Searching for a tent camping spot near Chugach National Forest? You can find tent campsites by type, including drive-in, walk-in, and even hike-in for a backpacking adventure. Each tent site offers quick access to one or more of Chugach National Forest, Alaska's most popular destinations.
Exit Glacier has a 12-site, walk-in, tent-campground. Sites are available on a first-come, first-served basis. There are no reservations or camping fees. There is a fourteen-day stay limit. The campground frequently fills by early evening in July and August. A central food storage, cooking and dining shelter is provided. Cooking and/or storing food in campsites is prohibited. There is a pump for drinking water and pit toilets are available. Pets are not permitted in campsites.
Crescent Creek Campground is open. As of May 17, 2019, fees are being charged and services are available. Reservations are made though Recreation.gov (1-877-444-6777) and recommended for summer camping. Fees are charged during the summer season. Reservations may be made up to180 days prior to your desired arrival date in the summer season (Memorial Day through Labor Day in September). A small campground with 9 sites. $14 (single)/$28 (double)
Coeur D'Alene Campground is open. A small campground with six walk-in tent sites. This site is not recommended for large RV's or trailers. Water is not available at this campground. There are toilets, fire pits, and tables at the site.
$5 / night
Hop off the Train at the Spencer Whistle Stop! Take a tour with a Forest Service interpreter around the foot of Spencer Lake and then float among the icebergs that have calved off of the great glacier while the guide steers an Alaskan Native canoe. Or take a leisurely journey by raft down the Placer River toward Turnagain Arm.
Guide
Williwaw Campground near Portage Glacier is a must stay for those visiting Chugach National Forest. Located central to several hiking trails, salmon viewing, and 1.5mi from the visitor center. This campground offers large sites for RVs and tents alike. Picnic tables and fantastic fire pits at every site. Vault toilets and potable water available. We are looking forward to staying here again soon!
Traveler
Amazing weekend. Tucked back in the chugach national forest is a quiet campground that is hard to get into without prior planning. No Rv hookups but does have a dump station and potable wAter. Campsites are nicely spaced so your not camping on top of each other. Amazing fishing for trout and salmon. Lots of hiking trails and tons of tourist activities near by.
Ranger
This place is secluded, and magical. Tent camping works best here, sites are pretty small for anything bigger than a sprinter van.
Very beautiful
Ranger
Miller's landing Campground in Seward, Alaska is a great spot right on the water for everything the Kenai Peninsula has to offer. However, it lacks in spots for tent Camping. We had gotten to Miller's Landing at the end of a long day of hiking and exploring the Kenai Peninsula and the showers that the had were very refreshing. The views from the campground right on the bay are great and you can ever catch a glimpse of seals and otters from the shore. When we arrived at our site however, we were disappointed when we realized there was a single flat spot to put a tent. This was after we had asked for a tent spot in the campground. We tried a few different tries but were unsuccessful with the uneven ground and tree roots sticking our of the ground. The check in desk was closed since we had waited until after our showers to set-up camp and couldn't find anyone to see if we could get another spot, although the campground looked pretty full. We ended up sleeping in our rental van that night. MIller's Landing has a lot to offer, just not a flat ground to tent camp on.
Guide
This campground is at the very end of the Hope road. It's often very busy on summer weekends when live bands play at the Seaview, but if you plan ahead enough you can often snag one of the reserved sites online. Strong recommend to end your day at the Seaview if there's music: live bands outdoors, great beer and food, friendliest folks around, all overlooking the Arm!
Standard Chugach National Forest campsite amenities apply: semi-secluded sites, fire pits, picnic tables. The view from some of the sites out over Turnagain Arm is amazing!
Guide
Beautiful lakeside setting, inexpensive well maintained facilities. Lots of camp sites, both rv and tent. Sites are fairly private. Quiet. Lots of families. Good camp host.
Traveler
No amenities. What you pack in you pack out. 6 tent camping spots before the gate, back country camping after the gate. Look for the posts with yellow reflectors for camping sites past the gate. beautiful sunrise and sunsets.
Guide
This review covers the Tent Camping Area near Waterfront park and Resurrection RV campground. Some spots have trees and provide some privacy. Tent spots have sand/gravel pads. Spots have picnic tables and fire pits. Dogs allowed but need to be on a leash. No showers but has a nearby restroom. If you want to take a shower you have to go to city center 10min = $2. $10 a camp spot and max of 2 tents. No reservations. First come first serve. Check out is at 12pm.
Campground is near waterfront park that has a skate park and great playground for kids. There’s a paved path that goes along the water close to the campground. Walking, biking, and rollerblading is all possible on the waterfront path. Path runs from waterfront campgrounds all the way to the Sea Life Center.
Check the weather before heading for Seward. It has a reputation for being rainy and tent camping in the cool rain isn’t fun.
GuideIf you want to tent camp in Seward there are better choices than the city campground, but for a last-minute throw your gear in the car or on the train trip, this will do. The sites are first-come, first-serve, and on a busy weekend will fill up quickly. The sites are not separate from each other at all, which normally is a huge turn-off for me, but we happened to be camped next to some super-cool new friends.
The best part about this location is the proximity to the bars in Seward. Stumbling home to your tent after a night at the Yukon is infinitely preferable to driving to a further removed location.
The washroom has running water and clean toilets, and a slightly longer walk away are hot showers (for a fee). The tent camping is located right next to a great playground, so if you have younger kids this might be a good choice for you.
TravelerWent the first week of May and was pretty busy. Our spot was right on the water. Bathrooms were kind of far from tent sites. Playground nearby, picnic benches, fire pit, & walking trail.
Legend
Very large RV and tent sites right along the rivers edge. You may wanna reserve during peak fishing season but during the slower times it’s pretty easy to find a spot here.
Legend
This is a campground in Gear rental. You can rent everything from fishing poles and nuts to tent camping equipment and anything you might need for watercraft her. They weren’t sleeping bags and dry bags. 10 sites will run you $25 RVs 40 and cabins start at $175. This is right off the Sterling highway and impossible to mess it’s worth checking out if you’re looking at hooking up your RV.
Legend
I don’t hate this RV Park which is saying a lot. There are 60 sites and this RV park is open from May 15 until Labor Day. You can reserve RV and tent sites online but you must call for cabin rentals.. This is right in the heart of Soldotna and close to anything you might have forgotten. 
Legend
Great campground. But you need to reserve a spot if showing up on the weekend. Brought our bikes which worked great for the trip to the outhouses or to throw out the trash. We tent camp and a friend car camped. Spots are tight. Water available to wash dishes or hands with a hand pump. This was site 001. 008 and 013 are pretty good and centrally located to the river, restrooms and pump water.
ScoutThere were several nice spots in amongst the trees for tent camping, but for the RV spots, you would want a spot along the beach or next to the bath house. We stayed in the spot named “Amy” next to the bath house. It was flat, but could be difficult to back in to if adjacent spots were full. We will stay in the North Annex next year, a place ran by the same owners.
Guide
Seward Military Resort was out last campground of our 8 night trip. We used the resort to set up our tent and venture out into Seward to go ice climbing on the nearby Exit Glacier (pictures and video below). The site is on the small side and really close to one other tent site and the yurts. No mosquitoes, people adhere to quiet hours, and it's close to a wealth of activities in Seward.
Legend
Some of the reviews are not for this campground. These are walk in tent sites. There are no spots for RVs or trailers. Firewood is a fun place and not too far from Anchorage.
Make sure if you are coming from Anchorage you stop off at Potters Marsh and check out the boardwalk. So many hiking trails no matter what way you go.
LegendBeautiful mountain views 18 sites good for RV and campers and 19 tent sites. $14 a night, only dry sites. Located along granit Creek which has Dolly Varden. Food lockers, dumpster, hand driven water pump. These are reservable online but I have never seen this campground completely full. Off season there is no trash service or water. Great place to spot mountain goats too.
LegendOne our trip to check out the peninsula we considered stopping here for a night, but opted against it. It looks like an okay campground with large sites, but there is not a ton of privacy between the sites. Also, the whole place just seemed a bit run down and out of date. The views/scenery were nothing spectacular. I think having an RV might make this a more attractive place to stay, but for tent camping it just didn't have what we were looking for.
Legend
Fishing, hiking, boating galore. Paved pads with gorgeous sites some right on the water. Tent sites at $5 a night and Standard sites for camper and RV's run $10. This beautiful lake was hit by the Swan Lake fire this year and the campgound has been closed, however we drove through last weekend and the campground survived the fire! Still nicely surrounded with trees for privacy we were very happy to see it undamaged.
Traveler
Was amazed with the beauty and trails in this area. The campsite for tents have to be hiked in to get to. The RV sites can accommodate tent camping, with smaller tents. So many options to do, you easily forget you don’t have cell service. There are trails, lakes, site seeing and enjoying the peace. We saw black bears, mamma and cubs. Very curious cubs got very close, momma didn’t seem to mind or get aggressive. Still be prepared for an encounter for your safety. There were lots of smaller critters we saw/heard and signs of moose. We have plans to visit other lakes, trails and camp sites along this route.
LegendThe only reason this night turned out bad was because I insisted on sleeping in a tent even though it was raining and I got soaked. If it's raining and your tent is not equipped for it then find an alternative. We stayed in the tent section of the campground and had an incredible view of the sound and the glaciers. You are close to the bathrooms and playground in the tent section. There is a nice sidewalk that will lead you back into town. Public showers are available. Be sure to take quarters to get in. Tent sites are close together but all have a picnic table and fire ring.
LegendWe came here in mid-May and everything was beautiful and green. I've read this campground can be busy but it was not at this time. Everything was well taken care of and you could tell the hosts make sure everything is in order. Each site has parking, fire rings, and picnic tables (excluding some tent sites). The picnic tables are large and have spots for someone in a wheelchair. The views of Turnagain Arm are stunning! Sites cost $9.
GuideThis campground is perfectly located right between downtown Seward and Resurrection Bay. It is not very private or exceptionally quiet, but the price ($10 for tents!) and the views make up for it. We stayed here for 6 nights this month and it was great. The showers weren't the cleanest I've ever seen, but the water was hot and we never had to wait too long. It is first come-first serve and I know that it can be hard to find an RV spot depending on the time of the week, but we had several tent sites to choose from.
Ranger
This would be a terrific walk in tent site option to try out. Exit glacier is beautiful with nice trails. My 5 and 7 year olds did the walk just fine from parking lot to the glacier (maybe 20 min). There is a one mile wheelchair accessible trail loop with views of the glacier. There are two accessible camp sites. You are not allowed to store food at your campsite but there is a communial storage area for these items. There are vaulted toilets and a cooking area to use.
Legend
This campground located on Summit Lake may not have hookups but the views and the fishing are worth it. $18 a night, with 35 sites to choose from. Our favorites are #1, 6, 8 10-12 due to water access. #24 is a beautiful mountain view pull through. The o ly downside as that most sites have picnic table and firepit behind the site and with a ramp up to them. Vault toilets, boat ramp, and drinking water all available. Tent sites with pads are over a quaint foot bridge to allow some separation from the road.
Guide
Small campground on the Kenai Peninsula. We've stayed here and at the nearby Granite Creek (one of my favorites) when we wanted a place to tent camp while we fished the Russian for salmon. You can fish both Bertha and Granite Creeks, but not for Salmon.
Sites are well-spaced and come with the standard Chugach National National Forest amenities: fire pit, picnic table, garbage, water pump, pit toilets. Unlike Granite Creek, you cannot reserve sites in advance, but this is a smaller and lesser known campground and often I have found a space here when others are full.
Be bear-safe and be sure to lock up all your food and toothpaste when away from your campsite.
Tent camping near Chugach National Forest in Alaska offers a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in stunning natural beauty while enjoying a range of outdoor activities.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Chugach National Forest?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Chugach National Forest is Exit Glacier Campground — Kenai Fjords National Park with a 4.8-star rating from 16 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Chugach National Forest?
TheDyrt.com has all 13 tent camping locations near Chugach National Forest, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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