코르도바

Attractions

• Charter fishing

  Charter boat operators provide fishing adventures to visitors throughout the summer out of Cordova. The main catches are halibut, silver salmon and sockeye salmon but shark fishing has increased in recent years.

• Copper River Delta Shorebird Festival

  Copper River Delta Shorebird Festival is held on the first weekend of May during the largest migration in the country. More than 5 million shorebirds pass through the Copper River Delta on their way to Arctic breeding grounds. The festival draws birders from the world over, and features presentations and workshops by international experts and field trips to the prime viewing areas.

• Copper River WILD Salmon Festival

  Held in mid-July, the Copper River WILD! Salmon Festivalcelebrates the local salmon runs of the Copper River with a variety of activities including art fairs, music, road races and, of course, lots of food.

• Cordova Fishermans Memorial

  Like so many other Alaska seaports, Cordova's Small Boat Harbor is watched over by the Cordova Fisherman's Memorial. The "Southeasterly" is a somber sculpture by artist Joan Bugbee Jackson and often graced with flowers.

• Cordova Historical Museum

  The Cordova Museum is a pleasant way to spend an afternoon. Exhibits cover local marine life, relics from the town's early history and railroad days and a three-seater bidarka (kayak) made from spruce pine and 12 sealskins. There's an interesting display about the town's beloved ice worm that lives in glaciers and is celebrated each winter during Cordova's largest festival.

• Iceworm Festival

  Every February, since 1961, Cordova honors iceworms with its annual Iceworm Festival. The insect is real and so is the week-long festival that includes the crowning of a Miss Iceworm, the Survival Suit Race in which participants don survival suits and plunge into the harbor, and a parade.

• Ilanka Cultural Center

  The excellent Ilanka Cultural Center has a small but high-quality collection of Alaska Native art from all over the state. The intact killer-whale skeleton is only one of five in the world and was recovered from a stranding in 2000. Also on display is artist Mike Webber's Shame Pole, a totem pole that tells the grim tale of the oil spill. This center also has a wonderful gift shop selling scrimshaw carvings and spruce-root baskets.

• Kayaking

  Pristine Orca Inlet north of Cordova is an excellent place for kayakers to spend a day paddling. Outfitters in town rent kayaks, offer drop-off transportation and can arrange guided tours in Orca Inlet and other inlets around Cordova.

• Million Dollar Bridge

  The Copper River Highway ends at the Million Dollar Bridge. This four-span trestle was built during the winter of 1909-10 so the Copper River & Northwestern Railroad could carry ore out from the rich Kennicott Mines near McCarthy. The bridge was rehabilitated in 2004 to allow visitors to drive, bike or walk across it to enjoy the view of two glaciers from it.

• Mount Eyak Ski Area

  Mount Eyak Ski Area is a short walk from the heart of town and during the winter carters to snowboarders and skiers with an 800-foot vertical drop with runs blanketed by 118 inches of snow annually. The ski area's most famous attraction is the vintage ski lift from Sun Valley, Idaho that was built in 1936.

• Prince William Sound Science Center

  Prince William Sound Science Center is a dockside research facility that also features handouts for children on the flora, and geology of Cordova and displays that include an enormous gray-whale skull suspended from the ceiling.

• River Rafting

  The Copper River draws the attention of rafters in Cordova. The 20-mile stretch between Million Dollar Bridge and Flag Point, at Mile 27 of the Copper River Hwy, is wide and slower than the whitewater sections further upstream. Outfitters in town offer guided half-day trips down the river and multi-day adventures that includes other activities.

• Saddlebag Glacier

  Saddlebag Glacier, surrounded by peaks and cliffs and discharging icebergs into Saddleback Lake, is a stunning view. The glacier is reached by departing at Mile 25 of the Copper River Highway onto a posted dirt road. From there it's an easy 3-mile walk through cottonwoods and spruce, emerging at Saddlebag Lake.

• Sheridan Glacier

  At Mile 15 of the Copper River Highway is Sheridan Glacier. A short access road leads to picnic tables with partial views of the ice floe and a 1-mile trail across the glacial moraine to even better views.

• US Forest Service Cabins

  There are 9 U.S. Forest Service cabins located in the Cordova area. Three are accessible only by boat or plane but several others can be reached on foot. Two cabins are along the McKinley Lake Trail and Pipeline Lakes Trails and a third is on the Power Creek Trail. Three cabins are also located on Hinchinbrook Island, 20 minutes from Cordova by plane and at most two hours by boat.