Black Bear Campground — Chugach National Forest

This campground has all three warnings, sometimes.  There is a really nice boardwalk and the drive to this campground is great.  This is a smaller campground with only 12 sites that are not suitable for RVs.  If you are in an RV look at the williwaw campground instead.    It is centrally located between Anchorage and the Peninsula but has so many things to offer.  Trip through the Whittier tunnel is a definite.  If you are a hiker Byron glacier in good weather is decent hike.  If you have kids and even if you don’t then the Wildlife Conservation Center of Alaska is great way to get close to the biggest animals Alaska has to offer.   During the autumn and winter this campground is still open but not maintained.  Toilets may not be available so bring your own TP and prepare to pack out all your trach.   Cell Service: No Internet: No 2020 Cost: $14 Distance from Anchorage: 55 Bug Factor (1 minimal to 10 too many to enjoy): 5 if it gets sunny the bugs come out  

Beautiful little spot, often overlooked for Williwaw Campground. We spent the weekend here and it was great. The canpground back up against the Trail of Blue Ice and has east access to all the Portage Vallet jas to offer. Nice open sites, the only downside is some road noise. We were happy to have not gotten into Williwaw as it is very grown up and hard to see and we did have a bear come through one night but we were able to see him. He passed through no issue just getting to the creek and fish. Wonderfully clean bathrooms serviced twice a day. The campgound jost at Williwaw also cover payment pickup for Black Bear.

It seems as though people don’t know about this one and it’s so nice. We felt alone in a beautiful place. And in such a pretty area!

This is our go to campground every summer. There are restrooms, water, trash cans, bear proof food boxes. Sites are spacious.

Beautiful camp sites in thick wooded areas. Watch for mosquitos (like everywhere in Alaska!) and be prepared for plenty of road noise echoing off the valley walls.

If you're camping in Portage Valley, expect rain! This whole area (Portage and Girdwood) is classified as a rain forest so everything is wet most of the time. It's a few miles down the road (on the right) leading to Portage Glacier and Whittier. The campground is small with only about 11 sites, and the road/pads are not paved. Each site has a campfire ring and wooden picnic tables - most are pretty mossy! Hand pump for water is available. Sites are fairly close together and I wouldn't recommend them for larger campers or motorhomes. No camp host at this site. Head on over the Williwaw Salmon Viewing Area when the fish are running. And check out the Begich-Boggs Visitors Center to learn all about glaciers, local wildlife and history of the Portage area. If you can't get into Williwaw (just down the road) then this is a good alternative.

This is a nice place to get away with the kids.there are trails to ride bikes and play in the river. Kids like to throw rocks in the water