Anchor Point is on the easter shore of Cook Inlet.  Dubbed, “America’s most Westerly highway point” it lies along the Sterling Highway Southwest of Anchorage, Alaska.  The Anchor River which is named after the town flows across the Kenai Peninsula in which the town is located on.  It starts near Fox River, Alaska and catches steam as it picks up ice melt and water from other creeks and streams in the area eventually ending in the Cook Inlet.  The census designated area actually covers quite a bit of the peninsula which has allowed businesses to spread out more so than you would find in nearby towns and cities.  For instance Anchor Point has just 22 people per square mile.  Compare that to the nearby cities:

  • Anchorage (3.5 hours away) – 171/sq mi
  • Soldotna (1 hour away) – 624/sq mi
  • Kenai (1.2 hours away) – 247/sq mi
  • Homer (22 min away) – 400/sq mi

If you are looking to do some traveling while staying in Anchor Point I recommend you check out the Kenai Fjords, Kachemak Bay State Park, or even drive over to Seward.  The drive alone is breathtaking as you weave in and out of the mountains with some spectacular views of the several lakes in the area that are fed from ice melt.  Just check out this view of Crescent Lake which is located near Moose Pass.  Even the names of the towns in this area are interesting.  There are plenty of places to view Salmon spawning, hiking, fishing, hunting, etc.  You name it in the outdoors and pretty much you can do it in this area.  The best part is that this area is not unreachable by car which is something to be said where only a small percentage of the entire State is accessible by automobile.

A little deep dive into the history of the name brings us to the famous James Cook.  While attempting to locate the Northwest Passage he was forced to Anchor at Anchor Point during a big storm.  The kedge anchor was lost due to the storm and Captain Cook marked the place it was lost as “Anchor Point.”  This was then followed by European explorers and thus the name Anchor Point stuck with the area.

Population: 2105
Elevation: 118ft (36m)
Village Website: Anchor Point Chamber of Commerce

Things to Do

Places to Stay