Cooper Landing

History

Cooper Landing was named for Joseph Cooper, a miner who discovered gold there in 1884. However, Peter Doroshin, a Russian engineer, had identified gold prospects as far back as 1848 when the territory was still part of Russian America. Cooper Creek was first recorded in 1898 by the U.S. Geological Survey. In 1900, the Census found 21 miners and 1 wife living at Cooper Creek. The Riddiford Post Office began operations in 1924, and the Riddiford School opened in 1928. In 1938, a road was constructed east to Seward. In 1948, a road west to Kenai was opened, and by 1951, residents could drive north to Anchorage. The Cooper Landing Community Club was first formed in 1949. The Cooper Lake Hydroelectric Facility was constructed in 1959-60. In 1946, Pat and Helen Gwin arrived in Cooper Landing which had about 100 residents then. The Gwins eked out a living by operating a small packaged goods store out of a tent. That same year, construction began on the highway from Cooper Landing to Homer. The Sterling Highway, the road that is the artery of the Kenai Peninsula, opened in 1950, and subsequently the Seward Highway opened in 1951. Gwin's Lodge was built from spruce logs harvested from the surrounding Chugach National Forest. Cutting, hauling and hand-peeling the logs, Pat and Helen Gwin completed and opened the lodge on January 1, 1952. Pat and Helen parted ways in 1959, but Helen stayed to run the lodge and retired in 1976. The historic Gwin's Lodge is one of the oldest log roadhouses in Alaska and is still in operation today. The Cooper Landing Post Office is the oldest building in the area that is still used and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography

Cooper Landing is located in the north-central part of the Kenai Peninsula at (60.490529, -149.794519). The center of the community is at the west end of Kenai Lake, where the lake flows into the Kenai River. The CDP extends east up Kenai Lake beyond the mouth of Quartz Creek from the north. To the south the CDP reaches Cooper Lake, and Cooper Creek, the lake's outlet, forms a portion of the CDP's southern border. The CDP reaches west down the Kenai River as far as the mouth of the Russian River, and to the north the CDP extends up the valley of Juneau Creek as far as Trout Lake. Elevations in the CDP range from approximately above sea level at the mouth of the Russian River, to at Kenai Lake, to at the summit of Cecil Rhode Mountain between Kenai Lake and Cooper Creek. Alaska Route 1, the Sterling Highway, passes through the community, leading north to Anchorage and southwest to Homer. Soldotna, the Kenai Peninsula Borough seat, is to the west on AK-1, and Seward is to the southeast via routes 1 and 9. According to the United States Census Bureau, the Cooper Landing CDP has a total area of , of which are land, and , or 5.85%, are water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Trumpeter/Tundra Swan

  Cygnus buccinator Richardson, 1831 · Aves
  1,053
• Black-billed Magpie

  Pica hudsonia (Sabine, 1823) · Aves
  988
• Arctic Tern

  Sterna paradisaea Pontoppidan, 1763 · Aves
  944
• Common Loon

  Gavia immer (Brunnich, 1764) · Aves
  888
• Short-billed Gull

  Larus brachyrhynchus Richardson, 1831 · Aves
  811
• Bald Eagle

  Haliaeetus leucocephalus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  774
• Dark-eyed Junco

  Junco hyemalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  706
• Common Merganser

  Mergus merganser Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  681

Largest nearby schools

• Cooper Landing School
  Other · Cooper Landing · 20 students · 20:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.9 — 2026-09-27
  24 km WSW of Point MacKenzie, Alaska
• M 2.6 — 2026-09-18
  19 km N of Cooper Landing, Alaska
• M 2.7 — 2026-09-17
  11 km SE of Anchorage, Alaska
• M 2.5 — 2026-09-16
  18 km SE of Fox River, Alaska
• M 2.5 — 2026-09-14
  18 km N of Moose Pass, Alaska
• M 2.7 — 2026-09-12
  21 km SSW of Sunrise, Alaska