Tag: Cordova

Cordova Gallery

Just a sample of travel to Cordova, Alaska…

  • A rainy day in Juneau as seen from the window of an Alaska Airlines flight
    A rainy day in Juneau as seen from the window of an Alaska Airlines flight
  • The fishing port of Cordova, Alaska
    The fishing port of Cordova, Alaska
  • Lupine along the trail at Sheridan Glacier
    Lupine along the trail at Sheridan Glacier
  • A muddy Sheridan River drains the lake in front of Sheridan Glacier
    A muddy Sheridan River drains the lake in front of Sheridan Glacier
  • Icebergs scattered across the lake in front of Sheridan Glacier
    Icebergs scattered across the lake in front of Sheridan Glacier
  • An iceberg from Sheridan Glacier sits in the muddy waters of Sheridan Lake
    An iceberg from Sheridan Glacier sits in the muddy waters of Sheridan Lake
  • Trumpeter swans (Cygnus buccinator) forage near Cordova, Alaska
    Trumpeter swans (Cygnus buccinator) forage near Cordova, Alaska
  • A bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) monitors the Copper River Delta from a convenient perch
    A bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) monitors the Copper River Delta from a convenient perch
  • The Copper River delta near Cordova, Alaska
    The Copper River delta near Cordova, Alaska
  • The fish processor Dawn unloads in Cordova, AK
    The fish processor Dawn unloads in Cordova, AK
  • Orca Adventure Resort, Cordova, Alaska
    Orca Adventure Resort, Cordova, Alaska
  • The old cannery dining hall serves breakfast at Orca Adventure Lodge
    The old cannery dining hall serves breakfast at Orca Adventure Lodge
  • A large winch list abandoned in the brush
    A large winch list abandoned in the brush
  • A small unnamed stream tumbles through the rock
    A small unnamed stream tumbles through the rock
  • The Lioness fishing boat belonging to Orca Adventure Lodge
    The Lioness fishing boat belonging to Orca Adventure Lodge
  • A pole awaits a halibut in Gravina Bay
    A pole awaits a halibut in Gravina Bay
  • Fred Cooper fishing with a traditional northwest indian halibut fishhook
    Fred Cooper fishing with a traditional northwest indian halibut fishhook
  • Coho salmon ((Oncorhynchus kisutch) on the deck
    Coho salmon ((Oncorhynchus kisutch) on the deck
  • The author with a nice catch
    The author with a nice catch

Sheridan Galcier

Southeast Alaska has so many glaciers, but very few of them are easily accessible. Most require long hikes into wild coutry, floatplanes to remote lakes, or boating through iceberg choked waters to reach. Sheridan Glacier you can drive to.

Icebergs scattered across the lake in front of Sheridan Glacier
Icebergs scattered across the lake in front of Sheridan Glacier

The glacier is only a few miles from the airport reached by a short gravel road, and an even shorter trail through the woods. Not the glacier itself, as that is about a mile away on the other side of a lake. Rather you reach the shore of a lake covered with icebergs, creating a spectacular scene with the glacier in the background.

At the end of the road the glacier is just visible through the trees as glimpses of ice. A well maintained US Forest Service trial leads to a point from which some of the lake and glacier can be seen.

Sheridan Glacier viewed from an aircraft landing in Cordova
Sheridan Glacier viewed from an aircraft landing in Cordova

This first viewpoint has a clever feature. Here you find a simple post with a small recess milled into the top. You can place a cellphone on the post and take a photo. Sending the photo to an email address allows the Forest Service to monitor changes in Sheridan Glacier over time. Not by installing their own expensive remote camera, but rather by simply having visiting tourists contribute their photos.

Going a bit further, my brother and I hiked the short trail around and down to the shoreline looking for a better view of the iceberg covered lake. Where the trail emerged again onto the shore a small moriane offered the view we were looking for, a place to sit and enjoy spectacular scenery. From this little moraine also flew the drone to gain a better vantage for some photos.

The lovely weather would not last long, it was a good decision to use this first afternoon in Cordova to get out and see the glacier and explore further to the end of the road.

Sheridan lake with scattered icebergs from Sheridan Glacier
Sheridan lake with scattered icebergs from Sheridan Glacier

Bering Glacier

It is big. Really, truly big.

The glacier looked to be miles wide and flowed from deep in the mountians to where it nearly reached the sea. My view from the aircraft window allowed a perfect view on a beautiful sunny day. Unlike previous times I had passed this way no clouds obscured the scene.

It took a quick look at the map after the flight to identify the glacier I had seen and photographed… Bearing Glacier, the largest glacier in North America.

The glacier starts at an icefield in the St Elias Range, a stunningly rugged mountain range that abruptly rises from sea level to heights near 20,000ft in places. From there a five mile wide river of ice decends over 50 miles to the coastal plain, ending in Vitus Lake dotted with icebergs broken from the glacier’s terminal face. Seal River, a short, two mile long river then drains glacial meltwater into the Gulf of Alaska.

The numbers fail to capture the sheer grandeur of the that river of ice. While the view from 30,000ft was impressive, I wonder what it would be like to stand in the middle of that expanse on such a beautiful day.

Bering Glacier seen from the west
Bering Glacier seen from the west

Fishing Cordova

Summer 2025 featured another family fishing trip.

Orca Adventure Resort, Cordova, Alaska
Orca Adventure Resort, Cordova, Alaska

This time the destination was Cordova, Alaska. Why Cordova? Why not? New water, new adventures, new things to see.

We had never been to Cordova, bouncing through the airport on the milk run from Juneau and Yakutat does not count. The area feaures some interesting history, very scenic country, more than a few glaciers, and access to Prince William Sound for fishing.

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