Cooper Landing is a small community on the Kenai Peninsula about 100 miles south of Anchorage with a long and rich history that extends well beyond its reputation as a modern beloved fishing hub. Alaska Wildland Adventures has been part of that story for decades.
Story By Melissa Norris
Photos provided by Alaska Wildland Adventures, Dave Maternowski, Bill Wright and Kirk Hoessle
There are places in Alaska that feel like they’re always moving forward, always changing, but still represent their history. Cooper Landing is one of those places. For over a quarter century, I’ve seen this mountain-framed stretch of the Kenai River develop as a focal point for anglers. As rich as this stretch is in history from my own eyes, many others have watched the evolution far longer. Few, though, have witnessed that transformation as closely as the founders of Alaska Wildland Adventures—long-time stewards of Alaska and cherished Fish Alaska clients for nearly 25 years.
When we first met the team behind Alaska Wildland Adventures, their vision was as special as the Kenai River at the heart of Cooper Landing: to provide small-group adventure with comfort in Alaska. Over the decades, their story has unfolded into something that continues to touch the lives of many people. These leaders have earned a great deal of respect from all of us—their team, their community, affiliates like us—that stems from their company culture they dub “responsible capitalism.” They even garnered the state’s recognition when Kirk was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2025 Alaska Tourism Industry Awards. It starts with the way they treat people and continues to the way they treat their environment. These conscious decisions have earned them every bit of success they’ve achieved.
Worth a Listen
Spend even a few minutes listening to CEO Kirk Hoessle, founder Bill Wright, and fishing program manager Dave Maternowski swap stories, and you realize Alaska Wildland Adventures isn’t just a company — it’s a living timeline of Kenai River history. Kirk, who jokingly calls himself the company’s “Chief Exploration Officer,” has spent decades guiding its vision and empowering the team that runs day-to-day operations.
Bill, who launched the original trips in 1977 after investing his life savings in rafts, remembers a time when the river was “cowboy time,” full of jet boats, rough-and-ready anglers, and what he calls a truly colorful cast of characters. His leadership and guidance over the years has shaped Alaska Wildland Adventures’s path, and his immense gratitude for it all freely emanates from him.
Dave, part of the next generation, now manages the fishing program and helps carry those stories forward—even if, as Bill jokes, he has to politely listen to them year after year. Our full conversation podcast style is worth a listen for anyone who loves Alaska history, because it paints a vivid portrait of how Cooper Landing evolved from a rough river outpost into a refined Alaska-worthy destination—a place that’s maybe a little less “cowboy” than it once was, with fewer “colorful characters,” but still every bit as memorable. Jump on to Fish Alaska’s YouTube channel or find Cooper Landing: Then & Now on Spotify or Apple Podcasts by searching Fish Alaska Podcast to find it. It’s Episode 1, by the way.
River Roots
In the beginning, Kenai Riverside Lodge was the heartbeat of Alaska Wildland’s dream. What started as a campsite with a deck to get off the ground became a timbered lodge—really one large cabin—that has since been expanded to create the main lodge where meals are shared and guests relax in a newly renovated gathering space. Guests stay in spacious, two-bed cabins with attached bathrooms. Amenities include amazing dining, sauna, adventure and loads of scenery. Each development along the way adds just enough comfort to stay in touch with the wild side of Alaska. Maizie and I have stayed there and fished with Dave. I highly recommend them!
Historical Cooper Landing
Let’s go back in time for a moment. Cooper Landing began long before prospectors ever set foot there. For thousands of years, the Denaʼina people traveled through the area, fishing the rich waters seasonally where Kenai Lake pours into the Kenai River.
Cooper Landing’s story developed further in the mid-1800s, when Alaska was still part of Russian America. Russian mining engineer P. Doroshin surveyed the region and found promising mineral deposits in the late 1840’s. His reports hinted at gold but it wasn’t until 1884 when prospector Joseph Cooper struck gold near Cooper Creek that development occurred. Word spread quickly despite a lack of modern communications, and a small rush followed. Though it was not known as one of Alaska’s major gold booms, the discovery drew enough miners and traders to establish a permanent settlement named for Cooper.
By the early 1900s, cabins, supply posts, and a post office became a small frontier community. Over time, mining faded and recreation took its place. It is written the then newly built railroad sparked the sport fishery. Travelers from nearby Seward and beyond began arriving to fish for the big rainbows they heard about.
A major change came in 1950-1951 when the Sterling Highway connected Cooper Landing to Anchorage and the broader Kenai Peninsula, opening access for tourism.
Today, Cooper Landing is far greater known for its fishing, scenery and outdoor heritage than its gold—a quiet riverside town where Alaska’s roots, grit, and wild landscape still exist but we also have a Three Bears.
Bring on the Backcountry
Part of what makes Alaska Wildland Adventures special is the ability to provide a full Alaska wilderness experience to folks traveling here in smaller groups. Alaskans know wilderness means spectacular, untamed beauty. This company exemplifies that truth with the Kenai Backcountry Lodge. Accessible only by boat and perched on the shores of glacier-fed Skilak Lake within the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, a remote retreat blends the private, cozy cabin experience with the hush of the forest and pristine water. Whether guests choose a peaceful paddle, a hike through cottonwood trails, or introspective time on the porch watching clouds drift across mountain peaks, this lodge view etches Alaska further into your heart.
Fish and Fjords Explorer
In time, Alaska Wildland Adventures expanded their properties into the Kenai Fjords National Park with Kenai Fjords Glacier Lodge, the only lodge located within the 700,000-acre park itself. Surrounded by Aialik Bay and framed by glacier and lagoon, this property places travelers in the center of marine wildlife with towering ice and seemingly endless horizons. Kayaks, canoes, hikes, and wildlife viewing here aren’t add-ons here—it’s all built in. Dave explained some guests fill their itinerary with nights spent at all three locations for the full Alaska experience! He shared those folks have inspired the Fish and Fjords Explorer tours that include their whole lodge line up.
While just- cushy-enough lodge experiences have long defined the Alaska Wildland story, the team has written a new chapter right in Cooper Landing with the Kenai Riverside Houses — private vacation homes nestled along the same turquoise waters that first inspired the Kenai Riverside Lodge. It might be even more important to note the acreage associated with this expansion that allows them to spread out some of their behind the scenes operations. These homes offer travelers and families an upscale basecamp with all the comforts of home and ready access to Alaska’s wild playground. The breathability the property addition allows the company to conserve complete wilderness around them, just as they like it.
Has the Fishing Changed?
Yes and no. Bill remembers a time when you could float past someone and they’d hold up a stringer of rainbows. There are fond memories of lower river power boats bringing in kings of unbelievable size. But, the world has changed, with more people and more fishing pressure, and often too little too late by the way of fisheries management. They hold fast to not developing their fishing program any larger and cherish offering trips for species of abundance like sockeye when their clients wish to take fish home or showing visitors great fishing on the Kenai catching and releasing trout and dollies. They love being able to keep their impact small while providing a valued service, employing others, and earning a living. People have always loved to fish for sockeye and trout and we all doubt that will ever change.
A Legacy
Talking with the founders today, you hear the same respect for place and people that first drew them to Alaska and the Kenai Peninsula way of life. They’ve watched Cooper Landing grow from a quiet fishing outpost to a thriving hub for nature lovers and the fishing obsessed.
Through all that change they’ve stayed true to their principles: adventure with comfort, stewardship of the land, hospitality without pretense, and trips that celebrate Alaska’s wild places.
Their three lodges — Kenai Riverside Lodge, Kenai Backcountry Lodge, and Kenai Fjords Glacier Lodge — along with the Kenai River Houses, invite every kind of explorer to find their own adventure in our remarkable corner of the world. What hasn’t changed is why people come—the Kenai River’s turquoise waters, teeming with salmon and trout, continue to draw anglers from around Alaska and the rest of the world just as it drew the Dena’ina people long ago and those first sport fishermen over a century ago.
Melissa Norris is Publisher/Founder of Fish Alaska and Hunt Alaska magazines. One of her most memorable trips with Kenai Riverside Lodge was the first time her daughter Maizie ever fly fished. She was guided and coached by KRL fishing manager Dave Maternowski. Dave had her bringing trout to the net with a fly rod in no time and she loved every moment of it.
Melissa Norris
About the Author Melissa Norris
Melissa Norris is the founder and Publisher of Fish Alaska and Hunt Alaska magazines. She has over two decades of experience fishing all over Alaska, writing about her time in the field, testing gear, planning trips and cooking and harvesting wild Alaska seafood. In addition to writing tons of content for the magazine and our website, Melissa heads our digital platforms and leads the design team.