Alaska Camping: RV Parks & Campgrounds

Expe­ri­ence the best of remote Alas­ka with a stay at this rus­tic, fly-in lodge locat­ed south of Denali Nation­al Park, with end­less activities. 

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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. 

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

Two sets of stairs to riv­er and 625 feet of ele­vat­ed boardwalk.

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.

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.

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.

Ocean Shores offers amaz­ing views from all of its sites — plus, it’s warmer here than on the Homer Spit, since it’s not as windy. Most sites come with a pic­nic table and three shared fire rings over­look­ing the bay. You’ll also find cable TV and Wi-Fi, as well as coin-oper­at­ed show­ers and laundry.

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.

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 

One of Whittier’s true gems is hid­den in plain sight. The Head of the Bay is lit­er­al­ly that: Where the shim­mer­ing waters of Prince William Sound meet the shores of this charm­ing town — and it’s a beau­ti­ful spot to vis­it. Come with a pic­nic and take it all in as you relax. You’ll also find a met­al fire ring, per­fect for a sum­mer evening bon­fire. Want to camp there? It’s more pop­u­lar with those dri­ving RVs or camper­vans than tent campers.

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.

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!

Seward Water­front Park extends from the small boat har­bor to the SeaL­ife Cen­ter and con­tains paid tent and RV camp­ing, play­grounds, a skate park, pic­nic­ing areas, beach access, and a trail lined with his­tor­i­cal landmarks.

Six sets of stairs down to the riv­er, 800-plus feet of ele­vat­ed board­walks, and fish walks.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

This con­flu­ence is one of the most pop­u­lar fish­eries in South Cen­tral Alas­ka. Locat­ed about 60 miles north of Anchor­age on the Parks High­way, it offers excel­lent fish­ing for four of the major salmon species: kings, sil­vers, chums and pinks. It also fea­tures big rain­bows (up to 30 inch­es) and Dol­ly Var­den, as well as Arc­tic Grayling. You’ll also find, in small num­bers, bur­bot and whitefish. 

One of the best Denali (McKin­ley) view­points on a clear day. Also pic­nic sites, bath­room, and 9 campsites. 

Camp­ground with 35 sites, pic­nic table, shel­ter, toi­lets, and 2.5 mile hik­ing trail over­look­ing the Tok Riv­er Valley.

At Mile­post 49, there is a camp­ground with plen­ty of park­ing spaces avail­ble for cars and RVs. From the scenic over­look on the upper­road you can spot trum­peter swans and moose in the small lake below. This riv­er access point is the south­ern­most access point on the 400-mile Fortymile Nation­al Wild and Scenic Riv­er System. 

Deep Creek North is locat­ed on the north side of Deep Creek; this area has 29 camp­sites for vehi­cles up to 50 feet.

Locat­ed at Mile 11 of Hatch­er Pass Road, you’ll find Gov­ern­ment Peak Pic­nic Area. There is a small camp­ground with 8 sites for tents or small­er RVs, and a pic­nic area.

With a com­mand­ing view of the Ogilvie Moun­tains and a large swath of open tun­dra, cari­bou hunters and oth­er trav­el­ers find this a con­ve­nient site to set up camp.

A spec­tac­u­lar set­ting for anglers, beach­combers, hik­ers, and explor­ers. There is devel­oped camp­ing for both tent and RV campers, a boat launch, two mod­ern pit toi­lets, and numer­ous pic­nic sites. The beach makes for excel­lent walk­ing, beach­comb­ing, wildlife view­ing and birding. 

Ide­al for those pad­dling, boat­ing, fish­ing, hik­ing as well as those look­ing for seclu­sion away from the lake’s more pop­u­lar routes for ski­ing and snow­mo­bil­ing. The cab­in faces the sun­set and may be the per­fect locale to string a ham­mock for long sum­mer after­noons lis­ten­ing to for­est birds.

The only work­ing road­house on the Richard­son High­way with a restau­rant, bar, con­ve­nience store, motel, gas sta­tion, cab­ins, lodge rooms and RV park.

Fan­tas­tic views of Denali (McKin­ley) on a clear day. Pic­nic area, bath­rooms, and 20 campsites. 

Only a few miles from the end of the Denali Park Road (85 miles in, about 5 hours by bus), this is the clas­sic Denali view from the north side, made famous by Ansel Adams’ pho­tographs. 25 sites.

Bald Lake Cab­in is a great choice for peo­ple who want to stay at an Alas­ka wilder­ness cab­in on a pris­tine lake, but don’t want to trav­el far to get there. On the hill­side over­look­ing iso­lat­ed Bald Lake, the cab­in offers seclu­sion and pri­va­cy only a short walk from your vehi­cle. It’s a ​“best of both worlds” kind of place — where you can spend the day explor­ing a vir­tu­al­ly pri­vate lake with inter­est­ing bays, or quick­ly dash back to your vehi­cle to  ...more

New­ly opened in 2017, this com­plex has a ranger sta­tion, 32 RV sites, 10 camp­sites, 3 pub­lic use cab­ins and more

This is a trail with access to Cop­per Lake. Cop­per Lake has oppor­tu­ni­ties for Lake Trout, Grayling, and Bur­bot fish­ing. The first 2.5 miles are suit­able for hik­ing, then the trail crosss­es Tana­da Creek, which can be high and fast, and trail con­di­tions deteriorate. 

MP 27.8, Nabesna Rd. This is now called the Kendesnii Camp­ground. This is now a devel­oped camp­ground with 10 sites, with pic­nic tables, fire rings, trails, and restrooms. Kendesnii Camp­ground is a great place to fish and view wildlife. A hie of about a half mile to the south and over the ridge will take you to Jack Lake and more beau­ti­ful views of the Wrangell Mountains.

These two almost iden­ti­cal cab­ins (only 200 feet apart) are aimed toward adven­tur­ers and fam­i­lies who want to include both pad­dling and hik­ing in their dai­ly adven­tures. They offer direct access to two lakes as well as the park’s trail sys­tem. Though rel­a­tive­ly close, each cab­in is col­ored by a slight­ly dif­fer­ent atmos­phere. Lynx 2’s porch faces the sun­set, with good after­noon sun and a view of Lynx Lake. It feels open, more exposed. Lynx 3  ...more

Find out how the sock­eye salmon in this lake ben­e­fit from the clear waters.

Petersburg’s For­est Ser­vice camp­ground is at Ohmer Creek, 22 miles out the Mitkof High­way. These are prim­i­tive sites with min­i­mal main­te­nance. There’s no water and no charge to stay. Campers should use bath­room facil­i­ties at near­by Blind Slough Recre­ation Area.

Whether you’re look­ing for a camp­site or fish­ing hole, glass­ing for birds, watch­ing for bears, or beach­comb­ing, this recre­ation site is a great spot to expe­ri­ence the won­ders of Kodi­ak Island with­out trav­el­ing too far.

This BLM-main­tained camp­ground sits amid the Tan­gle Lakes, a series of long, nar­row lakes. This is a des­ig­nat­ed put-in for the 30-mile-long Delta Nation­al Wild and Scenic Riv­er float trip. There are moose and cari­bou in the area, many hunters use this as a base camp dur­ing the fall hunt­ing season.

Camp­ground with 15 sites, fire spits, pic­nic tables and shel­ter and toi­lets. There’s a boat launch for boat­ing, water ski­ing, and swim­ming. This is a pop­u­lar bush plane land­ing location.

Tulchi­na Adven­tures oper­ates a ​“glamp­ing” camp­ground in Port Alsworth. Tent plat­forms, sur­round­ed by mos­qui­to net­ting and cov­ered with plas­tic roof­ing, come with camp chairs, potable water, and bear-proof food storage.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? On this lake it could be either. 

This is a pop­u­lar boat launch for drift boaters fish­ing for king salmon. The Kasilof Riv­er red salmon dip­net fish­ery is here, but only open to Alas­ka res­i­dents. It’s worth a look if you’ve nev­er seen dip­net­ters in action before. There are 16 camp­sites, water, tables, toi­lets, hik­ing trails, a boat launch and fishing.

For 360-degree moun­tain views and end­less out­door adven­tures, head to Blue­ber­ry Lake, about 30 min­utes north of Valdez along the Richard­son High­way in Thomp­son Pass. Fish, kayak, pad­dle­board, hike, and bike. And come to stay: the area has 21 basic camp­sites. RVs under 30 feet are allowed.

Motor­cy­cle camp­ground with tent sites, bunkhouse, cab­in rentals, and wood fired sauna. 

Here’s a great place to overnight, or just take a rest. Head out to the over­look and watch for trum­peter swans and moose on the small lake.

Camp­ground with RV and tent sites. Café on site. 

This large main­tained camp­ground boasts 98 camp­sites, fresh water, pit toi­lets, fire­wood, shel­ters, and a boat launch. Look for pere­grine fal­con nests in the cliffs. This wood­ed camp­ground is with­in walk­ing dis­tance of Stern­wheel­er Grave­yard; where you’ll find wreck­age of at least three sternwheelers. 

Here you’ll find oppor­tu­ni­ties for swim­ming, fish­ing, boat­ing and camp­ing. Camp­sites are set among the trees and in open grassy areas. Explore fur­ther afield to find blue­ber­ry and cran­ber­ry bush­es along the path around the pond. 

This area was once the site of the Lassen airstrip. In the 1930s and ​‘40s, air ser­vice flew sup­plies into the area. Before this, the only way to get fuel and oth­er sup­plies to the min­ing camps was by sled­ding them up-riv­er dur­ing the winter.

The camp­site is sin­gle occu­pan­cy and lies on the south end of Wrangell Island. Access is via a short foot­path from the park­ing area at the bridge.

There are 3 cov­ered pic­nic shel­ters locat­ed next to Sala­man­der Creek. Each has a pic­nic table and fire ring. A small sandy beach lies next to one of the shel­terss and swim­ming oppor­tu­ni­ties exist when the water lev­els are higher.

Down the beach and across Hope Creek from Dick Proenneke’s famous cab­in is a prim­i­tive camp­ground. A bear-proof food lock­er is avail­able at the camp­site. Water is avail­able from the creek, but should be treat­ed. The camp­ground is first-come, first-served.

The park has a few camp­sites, but no out­hous­es. The dock at the park pro­vides pub­lic access to Mos­qui­to Lake, which offers great fish­ing, espe­cial­ly for cut­throat trout and Dol­ly Var­den char. The lake fills with migrat­ing ducks in the spring and fall, and trum­peter swans use the lake as a stopover on their migra­tions. Up to 80 swans have been seen at one time on the lake. In the win­ter, locals like to ice fish and cross-coun­try ski on the lake  ...more

Igloo Creek is one of three tent-only camp­grounds in the park. Sit­u­at­ed right next to the creek, it is a great place to relax and enjoy the wilder­ness and the area around the camp­ground offers great hik­ing opportunities.

The munic­i­pal­i­ty of Skag­way main­tains this free prim­i­tive camp­ground of about 20 sites on the Dyea flats, a moraine that’s one of the broad­est flat spots in South­east Alas­ka. It’s walk­ing dis­tance to the remains of the his­toric Dyea townsite. 

Mile 21.8 Nabesna Road. This rest area has a pic­nic table and vault toi­let, and looks out over a lake with a view of the Wrangell Mountains.

The camp­ground is pret­ty open, since bark bee­tles killed the big, old spruce trees. The camp­sites attract RVers and campers, and each of the 24 sites has a fire ring and pic­nic table. There’s potable water at a hand pump. 

A good place to camp. Very qui­et, a bab­bling brook, and well off what must be one of the qui­etest high­ways in Alaska.

Shoe­mak­er Bay RV Park offers 25 sites for RVs and trail­ers, and tent camp­ing in a wood­ed spot near a creek. Restrooms, a fresh­wa­ter pump and a hold­ing tank dump­site for RVs is pro­vid­ed. It’s locat­ed about four miles far­ther south on the high­way from the water­front City Park tent camp­ing area.

Camp out at this qui­et, clear­wa­ter lake, where glac­i­ers once stood over 2,000 feet tall

Camp­ground, RV Park, and Cab­in Rentals. On-site restau­rant, gift store, his­toric gold dredge and muse­um, gold mine tours, recre­ation­al min­ing and gold panning.

73 camp­ing sites, 3 pub­lic use cab­ins, and hik­ing trails. Guid­ed day hikes, kayak rentals, and kayak tours available.

Haines locals come here for wed­dings and oth­er spe­cial occa­sions, a great spot for spot­ting wildlife, launch­ing a boat, or pitch­ing a tent. It’s rarely crowd­ed due to the bumpy ride down a steep, grav­el road in. 

This park is the con­flu­ence of the Kenai and Moose Rivers. Take a break at this recre­ation site named for the Eng­lish author Iza­ak Wal­ton who wrote The Com­pleat Angler. Look for the infor­ma­tion­al sign to learn about the Moose Riv­er Archae­o­log­i­cal Site. You will also find a host­ed camp­ground and boat launch. There’s excel­lent fly-fish­ing in this area.

Red Shirt Cab­in 3 cel­e­brates the ancient spir­it of Red Shirt Lake as a gath­er­ing place. The lake once fea­tured large salmon runs and sum­mer camps for Dena’ina Native groups, and still hosts pri­vate cab­ins on its south­ern half. The cab­in may be per­fect for large par­ties in quest of lake action, a plat­form for those who want stren­u­ous days of pad­dling, fish­ing, swim­ming, and motor­ing fol­lowed by rous­ing evening campfires.

Here you’ll find 16 camp sites sit­u­at­ed among the trees. The camp­ground offers toi­lets, fresh water and shelters. 

Be care­ful, it’s easy to miss this turn-off as you drop down the hill, but look out for the sign ​“Cari­bou Creek Recre­ation­al Area.” This sel­dom-used camp­ground is a qui­et place to camp, away from high­way noise. It has fire rings and pic­nic tables, and there’s a trail to the creek. It’s a one-mile walk to the water. It’s a nice stream and it’s part of the State Recre­ation­al Gold Min­ing Area. So bring a pan and try your luck!

Camp­ground with 80 RV sites, 20 Tent Sites. Access to Tol­sona Mud Vol­ca­noes Trail. 

12 site camp­ground in Chiti­na, Alas­ka with full RV hookup, dump sta­tion, tent plat­forms, free wire­less inter­net, and water.

Sanc­tu­ary Camp­ground is a 7 site camp­ground locat­ed at Mile 23 on the Park Road. It is open only to tent campers. 

This small camp­ground, less than one mile south of the cruise ship dock in Haines, is for bicy­clists and oth­ers arriv­ing on foot — no vehi­cles are allowed to here. Don’t miss the nice over­look in the for­est above the camp­ground, with views over the water to the Chilkat Mountains. 

Includes bear lock­er and fire ring. 

Teklani­ka (aka ​“Tek”) Riv­er Camp­ground is can be found at mile 29 on the Denali Park Road. It is the sec­ond largest camp­ground in the park, offer­ing 53 sites for RVs and tents. 

This is one of the states most scenic camp­grounds offer­ing views of some of the tallest peaks in the Alas­ka Range. Twelve camp­sites are sit­u­at­ed along a loop road; the grounds are equipped with water, toi­lets, fire pits and hik­ing trail. The Delta bison herd can often be seen from the camp­ground and near­by viewpoints. 

The Sav­age Riv­er camp­ground is laid out in a patch of trees that are just below the tree­line. Weath­er depen­dant, you can see Denali (Mt. McKin­ley) far off in the distance. 

25 RV sites, 15 tent sites, 3 rental cab­ins, 3 rental igloos. Access to the Cop­per River. 

Prob­a­bly the best free camp­site along the Denali High­way. With a large park­ing area next to a main­tained pit toi­let on the south­side of the high­way, and an infor­mal park­ing area on the north, you can install an RV or set up a tent in many loca­tions with a bit of pri­va­cy and then be ser­e­nad­ed by the melody of rush­ing water all night long.

Camp­ground with 18 camp­sites. With­in walk­ing dis­tance of vil­lage of Eagle. 

Day time rest stop only.

RV park & camp­ground, kayak­ing, and fish­ing char­ters in Seward, Alaska

This is anoth­er favorite camp­site for cari­bou hunters (and tourists), and has been for over 8000 years. It’s the last tree-shel­tered area until you descend into the Macken­zie Riv­er Val­ley far to the north in the North­west Territories.

Riley Creek Camp­ground is a 147 site camp­ground locat­ed just inside the entrance to the park. 

This is prob­a­bly the nicest camp­ground on the Edger­ton High­way. The site has pic­nic tables and tent plat­forms. You’ll enjoy an amaz­ing view of a pic­turesque water­fall from the bridge across Lib­er­ty Creek. 10 sites are avail­able in this campground. 

Walk in pub­lic fish­ing access to Sil­ver Lake and Van Lake; you’ll find won­der­ful scenery and good rain­bow trout fish­ing in both lakes.

Locat­ed on an isth­mus between a shel­tered cove and the main body of a vast back­coun­try lake, Red Shirt Lake Cab­in 2 offers a basic, easy-to-heat base for explor­ing 1,186-acre Red Shirt Lake regard­less of weath­er. It gives a small par­ty no-fuss access to water, fuel and ski trails — a cozy space to relax when the day is done and the light begins its dying slant.

This seclud­ed camp­ing area is named for the lake that one of the sites over­looks. The camp­ing area offers 2 hard­ened camp­sites, fire rings and pic­nic tables. 

RV Park with 25 sites locat­ed behind Three Bears Out­post. Three Bears is a con­ve­nience store that also car­ries camp­ing, hunt­ing, and fish­ing supplies 

Chilkat State Park, sev­en miles south of Haines, is less vis­it­ed than Chilkoot Lake, prob­a­bly because it’s fur­ther from town and the road is grav­el. But don’t let that stop you. The park is qui­et, it’s one of the best local areas to look for moose, and the view of the Rain­bow Glac­i­er — a hang­ing glac­i­er with a huge water­fall drop­ping from its face — is world-class. 

Cir­cle Hot Springs was dis­cov­ered in 1893 by prospec­tor William Greats. In 1905, Franklin Leach home­stead­ed around the springs. Tents were used as the first bath­hous­es. Many min­ers win­tered over at the springs when they could not work on the creeks.

The camp­ing area is a sin­gle occu­pan­cy site on Wrangell Island. Access is via a 700 foot grav­el path from the park­ing area on the road to a pleas­ant site over­look­ing Sala­man­der Creek.

If you’re not head­ing right back to Anchor­age, here’s anoth­er great side trip. A scenic 19-mile dri­ve north takes you into the park. Lake Louise is known for its trout and grayling fish­ing, views of Tazli­na Glac­i­er and Lake, and berry pick­ing — har­vest wild straw­ber­ries and blue­ber­ries in July and August, or cran­ber­ries come September.