Each summer I try to visit someplace in Alaska where I haven’t been before. The state is so large and there are so many remote nooks and crannies, it’s not difficult to find a new spot to go adventuring! The summer of 2022 took me to Cordova for the first time. My friend Liz and I set out from Anchorage on a Thursday afternoon, arriving just under an hour later for a long weekend girls’ trip. Below is a quick overview of our itinerary via a list of notable spots!
Chinook Auto Rentals
First things first- transportation! We didn’t necessarily plan to rent a car per se, but as soon as we saw the sign for Chinook Auto Rentals outside the big red caboose, we looked at one another and went, “Yep, doing it!” Now this is not your typical car rental. No Avis award points to be earned, and think very go-with-the flow, small-town vibe. We walked in, waited in line, were given a car description to look for out front, and off we went in our beat up ole beaut of a Durango!
Baja Taco
Baja Taco was delicious! We loved their food, and the view from inside the dining area was gorgeous. Once we got our food from the original Baja Taco bus, we snagged a table and enjoyed dinner with views of the harbor.
Power Creek Trail & Cabin
Power Creek Trail starts near the Cordova Electric Hydropower Dam and eventually leads to a Chugach National Forest public use cabin. The cabin was our destination for the night, but unfortunately a fat black bear on our path had other plans. Luckily we saw him from a higher elevation as we descended down near the creek. After watching a bit from a safe distance, we decided an extra night at our AirBnB sounded much better than a run-in with a cranky spring bear! Oh well, maybe next time. Even though our hike didn’t work out, the drive out to the trailhead past Eyak Lake was really beautiful.
Mt. Eyak
Since our walk got cut short, we dropped off our things at the AirBNB before making our way to the Mt. Eyak ski hill. Since we had been planning on a hike, this ended up being a great substitute! The area was beautiful, with certain parts looking like a mini bonsai forest. We accidentally timed it perfectly to watch an entire fleet of fishing boats coming back into harbor, and liked it so much we came back again the next afternoon, working our way more around the side of the mountain.
Kayak Cafe
Day two started with breakfast at the Kayak Cafe. We walked from our AirBNB down the street and enjoyed the tiny, cozy space and all of the art that they had on display.
Sheridan Glacier Lake Trail
This was easily one of my favorite parts of our trip. The hike is not very long or steep, and the views are amazing! To get to the trailhead, we had to drive out of town back towards the airport. Once there, it was only a quick 3/4 of a mile to the lake. That being said, the views were beautiful basically the whole way, with gorgeous clusters of lupine lining the trail. After our hike we continued out the road in the opposite direction of town, just to see what was at the “end of the road.” You can’t quite make it to the Million Dollar Bridge, but we drove out as far as we could to about mile 36.
Reluctant Fisherman Inn
Our dinner at the Reluctant Fisherman Inn was locally sourced and delicious! We split a fancy three-course meal and had cocktails while enjoying the view out over the harbor.
Hollis Henrich’s Park & the Odiak Lagoon Trail
The park and lagoon trail were our last stop of day two. After dinner we decided to go walk around town and ended up at the lagoon. It was a little buggy, but we loved the boardwalk out over the water and tiny little pagoda in the middle of the lake.
The Net Loft
Saturday started off with a jaunt through town to The Net Loft. Now to call The Net Loft an art supply store seems like a serious understatement. While the shop does have an amazing amount of art supplies, it is also very clearly a community hub of creativity. They were gearing up for multiple workshops while we were there, and there was evidence of community building throughout everywhere you looked in the store. We learned about the Cordova Gansey Project, which celebrates the interwoven history of knitters and fisherfolk, along with the Birds by Hand Project, which celebrates local migratory birds. The Net Loft may just be my favorite art supply store ever, and as an art teacher and lifelong creative that’s saying something!
Metal in the Mountains Studio
Our next stop was the Metal in the Mountains Studio, which features beautiful wares from a local artist. The space is filled with treasures and also doubles as her workshop, so you might just catch her in action!
Cordova Historical Museum
The Cordova Museum does a beautiful job of combining the history and cultural presences of Cordova with more contemporary exhibits. The museum included information about indigenous groups, industrial history, and local phenomena such as the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. It also housed the Birds by Hand project in conjunction with the Net Loft.
Kayaking at Orca Adventure Lodge
After checking out the museums, we drove out to the Orca Adventure Lodge. We had hoped to grab some food at the Whale’s Tail Cafe while we were out there, but unfortunately they were closed. We downed some of our snacks (that we had leftover from our failed backpacking trip) and rented a few kayaks! It was an absolutely beautiful, sunny afternoon and we had a great time skirting the shore for a few hours.
Witch Kitchen
Since we had failed to find food at Orca Adventure Lodge, we followed up our kayaking with dinner at the Witch Kitchen food truck in town. After we ordered we had a little bit of a wait while they prepped our food, so we walked around the harbor to soak up a little more sunshine.
Drive out to Heney Ridge Trail
Once we had finished our food, we took a quick drive out the road in a new direction. Originally we had intended on checking out the Heney Ridge Trail, but it was such a beautiful night that we just kept driving until we found the end of the road. It was gorgeous, and I’d love to check out the hike during a future trip.
Alaskan Hotel & Bar
After our drive we ended the night with a drink at the Alaskan Hotel & Bar. It was the perfect spot to wind down and take in the small town atmosphere.
The Little Cordova Bakery
Our final morning in town mostly consisted of getting fat and happy before our flight thanks to The Little Cordova Bakery. It was the perfect finale before heading back to Anchorage!
My “next time” list:
- Iceworm Festival
- Copper River Salmon Jam
- Million Dollar Bridge
- More hiking!
- Skiing at Mt. Eyak
- Skater’s Cabin
Cordova was such a great option to kick off our summer, and I can’t wait to go back!