Alaska RV Parks & Campgrounds

When you stay at the Anchorage Ship Creek RV Park, you’re just a few blocks from the heart of downtown Anchorage, but you also get to hang out right where the locals fish. The famed Ship Creek offers plenty of action for anglers, birders and spectators.

Want to let the kids romp on a beach beneath a million-dollar view of mile-high peaks? Paddle a pristine lake? Tucked into the woods at the northern foot of Eklutna Lake in Chugach State Park, this campground offers families unique access to a mountain wilderness valley laced with interesting features and 25-mile network of multi-use trails.

UPDATE: The campground will be temporarily closed beginning in 2019 due to the danger posed by trees infested with spruce-bark beetles. Rotting trees have been toppling. State parks plans to reopen the campground after the hazardous trees have been removed.

Camping by this 108-acre lake inside the Nancy Lake State Recreation Area near Willow feels like you’ve reached the end of the road. To the west stretches unbroken wilderness to the Alaska Range and beyond. And yet, the 97 sites in this friendly, heavily treed campground offer all the regular campground amenities of outhouses, fire rings, picnic tables and water pump.                       

Long popular with families who seek a wilderness-like setting without leaving the urban area, the place has a reputation for cleanliness and serenity. But you have to make peace with the river: it is loud. 57 campsites are nestled along three wooded lanes and the interesting gravel bars of Eagle River are never more than a few minutes’ walk away.

Biking, hiking, fishing, climbing, wildlife viewing, campfires — and the bore tide spectacle of Turnagain Arm. Few campgrounds anywhere offer as many outdoor options to an adventurous family as Bird Creek Campground in Chugach State Park. Located at Mile 101 on the Seward Highway, the campground features 22 sites for tents or RVs.

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.

170 site RV Park and Campground on the banks of the Chena River

Nalu means “wave” in Hawaiian, and the Glacier Nalu Campground Resort combines the stunning scenery of Alaska with the relaxed atmosphere of Hawaii. Whether you’re traveling by RV or tent camping, this spacious, 12.5-acre park—surrounded by large spruce trees with a creek running through it—is perfect for couples or families who want to experience outdoor living.

The six-room B&B, in a log building, is strictly no-frills, but you’ll find clean, comfortable rooms with one double bed and one twin bed. While they may be basic, you won’t find more affordable lodging in the area—there’s even a continental breakfast. It’s the perfect choice for hardcore fishermen and adventurers who want a warm, clean, affordable room to return to in the evening.      

The family-run Denali Grizzly Bear Resort offers a variety of accommodations, great amenities, and amazing views of mountains and the Nenana River. And its location, six miles south of the Denali National Park Visitors Center but outside the main tourist area, means you’ll have easy park access without feeling crowded. Choose from their hotel rooms, private cabins, or campground.

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

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.

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. If you want to try your hand at gold panning, head up the road to Crescent Creek campground. Here you'll find a quiet spot for some good fishing at Crescent Creek and Crescent Lake. Both campgrounds offer maintained sites, fire rings and flush toilets.

Settlers Cove State Recreation Site offers two of the best sandy beaches to be found in the Ketchikan area and provides pit toilets and sheltered and unsheltered picnic tables with fire grates. A campground with eight campsites is available as well and one public-use cabin on the water that can be rented.

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       

On the north side of the Knik River Bridge, turn off the main roadway and drive down the riverbed.This is a good area to get out and hike around, you can walk beside the glacially-fed Knik River while under the dominant peaks of the Chugach Mountains and Pioneer Peak.                                         

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.

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.