Cooper Landing, AK

Cooper Landing is a Kenai Peninsula Borough census-designated place at the outlet of Kenai Lake into the Kenai River, where the 2020 census counted 344 residents. The community sits about 100 miles south of Alaska's largest city, along the Sterling Highway and the upper Kenai River. The CDP extends east up Kenai Lake, south toward Cooper Lake, and west toward the Russian River, giving the place a broad geography of water, forest, and mountain roads.

ATTRFrank K. from Anchorage, Alaska, USA / CC BY 2.0

Prospector Joseph Cooper discovered gold here in 1884 and gave the community its name. The Riddiford post office began in 1924, the Riddiford School opened in 1928, and the Sterling Highway later tied Cooper Landing to Seward, Kenai, and the wider peninsula. Salmon fishing on the Kenai and Russian rivers brings a strong summer rhythm, while the old post office and school remain part of the area's historic fabric. Cooper Landing is a river-and-lake community where mining history, fishing, highway travel, and year-round residents share the same narrow valley.