drifters lodge fishing and activities

We stayed here only 2 nights--but we loved it! Comfortable cabin and gorgeous views. Campfire at night was cozy and friendly. I highly recommend!

Drifters Lodge surpassed every expectation!! Bob and his entire staff were accommodating in every possible way, guest service ranked supreme and this is only the beginning. Our cabin was very clean with all the amenities and the beds were of exceptional quality. The "drift" Josh our guide took us on was filled with a full day of catch and release for Dolly Varden and Rainbow trout. Josh new the river very well and was patient with us guiding and pointing out all the wildlife along the banks. Still hard to believe what an exceptional experience we had at the Drifters lodge, I have already recommended to friends and will continue, Thank you Bob, Josh and everyone for most memorable trip, see you again soon.

We had a great day fishing the Kenai with Drifters Lodge. Our guides Alex and Matty were Awesome! We filled our boats with beautiful delicious Red Salmon. Alex and Matty were very helpful and accommodating to our large group. We will definitely be returning to Drifters Lodge on our next trip. Some Advice: Don't bring bananas on Matty's Boat.

If you are looking for scenery, fishing, sightseeing, relaxation you need to stay at Drifter's Lodge. Just spent 5 nights 4 day fishing. We had Alex, Melisa, and Matty, We fished the first day on the lower Kenai for rainbow trout and caught some real nice ones including hooking and releasing 2 king salmon, numerous dolly varden, and too many to count "humpy" salmon. Second day we spent the day fishing for silver salmon and caught our limit (2 each), then spent the remainder of the day fishing for whatever. Third day we drove to Ninilchik and fished with Doug from Chihuly's. Caught our limit of halibut. Last day fished the Russian River for trout and dolly's. Ended up bringing 50 pounds of halibut and 23 pounds of silver salmon. Fish were vacuum packed, frozen, put into a styrafoam cooler which was placed inside a cardboard box. Checked as baggage and 21 hours later put frozen fish right into the freezer at home. The equipment provided (fishing rods and reels, waders, rubber boots, rain ponchos) were absolutely first rate! The office staff, Natalie and Ashley can't do enough. Our breakfast and lunch was exactly what we ordered. Needed to use a dryer on the day I fell in the Russian River, no problem. I took my two adult children as a Christmas gift and they both commented that it was the best vacation the three of us ever had. They were so impressed that we are already talking about our next trip to the Kenai peninsula and that we will only stay at Drifter's. If you don't fish I would still recommend staying at Drifter's. It is a great place with spectacular views, lots of hiking trails all along the highway, 1 hours drive to Seward, or 1 hour to Portage Glacier. On our day of departure Stephanie had already picked up our fish loading into our car. The only recommendation I have is that if you think you may not have fished enough on a day, bring your own pole and reel as the one's you use belong to the guides. Can't wait to return!!!!

I don’t even know where to begin. Bob, you created a wonderful Alaskan fishing experience. I easily made reservations. Stephanie and Ashley were very nice and great with recommendations on local attractions. Your lodge, location, landscaping, fire pit, river front (I don’t know where to stop) property is STUNNING. Nick Holman was an incredible guide! I landed my top ten rainbows and dollies of my life on the first day. And every day with Nick got better and better. Nick you being a born and raised Alaskan made my experience truly special. Thanks again Bob for everything. I will be recommending Drifters Lodge to ALL my trout loving buddies. Thank you Drifters!

Wow! We recently did a 4 day fishing vacation with Drifters lodge in Cooper landing. What a wonderful experience. The staff was absolutely fantastic. They went out of their way to assure we had everything we needed or could want. We had booked the deal at the Fred Hall fishing show in March in Long Beach ca. First off they promised and delivered on every aspect of the package. They reimbursed our air fare thru Jet Blue. We -3 of us- arrived in anchorage (non stop 5 hour flight out of Long Beach CA. ) at 1130 pm. Bob the owner was on the phone locating us before we had even reached the baggage claim. He loaded our bags (carry ons-save your free check ins for the fish you will bring home) and we even made a quick stop at McDonald's before leaving the big city to delightful Cooper landing a 2 hour drive from Anchorage. The campus is composed of an office and a bunch of cabins. Ours, number 4 sits right on the edge of the property overlooking the kenai river. Beautiful view. We had a queen bed with memory foam mattress, and 4 twins in an upstairs loft. Full shower and toilet - the is sink in the living space with a two burner stove and all the dishes etc are there. Microwave and small fridge included. Towels are provided. The complex also had a wonderful breakfast room overlooking the river - a great way to start your early morning. And there is a sauna that practically sits on the river. They provided breakfast - continental mostly -and every evening we had an ice chest on our pitch packed with the next days lunch to go with us in our boat. In the evening we were driven to what ever local eatery we wished and then picked up and returned to the lodge where we enjoyed the company of other residents swapping fish stories around a campfire. From that fire we watched thru binoculars Dahl sheep and a mother bear with 2 cubs on the hillside across the river. The guides are great and very knowledgeable. We arrived after the sockeye run so we fished for the elusive silver salmon - getting a nice big one. The lodge provides all the waders, boots and rain gear. But bring your thermals and layers because this is Alaska after all. The fish was filleted by our guide and at the end of the day the guide took it to the processor -next time we saw it, it was flash frozen and packed for travel. All included up to 50 pounds per person - which was great because on day 3 we were driven to Seward for another great day of deep sea fishing - where we each got our limit on halibut, yellow eye, and some rock fish on the ship "crackerjack " with captain Nick. Time to leave on day 4 after another full day of fishing, found us shuttled to the airport at 11 pm for our red eye home with over 60 lbs of fish, a last min photo stop of a mom moose and twin calves and so many wonderful memories of a fantastic adventure. We are already looking at our calendar for next year!

We booked the "Russian House" through Drifters Lodge an adult family vacation. It had comfortable beds, perfectly outfitted kitchen, nice televisions, and everything else you could think of, PLUS a gorgeous view. The fire pit was our favorite place, stocked with abundant wood. We could fish right from shore if we wanted. This property has the extra surprise of having a wood burning sauna, and it was a very nice experience after fishing on the river all day. Chris is very hospitable, and had the sauna all fired up for us one night. All of the staff and the fishing guides do a great job. They go out of their way to answer any questions and help you out if needed.Our fishing wasn't so productive as we would of liked, but we enjoyed the river. I would have liked the guides to have a motor for the part of the river they could of used them in. I highly recommend the float trip even if you don't fish, the scenery is gorgeous. We were only half hour to Seward and ocean fished there and had a blast, and fought and caught fish there. If you are a avid angler you will love the Russian House if you are bringing a small group. The drive to Cooper Landing from Anchorage is extremely scenic and will amaze you with it's natural beauty. Be sure to stop at Alyeska and take a half day to do the rain forest hike before or after your trip.....really spiritual, and an amazing part of Alaska you wouldn't expect to see! Cant wait to come back to Drifters for another family fishing trip. I hear August is good fishing too!

Great day of fishing and rafting with Alex! Took care of everything even breakfast and knew the best places to go.

booked a river float for the family and the lodge staff was very nice and friendly. Our guide was also very nice, professional, and worked really hard but unfortunately we did not have a good day of fishing. Only had one spot where we could catch salmon and nobody caught any salmon but we did manage to catch 3 or 4 trout that were catch & release. The float down the river and the scenery was amazing and by far the best part. The waters are a beautiful teal and aqua green color and the section of the river the lodge is located is wonderful. We did not stay at lodge but it looked like a first class place to say for a "cabins by the lake" experience. Would have been nice to know the salmon were not yet running before we booked and trout fishing was slow as the guide told us when we arrived but all in all we know there are no guarantees when it comes to fishing. I will give it another shot when we vacation in alaska again so we can experience what is suppose to be the best fishing in the world.

We drove down to the lodge in the morning and the 3 guys went trout fishing while the 'girls' went on a scenic rafting tour. My husband caught a 10lb salmon even though they were fishing for trout and we cooked it on the grill that night- delicious! The main lodge fit us nicely each family got a room and we shared the big bathroom. Quaint but nice. Beautiful view and great access to river. Would definitely go back. Saw almost 30 bald eagles on the rafting and nice relaxing time. Found on trip advisor and glad we booked. Wish we had more time there

This was our first fishing experience in Alaska. What a great time! The cabins are well taken care of, beautifully made and modern. The sleeping loft is full of comfortable beds (with Temper tops), each covered in a lovely quilt. Located on the upper Kenai, Drifters Lodge has wonderful guides who really know the area and what will catch fish. We fished a half-day for massive rainbow trout, Dolly Varden, and even caught a big sockeye in the lake. As we drifted the river, we experienced class one and two rapids for a little extra fun. Drifters offered river rafting trips as well as fishing while we were there. Our full day of fishing was on the Kasilof River, and it did not disappoint. We had a great day catching beautiful silver sockeye salmon. Filleted by our guide, a nearby shop processed the fish for our trip home, and now we have lovely salmon fillets in the freezer waiting to cook. I could go on and on about Drifters Lodge, its people (very personable), the view, the fishing, etc. However, the true test is this: I can't wait to go back.

The folks at Drifters are fantastic. ! The guides are personable, knowledgeable, and patient. I highly recommend them and especially the guides who I fished with: Marisa, Alex, & Josh. I am ready to go back again and looking forward to going next year.

Our group stayed in the large cabin for only one night in early July. Wish we could have stayed a few more nights. We did some fishing/rafting trips during the day, and really enjoyed the fire pit area in the back of the house, right on the water. The cabin was perfect for our group, just wish we had a couple more nights to enjoy everything here.

As a group of 6 we took the 2 hour scenic float trip and it did not disappoint. It's such a great way to see the Kenai and it's wildlife. The staff at Drifters lodge are friendly and fun and we found it to be very good value for money. Tip, for us as Alaskan residents they offered a discount so if you are local it is worth asking about. We didn't spot any riverside bears but we did get to see Eagles nesting, fish jumping and mile after mile of stunning scenery. Well worth a trip.

We book to this for 5 days. They booked us a Kenai Wildlife Cruise through major marine tours that was a lot of fun and had good food. We saw lots of wildlife even though it was a stormy day. My husband went on a full day fishing excursion and cut 7 fish including a Sockeye salmon. Our cabin was small but comfortable. The staff was very friendly and very informative.