Where to Stay In Chugach National Forest

Stay­ing at the remote Kenai Back­coun­try Lodge with­in the Kenai Nation­al Wildlife Refuge offers a real taste of the wilder­ness. The lodge, locat­ed on a five-acre, pri­vate in-hold­ing, began as a riv­er-accessed hunt­ing cab­in back in 1935. Years lat­er, the remod­eled and expand­ed prop­er­ty is still road-free, and guests raft into the lodge. Alas­ka Wild­land Adven­tures pride them­selves on a ​‘leave no trace’ style of eco-tourism. 

This fly-in-only lodge fea­tures two seclud­ed chalets set amid a stun­ning mix­ture of sea, for­est, and a glac­i­er-formed lake. Enjoy guid­ed walks, cus­tom zodi­ac tours on the lake, bon­fires on the beach, and relax­ation at your pri­vate chalet. The rate includes meals a day plus snacks, kayaks, and activ­i­ties. Trans­porta­tion is separate.

This 86-room lodge not only has end­less views over a vast val­ley, but it also sits on the banks of the Kenai Riv­er, which teems with fish. With vault­ed ceil­ings made of nat­u­ral­ly fin­ished wood, cozy sit­ting areas with wood-burn­ing stoves and pri­vate porch­es, it’s easy to feel like the whole place is yours. The area is famous for its fish­ing, but you also have easy access to Kenai Fjords Nation­al Park, a wild land filled with glac­i­ers, marine  ...more

This lux­u­ry resort, 40 miles from Anchor­age in the town of Gird­wood, is sur­round­ed by sev­en glac­i­ers. The spec­tac­u­lar scenery is pop­u­lar in sum­mer as well as win­ter, when you’ll find a full-on ski resort. It’s a roman­tic option that’s equal­ly great for families.

Alas­ka Heav­en­ly Lodge offers the best of both worlds: all the seclu­sion and lux­u­ry nor­mal­ly asso­ci­at­ed with fly-in lodges, as well as the afford­abil­i­ty and con­ve­nience of being on the road sys­tem. Built in 1974, Alas­ka Heav­en­ly Lodge is made up of three hand-hewn log cab­ins avail­able to rent for your pri­vate group. The Main Lodge fea­tures a full kitchen, a 16-per­son din­ing room table, a com­fy sit­ting area with a wood-burn­ing fire­place, a loft  ...more

Look­ing for an inti­mate and acces­si­ble get­away with an authen­tic Alaskan feel? Alas­ka Wild­land Adven­ture’s Kenai River­side Lodge will fit the bill, with just 16 cab­ins set on the Kenai Riv­er, sur­round­ed by 3,000-foot snow-capped moun­tains. This easy-access river­side lodge has a remote feel, but is still right on the road sys­tem. Meals are served fam­i­ly-style, cre­at­ing a more inti­mate expe­ri­ence, and allow­ing you to min­gle with fel­low guests and  ...more

Set in a hand­some birch for­est over­look­ing Tur­na­gain Arm, this camp­ground in Chugach Nation­al For­est close to the his­toric vil­lage of Hope is a fam­i­ly clas­sic. The 34 sites offer all the usu­al ameni­ties (pic­nic table, camp­fire ring, out­hous­es, water pump) and are laid out with an eye toward pri­va­cy. Just 81 miles from Anchorage.

Cas­cade Bay, at the North­west end of Eaglek Bay, holds the trea­sure of the largest water­fall in Prince William Sound. There is no lack of fresh­wa­ter in the Bay, with anoth­er rea­son­able water source com­ing in just to the East of the Falls. Be pre­pared for the noise of the falls, and tons of jellyfish!

Bertha Creek Camp­ground is a great choice for a low-key cam­pout in a recre­ation­al gold-pan­ning area on a qui­et loop where the kids won’t get lost. Locat­ed just south of Tur­na­gain Pass in the Kenai Moun­tains about 65 miles south of Anchor­age, the camp­ground is tucked into an open for­est beside the con­flu­ence of Bertha and Gran­ite creeks at the base of steep mountains.

With 60 sites on paved loops, Willi­waw is suit­able for large motorhomes and offers great access to the Trail of Blue Ice — a non-motor­ized mul­ti-use trail that tra­vers­es the val­ley floor. Also near­by bik­ing, salmon view­ing, hikes, and glac­i­er viewing.

If you want to camp beside sub­alpine Upper Sum­mit Lake close to trum­peter swans and fish­ing for rain­bows, take the fam­i­ly to this camp­ground deep in the Kenai Moun­tains off Mile 46 of the Seward High­way. The 35 sites are spread along a loop in the alder, wil­low and spruce woods on the hill­side above the lake, with clear-run­ning Ten­der­foot Creek pass­ing through 

Bik­ing, fish view­ing, a nat­ur­al his­to­ry cen­ter and a flat hike to a glac­i­er are with­in easy reach of this qui­et, inti­mate camp­ground in Portage Val­ley at the head of Tur­na­gain Arm in the Chugach Nation­al For­est. The 12 sites in the grav­eled, wood­ed Black Bear are yards from the Trail of Blue Ice — a non-motor­ized mul­ti-use trail that tra­vers­es the val­ley floor.

Quartz Creek camp­ground is sit­u­at­ed on the banks of sparkling Kenai Lake. This is a great spot to cool off on a hot day. Kenai Lake has a good sandy swim­ming beach and a trail that fol­lows along near­by Quartz Creek. Cast your line for some awe­some fly-fish­ing at the creek or look for the near­by horse sta­ble for a scenic ride. 

This camp­ground offers tent camp­ing with access to pic­nic tables, toi­lets and an inter­pre­tive site. It is a remote site, with no road access. You must hire a char­ter. Inquire at the Cor­do­va Vis­i­tor Center. 

16 sites in a wood­ed set­ting. Trail to Ptarmi­gan lake departs from the campground.

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The 12x20-ft, rus­tic cab­in has a loft and a cov­ered deck. Locat­ed 4.2 miles from Pow­er Creek Trail­head, which begins approx­i­mate­ly 6.9 miles north of Cor­do­va, Alaska.

A 12ft x 16ft rus­tic A‑frame cab­in with a loft. The cab­in is locat­ed 200 yards south of Beach Riv­er on the Gulf of Alas­ka side of Mon­tague Island.

Cab­in is near Crow Pass in the Chugach Moun­tains, 3 miles from the Crow Pass Trail­head and is locat­ed 500 yards East of the Trail at the old cab­in site 

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The 14x16-ft rus­tic cab­in can sleep up to six peo­ple. Access to the cab­in is by wheel plane at low tide from Cor­do­va or Seward.

This 15 x 17 trapper’s style cab­in perched on a ridge 1,800 feet above Spencer Glac­i­er offers one of the most spec­tac­u­lar views in the world. The panora­ma sweeps across a wild moun­tain-scape of sheer faces and avalanche chutes. Close to the cab­in, vis­i­tors will find alpine mead­ows with wild­flow­ers and inter­est­ing geol­o­gy, and chances to see var­i­ous wildlife.

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Mile 29.2 Res­ur­rec­tion Pass Trail. This cab­in sits at the south end of Juneau Lake. A rus­tic cab­in with counter space, a table, bench­es and a wood stove for heat. Sleeps eight with bunks for six. Oth­er fea­tures include a split­ting maul and saw, an out­house — and a canoe with pad­dles for explor­ing the lake. Check Availability  ...more

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This 16′ X 16′ cab­in is con­struct­ed of bee­tle-killed, milled spruce logs and has two full size bunk beds with a capac­i­ty to sleep eight peo­ple. Locat­ed in Deci­sion Point State Park, this cab­in can be reached by pri­vate boat, kayak, float­plane, or com­mer­cial water taxi.

12 by 14 rus­tic cab­in on Res­ur­rec­tion Creek in spruce-birch for­est with moun­tain views. Sleep­ing bunks for six with space for eight. Equipped with counter space, table, bench­es, wood stove, split­ting maul and hand saw. Out­house and bear locker. 

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16-x-16 log cab­in in an alpine val­ley nes­tled amid steep moun­tain slopes. Sleeps 6, with table, oil stove, and out­house. Note: You must bring #1 stove oil if you want heat. One gal­lon lasts about one hour. Devil’s Creek Trail inter­sects here, a 10-mile descent to the Seward High­way trail­head. Devi’s Pass Lake is about one mile down the trail. Check Availability  ...more

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On the south­west shore of Coghill Lake, on a lagoon just before the Coghill Riv­er, on the east side of Col­lege Fiord in Prince William Sound. Trail is 3 miles.

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Mile 11.9 Russ­ian Lakes Trail.Handsome 12×14 trapper’s style log cab­in that over­looks the lake and a stun­ning view. With bunk space for six and sleep­ing for eight. (The For­est Ser­vice rec­om­mends space for 4, so expect close quar­ters.) Check Availability  ...more

16-by-16 rus­tic log cab­in on Fox Creek in the Res­ur­rec­tion Creek val­ley near the edge of by spruce/​birch for­est with views of near­by moun­tains. Sleeps 6, with table, wood stove, split­ting maul, cross­cut saw, and outhouse.

Oper­at­ed by the non-prof­it Alas­ka Moun­tain and Wilder­ness Huts Asso­ci­a­tion, Man­i­to­ba Cab­in is intend­ed to pro­mote wilder­ness expe­ri­ence and cama­raderie in the spir­it of Euro­pean-style trekking huts. While very pop­u­lar among back­coun­try skiers dur­ing win­ter week­ends, the facil­i­ty often has open­ings dur­ing week­days. Dur­ing the sum­mer, you might have the entire place to yourself.

A 12ft x 14ft rus­tic cab­in at the north­west end of Cres­cent Lake in the Kenai Mountains.

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The cab­in offers seclu­sion and good fish­ing. A row­boat and oars pro­vid­ed at the cab­in gives anglers excel­lent oppor­tu­ni­ties to catch grayling on the small, adja­cent lake. The cab­in is acces­si­ble only by float­plane (15 min­utes from Moose Pass or 15 min­utes from Seward).

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A two-sto­ry log cab­in with a loft sleeps eight with bunk space for sev­en. It has counter space table, bench­es and a wood stove for heat. Oth­er fea­tures include split­ting maul and hand saw, an out­house — and a row­boat with oars. Check Availability 

The 12x14-ft rus­tic struc­ture can sleep up to 6. Access to the cab­in is by wheel plane on the beach at low tide only, typ­i­cal­ly a 25-minute flight from Cordova.

Mile 8.6 Russ­ian Lakes Trail. Rus­tic cab­in with bunks for six and sleep­ing space for eight. Fish­ing for Dol­ly Var­den and rain­bow trout in the near­by Russ­ian Riv­er. Fea­tures counter space, table, bench­es, a wood stove, split­ting maul and hand­saw, and out­house. Check Availability  ...more

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Mile 2.3 Russ­ian Lakes Trail. This rus­tic cab­in in a flat area along the east­ern shore of Low­er Russ­ian Lake fea­tures a row­boat with oars. It sleeps eight, with bunks for six, and includes cook­ing counter, table, bench­es, wood stove, spit­ting maul and saw, and an out­house. Check Availability   ...more

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A rus­tic log cab­in with counter space, a table, bench­es and a wood stove for heat. Sleeps eight, with bunks for six. Oth­er fea­tures include split­ting maul and saw, out­house — and a row­boat equipped with oars for explor­ing the lake. Check Availability   ...more

12-by-14 rus­tic cab­in tucked away from the trail in a scat­tered spruce for­est near the more open sub­alpine zone at 2,200 feet. Sleeps 6, with table, wood stove, split­ting maul, cross­cut saw, and outhouse. 

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A 12ft x 14ft rus­tic cab­in over­look­ing the south­ern shore of Cres­cent Lake. It is a 7 mile hike via Carter Lake Trail and an 11 mile hike via Cres­cent Creek Trail.