Searching for the perfect place to pitch your tent near Chitina? The Dyrt is an easy way to find tent camping spots near Chitina. Would you prefer a quiet dispersed site or an established camgpround with amenities? Either way, The Dyrt makes it easy to find the perfect place to pitch your tent.
This primitive camping area has no amenities. It is reached via foot travel only. Water is available from nearby streams (it should be treated before drinking) and there are bear boxes for storing food.
Of the 5,000 square miles of glacial ice in Wrangell-St. Elias, the Root Glacier is the most accessible. A moderate 1 ½ mile walk from the historic mining town of Kennecott along the Root Glacier Trail leads you onto the glacier. Be aware that glaciers can be dangerous. It is recommended to wear crampons or ice spikes on your shoes and go with an experienced guide.
There are countless backpacking trips that can be done in Wrangell-St. Elias. Most of the routes listed here are generally "known" and can be found in hiking books and in magazine articles. Other routes can be found through local guide services and air taxis. There are no maintained or marked routes in the park.
Approximately 1.5 miles after leaving Kennecott, the trail reaches the Root Glacier access trail. (Primitive campsites, along with an outhouse and food lockers, are available in this area.) To access the glacier, turn left at the sign and follow the trail as it winds down the moraine to the toe of the glacier. This trail crosses Amazon Creek, which is a seasonal stream. Depending on recent rainfall or spring melt, you may need to cross this stream.
Hazards: The Root Glacier can be very slippery and dangerous. Crampons are strongly recommended. Avoid walking along the edge of Root Glacier as rotting ice and swift, cold water are potentially dangerous. Bears are present along the entire route. For maximum safety, travel in groups, be noisy when you are walking, and never give any food to a bear.
Notes: If you are camping at the Jumbo Creek Camping Area or Donaho Basin, it is required that your food is stored in the bear-resistant food boxes or your own Bear Resistant Food Container (BRFC).
Legend
Gorgeous waterfall but very limited camping spots, about 5 in all with a couple walk in tent sites. First come first serve basis but all sites have a beautiful view of the creek and waterfall. Mostly tent sites only one or two sites big enough for an RV. The campground along is worth stopping in to see the waterfall if nothing else.
Legend
Well maintained campground. Kind of like a folk festival. Very friendly staff. If you are looking for a great place to camp here it is.
Call and make reservations! 907-822-3991 or kscharters@gmail.com
Prices are a little high for tent camping but pretty standard for RVs. Pets are welcome but drive slowly. Not a ton of room between spots.
LegendCannot reserve. Get there early in the week and stay the weekend. This campground only has 10 spots but is worth it. Spots are small but the waterfall is amazing. There is a great place to splash in the water at the base of this waterfall. This is one of those once in a life time spots so if you drive by and there is an open space take it.
There is great ground for tent camping as well.
Guide
This campground is only suitable for those with their own transportation as it is a considerable drive from the footbridge, but the trek is worth it. Nice level tent sites near the river with a picnic table and stone fire ring. Outhouse and showers are a short walk away. Guides for river rafting trips live in walled tents nearby if you need anything. Breeze near the river keeps insects at bay and some greenery between sites provide privacy. A nice place to camp away from the hubbub at the end of the road.
Legend
I came to this campground in the middle of May. No one else seemed to be camping there. There were cars parked in the parking area but most of them seemed to be broke down. No one ever even acknowledged that we were there. You pay buy an honor system of filling out a white slip of paper and putting it on your dash. $20 for overnight camping and $5 for day parking. This campground is conveniently located right next to the foot bridge that goes into McCarthy. If you are tent camping you have to set up on the bare rocks. It can also get very windy. Outhouses did not seem to be set up so we drove a mile out of town to the NPS public pit toilets since they were clean and open. There are picnic tables and rock fire rings scattered around for public use. The views are stunning and I'm sure they are even better in the summer!
Legend
We really enjoyed camping here. This was our first place we camped in Alaska and it was very clean. It has a beautiful view with the lake right there and the beavers are very active. Clean bathrooms
Legend
Like other national parks in Alaska that we encountered, there is often an expensive route and a very affordable route for exploring the park. Wrangell-St. Elias was no exception. While plenty of visitors stayed in the lodge, or in nearby McCarthy, we opted for the free Jumbo Creek Campground, only 1.5 miles from the heart of the park in Kennicott, Alaska.
Camping here requires a 1.5 trek to and from your site everyday, but if you can get past that, your time here will be unforgettable. Our site here provided possibly the best view we ever had while camping all across the U.S. last year.
At the “campground” -- a flexible term for an array of flat areas around the trail where you can find a place to camp -- is a bear box, and that’s about it. But it’s free, so what can you do?
We found the perfect place to pitch our tent, but we cooked a ways down the trail to take every precaution against bears in the area. We didn’t see any during our time here.
Hiking in and out of the campsite each day was a bit of a chore, but it was worth it to access some amazing hiking: we loved the hike to Bonanza Mine and out the other direction to Root Glacier (where we strapped on crampons with our guided tour.)
We also enjoyed hearing about the history of Kennicott from rangers in the many available ranger tours.
You can read much more about our three days in the park on our blog: Switchback Kids (Wrangell-St. Elias)
RangerThis camp ground really makes you appreciate the freedom to explore Alaska and see all the beauty. This is one of the most beautiful waterfalls I’ve seen in Alaska. Although this campground is just off the road system, the roads in Alaska can always use some work. Take your time and enjoy the drive but make sure you’re prepared - stores and gas are few in far between once you get back into this terrain.
Ranger
One of my favorite stops in Alaska 🤘🏻
RangerBeautiful campground! Not many sites, but a few right by the waterfall. It’s a shard turn off the road so when coming near Chitna keep your eyes peeled.
Also great for a short hike!
Pros: tent platforms to practice those LNT skills!
Guide
Nice cabins to rent if you don't want to take a tent or RV! Watch out for wildlife. Check out a cool old mining town or just get out of your busy life and relax. Beautiful view, clean air, and quiet!
RangerWe love coming back to this campground! If you have time for the trip, it's worth it. Very casual with no defined spots. Plenty of room, but arrive early on busy weekends to get the best space. No defined sites. Listen to running water at night and view the glacire from your tent
LegendI've reviewed this campground before but found some more information about it. It costs $20 to camp here per the listing in the Milepost. I was here in May and they weren't ready for the summer camping season. No pricing was posted but the honor box is still available right when you drive in. Only one pit toilet was open in the off season and the water was locked. Bear proof trash recepticals are still available. There are 6 campsites with fire rings and picnic tables. 4 of the campsites have tent pads. There are also lots of trees where you could hang a hammock! Cell reception was spotty here.
Traveler
Best place we stayed on our 900 mile round trip starting from Fairbanks. Fishing was good. Took us about an hour to land 4 sockeyes. Owners came down, gave us tips and offered to loan some gear we hadn't realized we needed. Bald eagles were playing, and flying around all day. The campsite we picked was by the river, plenty of room, picnic table, fire pit and a spot for our car.
This place is truly local and supports local. We were treated like locals even though we were 2000 miles from home and never been to Alaska before. I'm looking forward to coming back next year.
I definitely recommend this place for anyone who isn't impressed by people being herded from national parks into resorts, funnelled into gift shops reselling Walmart apparel and overpriced "dinner theatres".
GuideChugach Mountains on one side, the Root Glacier on the other, and a rushing river on the third side. The MOST gorgeous scenery at a campsite I've ever been to. There is no NP campground in this remote part of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park (the largest NP in the US). You can either drive the 30-mile gravel road for 3 hours or take a 4-seater plane in. The flight was our vacation splurge and it was breathtaking. We were dropped off by a shuttle at the other side of the river and used a wheeled cart to carry out gear and cross the pedestrian bridge to the campground. No one was there but we found a picnic table with instructions to put our $20/night cash in an envelope. We found a site on the other side (the side by the picnic table had cars/RV's that had driven in, our side had 3 tents the first night, none the next 2 nights). There aren't really any designated campsites, but there were a scattering of picnic tables, fire rings and plenty of land. Despite the remoteness, we were glad to discover an outhouse and a large container of potable water on site. The town of McCarthy (15 minute walk) had 1 restaurant open that we ate dinner at each night after exploring the Root Glacier and ice climbing. We bought sack lunches from the lodge in Kennicott and only had to cook breakfast. Bear containers are required here if you don't have a vehicle, and we were able to check one out for free from the NP visitor center (not on site, but several hours earlier in the day's drive). While the campground itself is very basic, the remote location and beauty make the effort and expense to get here absolutely worth it! Highly recommended!
Ranger
Later in the summer here the better the experience 🤘🏻
ScoutQuiet and awsome
LegendAmazing camping right on the Copper River. This is the people’s land and managed by AHTNA Native Corp and well worth the $10 for day parking or $20 for overnight. As with all river bed camping watch where you drive. Stopped here to watch the boats float the Copper River. There are pay stations everywhere but I did not see any bathrooms. So with that being said and little trees around I just held it.
My suggestion is find a spot near the tree line.
TravelerFish, eagles and big rivers! Windy, dusty, bears and dipneters. Fishwheels and historic Copper River North Western Rail Road bed. Major bridge over Copper River.
Legend
You can not beat your surroundings and the view!! I would give it 5/5 stars for that..
I asked the guy at the counter if the Basecamp is private. He said yes. It's unfortunate that you have to drive down the terrible, McCarty road. It was bad. They just grated it and if we didn't have a raff adventure booked my husband would have turned around since we are hauling a camper. I'm surprised nothing broke but we still need to get back :(
Considering we are in the park, I wish they had more camping options. I gave it 3/5 stars as I'm comparing to other campgrounds...$35 for NO amenities is a lot.....if it was going to the national park to pay for the footbridge maybe my opinion would be different. You get a spot with no electric or water, no bathrooms, no trash. I asked the guy at the counter and he said "no trash is our biggest complaint". So $35 is a bit much for where we are, but since this is a once in a lifetime trip for us, I get it. We enjoyed the remoteness of the town and the idea of this small community. Usually when you end up in areas this remote, you end up with free camping or cheap camping via the national park service....
We biked five miles to Kennicott mine, we got picked up at footbridge for our raft adventure and it wasn't far to eat at "the potato" for lunch.
Legend
We came across this campground riding into wrangell st elias and decided to check it out. Lots of porcupines in the area which was neat. Not very private but not bad. Beautiful drive to get there
RangerTiny camp site with beautiful waterfall. Really nice spot to listen to green noises.
TravelerBest drinking water anywhere. Has hand pump well. Clean out houses. Great camping by the creek. Thundering waterfalls.
ScoutPerfect place to camp
Ranger10 sites and one bathroom. Three of the sites are private. At least three of them can be an RV site. Great for community camping ⛺️. Gorgeous waterfall with most camping on the creek. Can’t wait to go back to take the trail a 100 yards up the road.
LegendThis is one of the most beautiful camping areas I have ever seen. We were only looking for a place to pull off and use the restroom but we were so caught up by the cleanliness and beauty of the area that we decided to eat lunch at one of the picnic tables near the falls. There are only a handful of camping sites and the bathrooms are brand new pit toilets. There is a hand pump for water across the bridge. The campground is split with a wooden bridge crossing a river flowing from the waterfall. I hope to come back here someday and actually camp here!
LegendIf you are looking for a place for a hot shower this is the stop to make. Very nice people running the mercantile. If you are just stopping on the way you can get gas or grab items you forgot. Great place to grab some ice cream on a hot day or a bag of ice.
There are no picnic tables or benches so bring your own. I would not recommend a long camping trip here but this is a wonderful place to stop off. They also have rooms for rent.
Chitina, Alaska, offers a unique tent camping experience surrounded by stunning natural beauty and outdoor adventures. Whether you're looking for a serene riverside spot or a base for exploring the wilderness, there are options to suit every camper.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Chitina, AK?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Chitina, AK is Copper River Campground — Wrangell-St. Elias National Park with a 3.8-star rating from 4 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Chitina, AK?
TheDyrt.com has all 3 tent camping locations near Chitina, AK, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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