| Anchor River | |
| Pushpin Map: | USA Alaska |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of the mouth of the Anchor River in Alaska |
| Subdivision Type1: | Country |
| Subdivision Name1: | United States |
| Subdivision Type2: | State |
| Subdivision Name2: | Alaska |
| Subdivision Type4: | Borough |
| Subdivision Name4: | Kenai Peninsula |
| Length: | 30miles |
| Source1: | Kenai Peninsula |
| Source1 Coordinates: | 59.8053°N -151.1742°W |
| Source1 Elevation: | 1424feet[1] |
| Mouth: | Cook Inlet |
| Mouth Location: | Anchor Point, 14miles northwest of Homer |
| Mouth Coordinates: | 59.7828°N -151.8606°W[2] |
| Mouth Elevation: | 16feet |
| Tributaries Left: | Twitter Creek |
| Tributaries Right: | Chakok River (north fork) |
The Anchor River is a stream on the Kenai Peninsula in the U.S. state of Alaska.[2] Beginning near Bald Mountain on the eastern side of the lower peninsula, if flows generally west for 30miles[2] into Cook Inlet near Anchor Point on the western side of the peninsula.[3] The river mouth is 15miles northwest of Homer.[2]
The middle reaches of the river pass through the Anchor River and Fritz Creek Critical Habitat Area, meant to protect fish and wildlife, especially moose.[4] The lower river intersects North Fork Road and then the Sterling Highway before reaching Anchor and the Anchor River State Recreation Area (SRA) at the coast.[3]
The Anchor River State Recreation Area is a popular spot for camping and fishing in the summer months, when there are salmon runs, and catch-and-release steelhead fishing. Anchor Point, the site of the SRA, is the most westerly point in the U.S. highway system.[5] From the beach at the recreation area you can see the distant peaks of the Aleutian Range, including the volcanoes Mount Augustine Mount Iliamna and Mount Redoubt[6] The area was also the site of gold mining activities in the 1890s.[7]
Anchor Point does not have a harbor, but it has a boat-launch service at the beach that uses tractors to launch and recover boats from shore to deeper water.[8]