Captain Cook State Recreation Area is a park on the

Kenai Peninsula The Kenai Peninsula ( Dena'ina: ''Yaghenen'') is a large peninsula jutting from the coast of Southcentral Alaska. The name Kenai (, ) is derived from the word "Kenaitze" or "Kenaitze Indian Tribe", the name of the Native Athabascan Alaskan tribe ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

. It is located on the shores of

Cook Inlet Cook Inlet ( tfn, Tikahtnu; Sugpiaq: ''Cungaaciq'') stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage in south-central Alaska. Cook Inlet branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm at its northern end, almost surrounding Anchorage. On its sou ...

at the northern terminus of the

Kenai Spur Highway The Kenai Spur Highway is a highway on the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska. The road begins at a junction with the Sterling Highway in Soldotna and provides access to the towns of Kenai and Nikiski, dead-ending at the entrance to the Captain Cook ...

, about north of Kenai and north of

Nikiski Nikiski is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska, United States. The population was 4,456 at the 2020 census, down from 4,493 in 2010. Geography Nikiski is located at (60.707891, -151.262646) on the west side of the ...

. Both the Inlet and the recreation area are named after

Captain James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...

who explored the area in 1778.Captain Cook SRA

Alaska Department of Natural Resources The Alaska Department of Natural Resources is a department within the government of Alaska in the United States of America. The department has the mission of responsibly developing Alaska's resources by making them available for maximum use and ...

History

Archeological evidence, as well as Cook's observations indicate the area was previously inhabited by the Dena'ina people, who gathered

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...

in the area. The beaches in and around the park have also been the site of

commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often ...

activity. The park is one of the oldest in the Alaska State Park system, having been authorized in 1971, with major capital improvement projects in 1978 and 2010.

Features

One of the park's main features is the ''Discovery Campground'', a 53-site wooded camping area on the bluffs above Cook InletDiscovery Campground

( ''Discovery'' was the name of one of the ships in Cook's expedition.) Campers are advised to keep a clean camp as

black bear Black bear or Blackbear may refer to: Animals * American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species * Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species Music * Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...

s are known to frequent the area. There is a nature trail which encircles the campground. Below the campground is a beach on Cook Inlet, rocky in some places but more sandy near the river outlet. Beachcombers can find

agate Agate () is a common rock formation, consisting of chalcedony and quartz as its primary components, with a wide variety of colors. Agates are primarily formed within volcanic and metamorphic rocks. The ornamental use of agate was common in Ancie ...

s here. At low tide extensive and dangerous

mud flats Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal fl ...

are exposed below the beach. On a clear day visitors to the bluff and beach can see the distant

Aleutian Range The Aleutian Range is a major mountain range located in southwest Alaska. It extends from Chakachamna Lake (80 miles/130 km southwest of Anchorage) to Unimak Island, which is at the tip of the Alaska Peninsula. It includes all of the mountain ...

, including the volcano

Mount Spurr Mount Spurr ( Dena'ina: ''K'idazq'eni'') is a stratovolcano in the Aleutian Arc of Alaska, named after United States Geological Survey geologist and explorer Josiah Edward Spurr, who led an expedition to the area in 1898. The Alaska Volcano Obser ...

The Milepost ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

2018 edition, page 553 ,

Morris Communications Morris Communications, headquartered in Augusta, Georgia, is a privately held media company with diversified holdings that include magazine publishing, outdoor advertising, book publishing and distribution, visitor publications, and online serv ...

as well as several

offshore oil rig An oil platform (or oil rig, offshore platform, oil production platform, and similar terms) is a large structure with facilities to extract and process petroleum and natural gas that lie in rock formations beneath the seabed. Many oil platfor ...

s.Cook Inlet Oil and Gas activities map

The park is the northern terminus of the

Swanson River The Swanson River ( Dena'ina: ''Yaghetnu'') is a stream, long, on the Kenai Peninsula of south-central Alaska in the United States. Beginning at Gene Lake in the Swanson Lakes district, it flows southwest then north to Number Three Bay on the G ...

and its associated

canoe trail A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...

.Map of the SRA
/ref> The park is also home to Stormy Lake, a lake with boat launch and picnic areas as well as a small, primitive, boat-accessible campground.Recreational Boating Access Projects, Southcentral Projects

Alaska Department of Fish and Game The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) is a department within the government of Alaska. ADF&G's mission is to protect, maintain, and improve the fish, game, and aquatic plant resources of the state, and manage their use and development in ...

The lake was the site of two efforts to eradicate

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

.Earl, Elizabeth
Fish population booms in Stormy Lake

Peninsula Clarion The ''Peninsula Clarion'' is a regional newspaper published in Kenai, Alaska that serves the population of the Kenai Peninsula. They also publish the ''Peninsula Clarion Dispatch'' which is a free weekly circular released each Wednesday with loca ...

, 10/7/2015 In winter months the park features

ice fishing Ice fishing is the practice of catching fish with lines and fish hooks or spears through an opening in the ice on a frozen body of water. Ice fishers may fish in the open or in heated enclosures, some with bunks and amenities. Shelters Longer ...

on the lake and cross-country ski trails.

References

{{authority control Monuments and memorials to James Cook Protected areas of Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska State parks of Alaska Protected areas established in 1971 1971 establishments in Alaska