Ninilchik and Anchor Point, Alaska (Eastern shore of Cook’s Inlet)

Wed, August 1, we headed south on the eastern shore of Cook’s Inlet to find a campground. There were many state campgrounds to choose from. This is a popular area for people to come down from Anchorage to camp and fish. We checked them all out and settled on Ninilchik View State CG. It was located on a wooded bluff 300’ above the old village and Cook’s Inlet. Our campsite was located at the edge of the bluff overlooking the village and the Ninilchik River that fed into the Inlet.

The quaint old village consisted of perhaps only 20 or so buildings situated in a cove off of Cook’s Inlet. The picturesque village consisted of faded log cabins; some clap board houses, abandoned shacks, and beached fishing boats. Many of the residents are descendants of the original Russian fur traders. There was another lovely Russian Orthodox Church with 5 golden onion-domes located on a hill above the village.

Fishing is popular here but the #1 summer activity is clamming. This area is known for its large razor clams. (It brought back memories of razor clam digging on the Oregon coast.)

We decided to visit a local restaurant and order our clams already cleaned and cooked. (whimps) But there were many people out at low tide digging for clams. You need a license and can get a daily limit of 60 clams. That’s a lot, because many of the clams reach a size of 7” long. Lots of people were camped on the beach and clamming.

We received a visit from Rob and Gerri (met in Kenai) as they are in the area to partake in a charter fishing trip for halibut.

Thurs, August 2 we decided to move 20 mi down the coast. We had seen and done what we wanted in Ninilchik, and we wanted to explore other areas. This time we picked another hot fishing spot-Anchor River State Recreation Area and the Halibut CG. The CG was located just off the beach and a short walking distance from where they launch the boats. They have a rather unique system of launching the boats in the surf. They use tractors that push the trailers into the water and the boats back off of them. It’s interesting to see the boats make a run for the trailers when they come back in.

Anchor River is known as “the most westerly point on the North American continent accessible by a continuous road system”. Capt Cook christened the site in 1778 after his ship, the Resolution, lost an anchor here.

There are many charter fishing companies located all along the coast of Cook’s Inlet. The Anchor River is known for its king and silver salmon and steelhead trout. The ocean fishing yields very large halibut and salmon. Rob and Gerri each got their limit of 2 halibut a day, and also some salmon. Rob even caught a 47 lb. halibut. (They even catch halibut in some waters that approach 400 lbs. That’s a lot of filets.) We enjoyed a very tasty freshly caught halibut filet for dinner, thanks to them.

Our campsite is located in a meadow with brightly colored fireweed and other flowers. They must like the rain here because they grow up to 4 ft. high. Wild strawberries abound but previous campers raided most of the patches. We understand that there are lots of wild blueberries but we haven’t looked for any.

We’ve taken many long walks along the beach and enjoyed watching the bald eagles. The fishermen remove the filets from the fish and then throw the carcasses along the beach at low tide for the birds to feed on. I guess it’s good recycling but I wonder if it makes the birds dependent upon these easy “pickins”. I guess not, because the bald eagles are huge-the size of turkeys. The eagle photo here was taken from our campsite. It was in a tree about 100 feet behind our RV. The bird is about 3 ½ feet long.

It rained off and on for most of the time during our stay here, but it gave us a chance to use our rain gear.

We enjoyed a seafood dinner in town with Rob and Gerri and said goodbye to them. They are heading back to California and want to arrive home by Labor Day.