Kipnuk is a census-designated place in Bethel Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 639, down from 644 in 2000. Kipnuk consists mostly of Yup'ik speaking Native Alaskans; the name means a "bend" referring to the bend in the Kugkaktlik River where it is situated. The original settlement was situated along "Nukallpiarcunarli", a slough feeding into the Kugkaktlik. This slough was thus named, because it was hard to detect.