisherman fishing the nearby river. We even saw our first moose grazing in somebody's back yard!:eek: Great picture opportunities. In addition, the view from the Copper River Wilderness patio is breathtaking, there is nearby hiking on the premises, as well as dog sledding and throwing horseshoes. We had an absolute blast there. The time that we spent there was truly magical!:cool: Enjoy your time there because you certainly won't be disappointed!:D

 

Cruisin'Mama

[phabric]

I am undecided between 2 Princess cruisetours -

 

HB5 - 5 night - 1 night Anchorage, 2 night Mt McKinley, 2 night Denali. This tour has coach from Anchorage to Mt McKinley, train to Denali, train to Whittier.

 

or

 

JB6 - 6 night - 1 night Anchorage, 1 night Mt Mckinley, 2 night Denali, 2 night Copper River. This tour has coach to Mt McKinley, coach to Denali, coach to Copper River, coach to Whittier

 

There is a difference of $220 total for 2 persons between the 2 tours. HB5 seems to have more travel by train than the other.

 

Does anybody have an opinion of the 2 tours.

[alaskandreamer]

Cruisin Mama,

 

Thanks for the great info!

 

Is the free shuttle run by "Yummy's"???? How does it work?

Do you call them or is there a shuttle that runs to the place?

 

Also is the dog sledding right there at the lodge or is it a separate excursion?

 

Finally, can you get to the river from the lodge to just walk along the bank and enjoy the area?

 

We are going on a cruisetour in July and we will be staying at Copper River for two nights. Your info only makes it sound more fun and exciting.

We can't wait to go!

 

If you could be so kind to answer my other probably stupid questions I would appreciate it.

 

Thanks!

[Texas Tillie]

I am undecided between 2 Princess cruisetours -

 

HB5 - 5 night - 1 night Anchorage, 2 night Mt McKinley, 2 night Denali. This tour has coach from Anchorage to Mt McKinley, train to Denali, train to Whittier.

 

or

 

JB6 - 6 night - 1 night Anchorage, 1 night Mt Mckinley, 2 night Denali, 2 night Copper River. This tour has coach to Mt McKinley, coach to Denali, coach to Copper River, coach to Whittier

 

There is a difference of $220 total for 2 persons between the 2 tours. HB5 seems to have more travel by train than the other.

 

Does anybody have an opinion of the 2 tours.

 

The 6 night is head and shoulders better! I did the exact same tour in 2008 and it was wonderful. There is no reason to spend 2 nights at the McKinley Lodge. It is in the middle of nowhere - an hour to the closest town. With the Copper River tour you get to see a part of Alaska very few see on the Denali Road - a 130 mile gravel road between the Parks and Richardson Highways - it's only open during the summer. The train is fun - but the 10 hour trip from Denali to Whittier - too much for me as the train goes much slower than the coach. Also, I think on the Copper River tour you have a coach to Valdez from the Copper River Lodge and then the fast ferry across Prince William Sound to Whittier.

[phabric]

Make sure that you go to a local restaurant called "Yummy's". It's located in a historic roadhouse and you call the restaurant for a free shuttle pick-up to and from the lodge. The food is fantastic and they have killer homemade pie!:) We went there twice while staying at the lodge versus eating in the the lodge's two restaurants. We wanted to give our $$$ to the locals. Also while at Yummy's, walk the short loop around the "neighborhood" and you will discover hidden treasures like the oldest log church in the area and fisherman fishing the nearby river. We even saw our first moose grazing in somebody's back yard!:eek::D

 

I think the name of the restaurant is Nummy's at the Copper Center Lodge.

[phabric]

The 6 night is head and shoulders better! I did the exact same tour in 2008 and it was wonderful. There is no reason to spend 2 nights at the McKinley Lodge. It is in the middle of nowhere - an hour to the closest town. With the Copper River tour you get to see a part of Alaska very few see on the Denali Road - a 130 mile gravel road between the Parks and Richardson Highways - it's only open during the summer. The train is fun - but the 10 hour trip from Denali to Whittier - too much for me as the train goes much slower than the coach. Also, I think on the Copper River tour you have a coach to Valdez from the Copper River Lodge and then the fast ferry across Prince William Sound to Whittier.

 

 

Did you do anything at Copper River or just relax?

[Texas Tillie]

Did you do anything at Copper River or just relax?

 

Didn't do anything there - it was very late afternoon when we got there after the drive from Denali - and then the next day we just "hung out" around the lodge. All the lodges have excursion desks - it seemed that you didn't have to make reservations in advance - so you could wait to see about the weather, how you feel, etc. It might be that any excursions that involve flights might "fill up" before you get there.

[CruisinMama7]

Cruisin Mama,

 

Thanks for the great info!

 

Is the free shuttle run by "Yummy's"???? How does it work? Do you call them or is there a shuttle that runs to the place? Free shuttle (we tipped the driver) is run by the restaurant. Front desk at the Lodge will call the restaurant for you - just let the restaurant know in advance that you want to come. As pointed out elsewhere, I do believe the restaurant's correct name is Nummy's, but it is located off property inside a historic roadhouse. Ahhh, just the name conjures up fond memories!:)

 

Also is the dog sledding right there at the lodge or is it a separate excursion? Yes, but not the glacier dog sledding.

 

Finally, can you get to the river from the lodge to just walk along the bank and enjoy the area? Depends on how much hiking you want to do. Recommend using the restaurant shuttle to get you down to the river, then walk around the loop drive there in the not-typical "neighborhood." :cool:

 

We are going on a cruisetour in July and we will be staying at Copper River for two nights. Your info only makes it sound more fun and exciting.

We can't wait to go! We used this time as our "down time" while on our cruisetour all the way north to Barrow and the Arctic Ocean. We waited too long to book a river raft trip from the Lodge and it sold out. So, we just hung out instead. Turned out to be the best thing for us because those people came back from the raft trip exhausted, hungry, cold and soaked to the bone! We had our own discoveries and for much cheaper.:D

 

If you could be so kind to answer my other probably stupid questions I would appreciate it.

 

Thanks!

 

Take time to enjoy Alaska. Port days are filled with so many activities that you're just a blowin' and a goin' the whole time! Although you're on vacation, yet still covering immense distances of land - always on the move - all the way from Canada to Fairbanks (and in our case, Barrow) - and that's not counting how far you travel just to get to Vancouver! Don't forget to take time to smell the roses along the way.

 

Cruisin'Mama

[CruisinMama7]

I am undecided between 2 Princess cruisetours -

 

HB5 - 5 night - 1 night Anchorage, 2 night Mt McKinley, 2 night Denali. This tour has coach from Anchorage to Mt McKinley, train to Denali, train to Whittier.

 

or

 

JB6 - 6 night - 1 night Anchorage, 1 night Mt Mckinley, 2 night Denali, 2 night Copper River. This tour has coach to Mt McKinley, coach to Denali, coach to Copper River, coach to Whittier

 

There is a difference of $220 total for 2 persons between the 2 tours. HB5 seems to have more travel by train than the other.

 

Does anybody have an opinion of the 2 tours.

 

Phabric, I agree with Texas Tillie - the only cruisetour to pick IMHO is the JB6 - for several reasons - Copper River Lodge and, like she said, you'll see parts of Alaska that most people miss on the gravel road to Denali NP.:) Very cool, indeed!:cool:

 

Cruisin'Mama

[Iafarmer]

At Copper Princess Lodge, the trail to walk down to the Klutina River (not Copper River) is 1.5 roundtrip....this winds down the bluff and is uneven; but there are benches & it's a nice hike.

 

For those of you taking the Denali Hwy between Denali & Copper, you may want to check out the Alaska Bureau of Land management:

 

http://www.blm.gov/ak/st/en/prog/recreation/denali_highway.html

 

Click on the Denali points of interest; this is nice to print out and follow on your journey. Watch for wildlife...our driver stopped various times for sightings.

[Budget Queen]

I have stayed at the Copper River Princess lodge, very nice. BUT, it isn't the "lodge" that is the highlight- it's the BIG area. I recommend getting to McCarthy/Kennicott. I just did flightseeing there this week. It is a tough area to be without your own transportation, so take advantage of any shuttles available. The Copper River Roadhouse has excellent food as well.

[westlab]

We had lunch at Copper River Lodge. It was lovely, beautiful site.

[Sea Hag]

That place is simply dropdown dead gorgeous! We were lucky enough to spend two nights there on a Princess cruisetour, and we really liked it. We walked down to Copper Center and looked around there. Caught the shuttle up to Wrangel St. Elias park and hiked around there. Went through the visitor center. Watched a movie about the park. Then caught the shuttle back. We ate in the snack bar, since we're not about spending a lot of money on food while we're on vacation. Food was fine there.

[zx2dodi]

what kind of clothing did you pack? we are going this june 11th

[Budget Queen]

what kind of clothing did you pack? we are going this june 11th

 

You need the same attire, you need any other time, a WIDE range. Include a lined jacket, hat and gloves, throw in a pair of shorts along with the light tops.

[kennicott]

At Copper Center Alaska there are two main lodges. The Copper Center Roadhouse began about 1896 and was known first as the Homan Hotel then as the Blix Roadhouse, in 1932 the current Copper Center Roadhouse replaced the older structures. In recent years and at considerable expense, Princess Lodges built the Copper River Princess Wilderness Lodge, a very modern facility and just a couple miles distance from the other lodge but up on the hill. Being from the area, I love them both. But many of the posts here confuse the twain, so be careful as they are distinct . Check them out on line to be certain you get the one you wish for.

[burky12]

What I loved about the Copper River Princess when we stayed there last year as part of the same tour you are thinking about:

 

The fantastic view of the Wrangell -St. Elias Mtn. range right outside the Princess Lodge. If you have dinner in the main dining room "The Wrangell Room", it is breathtaking. Even my 16 yr. old son was impressed.

 

The pipeline was out the back door and was cool to see. We took an extra exursion which included a stop and explanation about it and we enjoyed it.

 

We did the extra excursion of the dog cart. The dogs were great and the young gentleman who manned the sled was great and it was nice to hear his stories and learn about the art of dog sledding.

 

We went on a wild and remote white water rafting trip that was just fantastic!

Again, areas where few venture and felts like this was a true Alaskan adventure.

 

The ride to and from the Lodge took us through parts of Alaska that are certainly "off the beaten path" and gave us an idea of what life is like for the hearty souls that live there. I am so glad Copper River was part of our trip!

[HKM]

For those of you who have been to both, how would you compare a visit to Copper River vs Kenai? I'm trying to decide between 2 Princess land tours.

[Budget Queen]

For those of you who have been to both, how would you compare a visit to Copper River vs Kenai? I'm trying to decide between 2 Princess land tours.

 

That lodge is just as nice. BUT, you are going to have to determine, what you want to do- if anything from the lodges??? Kenai Fjords is significant for varied wildlife, which can be a priority? Transiting the Denali Highway, may also be of interest?? Both choices are equally good- depending on you. :)

[kennicott]

Hate very much to bring you all this sad news. The Copper Center Lodge was destroyed in a fire last night.

[kennicott]

http://www.adn.com/2012/05/20/2472644/fire-destroys-historic-copper.html

[Budget Queen]

Hate very much to bring you all this sad news. The Copper Center Lodge was destroyed in a fire last night.

 

How tragic, I have stayed and eaten there, a few times. I see the museum was saved and they are able to continue with the Sourdough pancakes. I wish them well in the rebuilding.

[trooper 1]

Has anybody stayed there? It it worth staying 2 nights there? What is there to do at the Lodge?

 

Fire destroys historic Copper Center Lodge

An early morning fire Sunday destroyed the historic Copper Center Lodge, one of the last surviving Alaska roadhouses. The lodge, located off the Old Richardson Highway in Copper Center, was one of the few original roadhouses still operating, said owner Tom Huddleston. The original roadhouse on the site was built in 1896 and served gold miners. 10:33 PM

 

Read more here: http://www.adn.com/#storylink=cpy

 

From the Anchorage Daily News. Looks like no more lodge.