This place is adorable. They have a good selection of beer and a surprising amount of spirits on tap. There are live bands every once in a while which brings a lot of people out. My favorite thing about this place is that it has a lot of interesting things on the walls and the train. I can't even imagine how long it took the owner to set up the train tracks and all of the scenery around them. It goes both inside and out and it is set up amazingly. I love it! The bartender Jess is awesome and the owner has been there every night (although I don't think he can get too far away. He lives above it.) I would definitely reccomend going here if you are in the Copper Center area. read more

Stumbled into this place completely by accident. Was on a week long road trip of the state and decided to see what was down that road. WHAT. A. GEM! The owner, Ron, is a super nice guy who has lived on the property for 19 years. The bar and the detached lodge are clearly his heart. The saloon shouldn't be called a "dive bar", because it is immaculate. But it is very eclectic. The model train that runs all around the bars' ceilings is no doubt one of the largest in the nation. It goes out of the bar walls through tunnels, and goes all over outside and through other (private) buildings. Ron is an expert on the history of the Copper River Valley, and has written a book of fictional history based on his own family. (I purchased the book but haven't read it yet.) The gardens in the bars' outdoor patio are beautifully kept with lovely grass and flower beds. There is a pool table and several jukeboxes, all with an astonishing collection of music varying through all genres and many decades--even big band and swing music. Friendly staff, super cool decor...it is an Alaskan bar at it's finest, and I have seen many, many of them. My friends whom I was traveling with from San Francisco were flabbergasted. They come from a place that tries so hard to be cool, but they kept shaking their heads in wonder and saying, "This place is SO LEGIT." Of note is that this is also a lodge. We rolled into the bar intentionally having an adventure day with no plans of where we were staying. We were thrilled that Ron had several lovely rooms to rent for the night. Showers and bathrooms are shared, but the rooms were clean, had excellent beds and even more fabulous bedding and pillows. Think 5 star bed in a little room with the coolest bar you've ever seen within stumbling distance of that bed. It was a great experience. Be prepared to meet some interesting locals as well! read more

I stopped in Copper Center at the very end of May 2015 to get some rest before flying out of Chitina into Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve. First off, let me make a distinction between the Copper Rail Depot's bar & the sleeping quarters by clarifying that the BAR is pretty cool. Check-in for rooms reserved at Uncle Nicolai's Inn takes place in the Copper Rail Depot bar (it's all one property), so I got a view of it & it was a cozy little place. The sleeping quarters, on the other hand, were definitely not for me. It was a little warm outside when I arrived in the late afternoon & I found out once there that the cabin I rented did not have air conditioning. This was a problem because the cabin had not been aired out before I got there (I had a reservation). There is a fixed vent slat on the front door, but no fan to push air out or pull it in from outside. The cabin's one window was covered with a tarp & at the time, the roof had a big blue tarp on it from some damage done to it at some point. It being Alaska, there were also huge mosquitoes everywhere, so when I tried to air out the very bare-bones room by opening the door, huge, hungry Alaskan mosquitoes flew in & made themselves at home. I'm no stranger to these critters, being from Louisiana, but Alaskan mosquitoes are on a whole other level. It was so warm & stuffy that I could not keep all my clothes & mosquito netting on while I slept to avoid bites, so I talked to the owner & he agreed to move me to another room that at least had a box fan in the window. If this isn't a big deal to you, just ignore my review. I will admit that the prices are very good here, given normal room rates in Alaska. However, if you need some sort of ventilation, please be warned that the cabin does not have this. You will have to choose another room to have the option of a fan. A shared bathroom is located outside of the rooms, which is kept up pretty well. Not a bad option for really outdoorsy types, but I feel like those people may do better pitching a tent & sleeping outside for cheap/free. For everyone else, you may want an option with a few more amenities. In retrospect, I would have done better to stay in Glennallen & have a little more of a drive the next day. read more