By Mona Painter
Turnagain Times
Cooper Landing Correspondent
Winter in Cooper Landing means white landscaped beauty and a decrease in Sterling Highway traffic through town. Out-of-town guests are able to locate their lodging, food, and other amenities more easily.
Sunrise Inn, Upper Kenai River B&B, Kenai Drifters Lodge, The Hutch, Alaska Sourdough B& B, and Alaska Heavenly Lodge remain open during the winter months to offer lodging, in some instances breakfast, and all of the operators and their staffs can give suggestions for winter recreation opportunities.
Sunrise Inn, Wildman, and Espresso To Go are open for beverages and food. Cooper Landing Grocery and Hardware offers a range of food and gift items. Sunrise Inn has a full menu and a bar, Wildman offers sandwiches, soup, and drinks, and Espresso To Go sells muffins and the like with many coffee options. Gas and some groceries are available at Hamilton’s Place. The Shrew’s Nest has a bit of everything from espresso to hardware.
Bird watching is big in the winter, meaning it is easy to see the larger birds, especially swans and eagles on the Kenai River and on and around Kenai Lake near the bridge close to Mile 48. Owls are sometimes seen and often heard calling during the dark hours. Trumpeter swans provide photo opportunities along the river and lower lakeshores. Eagles are often seen along the river near the outlet of Cooper Creek.
When Kenai Lake ice freezes several inches, portable shelters for trout fishermen can be seen from the bridge near Mile 48.
The local trails group is grooming several local trails for skiing and snowshoeing. Email Sandra Holsten at sandrakey8@msn.com for more information.
Cooper Landing in the winter is a time when you’ll see people hiking the mid-community pathway for a walk to the post office on Snug Harbor Road, or trekking over to the community library on Bean Creek Road. Cooper Landing Community Library remains open all winter offering Internet access to residents and visitors as well as books, videos, audios, and books on CDs. Open every day but Sunday, the hours are posted on the library door.
The Cooper Landing Gun Club continues trap shooting during the winter. The new clubhouse provides a place to warm up and have a cup of coffee. Contact Laura Johnson at (907) 595 2012 for more information.
When the snow returns and a good base is laid, residents and visitors will be out trails from the Summit Lakes area to Carter Lake, to the Lost Lake bowl, and more on snowmachines, skis, snowshoes, and snowboards. Chugach National Forests (CNF) trails will be opened when the snow base is adequate.
To check on the winter status of CNF trails in the Cooper Landing area, go to www.fs.fed.us/r10/chugach/ or call the Seward Ranger District office at (907) 224-3374.
Also available in the CNF is holiday tree cutting and personal use firewood cutting. Check with the Seward office for the rules and locations for tree cutting.
From Cooper Landing to the Carter Lake trailhead by road is about 15 miles and the trail, though steep and winding, is not more than 3 miles to the lake. Ice fishing for rainbow trout is excellent.
The Lost Lake bowl is the hot spot for adrenalin seeking snowmachiners. Parking on the Cooper Lake road is sometimes hard to find and cars and trailers are found parked along Snug Harbor Road.
If all the outdoors activities leaves you with aching muscles, don’t forget L. A. Perkerson’s Tranquil Touch massage therapy.