About Us

Aleknagik is located at the head of Wood River on the southeast end of Lake Aleknagik, 16 miles northwest of Dillingham. The community lies at approximately 59.273060° North Latitude and -158.61778° (West) Longitude. (Sec. 31, T010S, R055W, Seward Meridian.) Aleknagik is located in the Bristol Bay Recording District. The area encompasses 11.6 sq. miles of land and 7.2 sq. miles of water. Aleknagik is in a transitional climate zone. The primary influence is maritime, although a continental climate does affect the weather here. Average summer temperatures range from 30 to 66 degrees Fahrenheit. Average winter temperatures range from 4 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit. Annual precipitation is 20 to 35 inches and annual snowfall is 93 inches. Fog and low clouds are common during July and August, and may preclude access. The lake and river are ice-free from June through mid-November.

History, Culture and Demographics

Wood River and Aleknagik Lake have been used historically as summer fish camps. Aleknagik means "Wrong Way Home," because Natives returning to their homes along the Nushagak River would sometimes become lost in the fog and find themselves swept up the Wood River with the tide, inadvertently arriving at Aleknagik Lake. The 1929 U.S. Census found 55 people living in the "Wood River village" area to the south. During 1930, there were five families living on the shores of the lake year-round, the Waskeys. Polleys, Hansons, Yakos, and Smiths. A log cabin territorial school was built on the south shore of the lake in 1933, and Josie Waskey was the first teacher. Attracted by the school, other facilities, and plentiful fish, game and timber, a number of families from Goodnews, Togiak, and Kulukak area relocated to Aleknagik. A post office was established in 1937. A two-story framed school with a teacher apartment was constructed in 1938. By 1939, Aleknagik had 78 residents, over 30 buildings, and a small sawmill. In the late 1940s, a Seventh-Day Adventist Mission and School was established on the north shore. During the 1950s, a Moravian Church and a Russian Orthodox Church were built in Aleknagik and over 35 families lived along the lake. In 1959, the state constructed a 25-mile road connecting the south shore to Dillingham. The road was passable only during the summer months, until the late 1980s, when it was upgraded and maintained year-round. The City was incorporated in 1973. Over 24 additional square miles were annexed to the City in April 2000.