Copper River Princess Wilderness Lodge
Princess’s smallest, quietest lodge, on a bluff facing the peaks of Wrangell-St. Elias, America’s largest national park. Here’s what a stay looks like.
Big views, small lodge
With just 85 rooms on 200 acres, this lodge is a world away from the busy Denali campus. The centerpiece is the Wrangell Room, with a staircase up to a mezzanine and a two-story wall of windows framing Mount Drum, Mount Wrangell and Mount Blackburn. Out back, trails lead past a fish wheel and food cache to overlooks of the Copper River Valley and the trans-Alaska pipeline.
It’s a place to pause on a longer cruisetour. The Copper River Valley is home to a living Ahtna Athabascan culture and the famous Copper River red salmon, and the lodge is your doorway to Wrangell-St. Elias, a park bigger than Switzerland that very few visitors ever see.
Inside the stay
Where to eat
Two Rivers is the main dining room, with mountain and valley views for breakfast and dinner. Whistle Stop Bar & Grill is the casual spot for lunch and dinner, with Alaska-brewed beers and a patio. Dragon Fly Espresso covers coffee and grab-and-go breakfast in the morning. If you fish with a local guide on a Princess tour, the kitchen can cook your catch for you.
On the grounds
Most of what there is to do on property is free and low-key: shuffleboard, horseshoes and cornhole, books and games in the lodge, the chef’s garden and a network of trails from easy to steep, including the Point Overlook Trail with binoculars aimed at the valley. A shuttle to the Wrangell-St. Elias visitor center runs for a small fee.
Into Wrangell-St. Elias
The big day trip is to the historic Kennecott copper mine inside the national park. Other options include UTV rides with park views, Class III whitewater rafting, salmon fishing on the glacier-fed Klutina or the clear Gulkana River, and a Prince William Sound glacier cruise. Book with Princess or your advisor before you go; some tours are long days, so check timing against your departure.
Tours that stay here
- Princess 2027 and 2028 cruisetours
- How long. 1 to 2 nights here, most often 2 nights.
- Want more time here? Some tours add an extra night. Tell your advisor and we’ll find the version that fits.
Before you go
- It’s a road-trip stop. You arrive and leave by motorcoach, and the drives are long but beautiful. Keep a jacket, snacks, medications and your camera in your hand-carry bag.
- Bring cards, keep some cash. Like all Princess lodges, purchases are cashless. Cash is only handy for tips.
- Your ship packages stay on the ship. Ship dining and beverage packages don’t apply on the land portion of any cruisetour, with any cruise line. Lodge meals and drinks are pay as you go unless your tour includes them, and Princess sells pre-paid land meal plans you can add up to 14 days before departure.
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More of the land tour
The lodges, hotels and rail that make up an Alaska cruisetour. Your advisor can match the right combination to your trip.
