Email DavidCoray@aol.com or call (907) 690-1299

About Us

David and Joanne Coray are your hosts at Silver Salmon Creek Lodge. They are both naturals in the realm of human and hospitality services and have professional backgrounds which lend themselves well to managing a remote wilderness lodge. David came to Alaska at age 1, in 1952, his parents being school teachers in the Lake Clark/Lake Iliamna area. His first memories in life revolved around playing outdoors and witnessing scenes of abundant fishing, hunting, and boating in Alaska’s wild “bush,” where they lived in a log cabin, packed their own water, and enjoyed a robust and rewarding lifestyle. Later, after his father was lost in a plane crash, he moved to the Kenai Peninsula, where he graduated from high school. Psychology was his subject of interest in college, which he studied at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks. After working several years at a group home for troubled adolescents, he decided there was no better way to blend his love for the outdoors and still work with people than by establishing a wilderness facility where he could appreciate both.

He bought the current establishment in 1983, a potential lodge at the time, changed the name and nurtured it into an established recreation destination, under the same owner/management since its inception.

In September 1991 David met Joanne (and his future mother-in-law) on the beach at Silver Salmon and what began as a fishing trip eventually led to a marriage. Joanne had recently completed her residency in Emergency Medicine at the University of Colorado/Denver General program and came to Alaska to work as a physician in Soldotna, Homer and Kodiak. She continues to balance her practice as a board certified emergency physician with her life at the lodge. Together they both enjoy a variety of naturalist activities including photography, fishing, camping, boating, mammal/ bird biology, and quiet days during the winter at Silver Salmon.

With 40 acres of private land within Lake Clark National Park and an experienced, professional staff, Silver Salmon Creek Lodge enjoys a 50% return guest rate. David and Joanne invite their guests to enjoy the informal and casual atmosphere and renowned food service while partaking in adventure-based outdoor activities unequaled in diversity and personalization.

“It is our hope that by offering personalized tours and activities from brown bear photo trips to world class salmon fishing, we will provide life long memories in an ecologically sound manner to all our visiting guests.” David and Joanne Coray