Best Tent Camping near Girdwood, AK

Recent Tent Reviews in Girdwood

357 Reviews of 12 Girdwood Campgrounds

• R

  Richard R.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 24, 2024

  Trail River

  Gorgeous ,convenient

  In mid August we had very few mosquitoes. We also had our pick of some of the best camping spots I’ve ever seen. We became spoiled boomers and kept passing up sites until we got a close walk to the lake, a close walk to the well pump, and a close walk to the pit toilet(very clean). Also a short drive to Seward for all the tourist amenities.

• T

  Truman S.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 9, 2024

  Primrose Trailhead

  Great time!

  Went there for the weekend. It was really nice. Right along the river and there are picnic tables and bear boxes around. You’re a really short walk to the lake and there is soft rocky beach you can enjoy the views on. The sites are pretty well established and it is a first come first serve basis. We got lucky and got the last spot in the lane. There isn’t too many sites. I think 8 total? It’s a smaller one. Two restrooms vaults at each end.

• 

  ashlynn H.

  Scout

  

  Jul. 26, 2024

  Tenderfoot Creek

  Site 6 is amazing 7/237-7/25

  The roads were paved okay, the sites are more gravel. It was a (narrow) but 30 second walk to the private lake access we had. The campsite overall was the biggest one we’ve been in. The flys were so awful, the mosquitos seemed invisible. The lake is clean and amazing, there was road noise but didn’t bother us, we’re loud anyway. It was so beautiful. But the bathrooms were useable. If you try to get food at summit lake lodge, don’t, they suck and are overpriced. Maybe French fries and onion rings but nothing else.

• 

  Siegfried M.

  Guide

  

  Jul. 25, 2024

  Bird Creek Campground - Chugach State Park

  Big Lake

  It was 54 Degrees in July…… and Mosquitoes ate us alive Great Lake but forget to be outside your Camper. The Spots were not Level at all

• K

  Kiarra M.

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 19, 2024

  Anchorage N KOA Journey

  Lovely campground

  This is a lovely campground. They have great amenities. The only 2 reasons I gave jt 4 ⭐️ is because half the washers are out of order leaving only 3 working and the sites are close together.

• c

  christine

  Guide

  

  Jul. 13, 2024

  Trail River

  Great forest service spot $23

  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.

• 

  Janice M.

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 8, 2024

  Eagle River Campground - Chugach State Park

  But unkempt but nice otherwise

  We stayed here twice in our travels on Alaska. First appearance, the grasses are overgrown at the “entrance” and i was concerned. The fee both looks abandoned. But we actually saw there were some beautiful camp sites. Nice size for rvs if all lengths. Our table needed some help and it is obvious the camp is not being maintained. The bathroom was clean. Some sites you can hear the river and some road noise. The river is beautiful. There is a dumpster but it is on an upper level next to the dump station which is closed. The first time we did not realize this and took our garbage with us. All in all, it is not a bad campground. The trees are beautiful. We also had a moose and calf hanging around. We came back for a second visit. We used it as a jumping off point for Anchorage. Also the Eagle Nature Center and its trails are amazing! Saw a bull moose there. Would use again if not super picky. We are camping folks! For $20 I would not complain.

• 

  Kevin H.

  Legend

  

  Jul. 5, 2024

  Matanuska River Park Campground

  Great park for the price

  Matanuska River Park campground

  $20 to dry-camp. Water station and sani-dump usage included. There are also some sites with electricity - a few more dollars but extremely close together. Saw a few with overlapping awnings

  72 is a great site, our 30 ft 5er and f250 fitted in fine, but some caution needs to be exercised when driving. Trees made Starlink coverage a bit spotty. Short walk to River

  Small planes continually passing overhead during the day, but not too noisy ( apparently glide path is over us to land, and engines are apparently idling at this time )

  Great friendly host

• 

  Samantha F.

  Guide

  

  Jun. 18, 2024

  Upper Skilak Lake Campground - Kenai National Wildlife Refuge

  Campsite and gorgeous views were worth dealing with the bugs for for

  The stunning lake view and access made the campsite worth dealing with the bugs and bears.

  We arrived at Upper Skilak Lake Campground on a sunny Friday afternoon and managed to get the last site available. The campground was packed, including all the RV sites. We ended up in one of the walk-in tent sites. There are a total of 10 walk-in tent sites, with six right on the lake and the rest just a short walk away.

  Each campsite is equipped with bear-proof storage for food, which is essential considering the active bear presence in the area. There is enough space for two tents, and the fire pits are new with adjustable grill racks, which made cooking easy. Buckets were provided to safely extinguish fires.

  The campsites are a short walk from the parking lot, involving a small hill, except for one (maybe two) handicap-accessible site that offers easier access.

  During our stay, we saw black bears and grizzly bears every day. Bear scat was common on the trails and beach, adding to the sense of adventure but also requiring constant vigilance regarding food storage and safety.

  The park rangers were friendly and stopped by our site each night to check in and talk about bear sightings. However, one morning, a ranger accompanied by a few volunteers walked into our site while we were eating, which felt somewhat invasive.

  The main downside was the state of the bathrooms. They were extremely dirty, with one stall that didn’t lock and another that had no toilet paper. The smell was terrible, and overall, the facilities were not well-maintained.

  By the time we left on Monday, we were the only campers remaining, which offered a peaceful end to our stay.

  Overall, Upper Skilak Lake Campground offers a beautiful location and a genuine wilderness experience, the poor condition of the bathrooms and significant amount of bugs were the only drawback.

  Be prepared for bears and lots of bugs. The lake, the trails, and experience were definitely worth the trip.

• 

  Suryanshu P.

  Traveler

  

  Jun. 11, 2024

  Eagle River Campground - Chugach State Park

  Unserviced and dirty

  Limited water (20gal a day). No hookups, no trash service and no rv dumping, bathrooms are pit toilets and very dirty. I have been here 3 separate times across three weeks and noticed everything like that bathrooms were extremely stinky and dirty. Have to walk to the entrance of the campground to dispose of any trash.

• E

  Erica C.

  Guide

  

  Jun. 7, 2024

  Matanuska River Park Campground

  Nice Spot in Palmer

  This campsite has showers and really nice, quiet spots in the woods. The only downside was the mosquitos which were terrible.

• 

  franco T.

  Scout

  

  Jun. 3, 2024

  Chugach Backcountry Camping

  Get Your hot cloths

  This place is very cold we climb and have some while watching movies

• 

  Khursten C.

  Traveler

  

  May. 24, 2024

  The Springer RV Park & Campground

  Beautiful Views, Clean Grounds

  We visited here for two nights with our children in our tow-behind trailer. There wasn't a lot to do for the kids, but we were able to enjoy the grassy area, make s'mores in the community fire pit, take a nice walk next to the golf course nearby, and make laps around the campsite's driveway. They otherwise played card games, read books, and made "nature recipes". It was quiet except for birds rising with the sun and airplanes landing at the nearby airport. The kids loved watching the planes land. It was nice having access to the toilets for when we had more than one person needing it at the same time. Another great part was the very good quality water, electric, and sewer hookups! The entire grounds was very well maintained, impeccably clean, and provided a very nice place to enjoy the breathtaking mountain views that rural Palmer, Alaska has to offer! Unfortunately I did not get enough photos!

• C

  Chris M.

  Scout

  

  May. 2, 2024

  Eagle River Campground - Chugach State Park

  Chugiak State Park

  Campground was undermanned, underfunded, dumping station, broken bathrooms, dirty the trail, though followed the Eagle River and was nice lots of mosquitoes 

• 

  Melissa W.

  Legend

  

  Oct. 29, 2023

  Matanuska Lake State Recreation Area

  Excellent tent spots

  I needed a place to stay between Anchorage and Glen Allen. I was shocked this campground wasn't in Dyrt (found it on google). We actually ended up staying here two separate times- on our way North east and coming back South West. This State Rec Area is extremely clean. It's nice that there are tent sites separated from their RV sites (nothing worse than being in a tent and stuck hearing an RV's generator or TV all night). The RV lot is basically a parking lot but without many other options it would probably do the trick for an RV. The tent sites in the back are great. They are huge and have privacy between them. There's a vault toilet which is kept clean. No services or amenities but it's not far to the town of palmer. Despite being right off the state route, it stays pretty quiet from the road traffic because of all the trees. There's a pay station to pay when you arrive and pick your site. This was perfect in the shoulder season and in-between cities. I apologize I didn't get any campground pictures to post!

• M

  MacKensie C.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 28, 2023

  Cooper Creek North Campground

  River views near a bbq restaurant

  There is a south campground along the river and a north loop along the creek. We stayed in the south camp at the end of September so it was “no services no fees” at that time. There’s a bbq restaurant across the street. There are food storage lockers at each site because of bears. Most other campers were there to fish.

• 

  Karin P.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 13, 2023

  City of Whittier Camp Ground

  Parking lot with a view

  Basically one big parking lot, but it has nice views of the surrounding mountains and harbor. They provide toilets and dumpster which is nice, also the spots have fire pits.

• d

  daniel W.

  Scout

  

  Sep. 4, 2023

  Fox Run Lodge & RV Campground

  Labor day trip

  The only bad we could think of was sports are close together. The hookups are on the opposite side if you back in. It is not an issue if you bring an extra extension cord.

• 

  Kristi D.

  Legend

  

  Aug. 21, 2023

  Cooper Creek North Campground

  Lovely convenient campground

  It's salmon fishing season and you can tell people are staying here to fish the Kenai River, which is great. It was a very convenient campsite off the highway on the way to Homer, in the national forest. only $23 a night to camp or $11.50 if your a senior or have an access pass. Great prize for Alaska, but of course no amenities at site such as water, electric etc. It's a dry spot.

  Good size sites and level spots with picnic table and fire pit. Enjoyed our night here ...

• 

  Kristi D.

  Legend

  

  Aug. 21, 2023

  Cooper Creek South

  Beautiful spot on river

  Small but lovely campground on a one way road right on the Kenai river. Sites are spread out, a couple tent spots and a couple of camper spots. There appears to be seven spots and if this is full, you can go just up the road to the next campground.

  No electric, water etc but there is a dumpster, picnic tables and fire pits. Across the road is a BBQ spot and a store. You can easily walk to it, just be careful going across road as hwy. Is pretty busy!

• 

  Kristi D.

  Legend

  

  Aug. 20, 2023

  Centennial Campground

  You get what you pay for

  Location and price is right and that is what you pay for. $35 for hookups for the night whereas the other campground in town was $80. Huge difference. We just needed a quick stop near Anchorage on our way to Seward.

  We got a level spot with electric, a dump and water station. One picnic table near us in good condition the other in poor. Grass is not mowed well. Bathrooms live up to the reputation, absolutely terrible. You can only stay here 14 days a year which is just fine. Lots of reviews about the homeless which left me concerned but I didn't see that has a huge issue. Maybe they cleaned it up? Not sure. I didn't not feel totally safe walking trails just because the place was a little sketch but it was fine for a nice. Right near highway for convenience but also a lot of highway noise but with windows closed it wasn't bad. Slept just fine!

• s

  sk S.

  Scout

  

  Jul. 10, 2023

  Golden Nugget RV Park

  A City Campground

  Wide gravel and grass site with wooden picnic table, no firepit. Several RV tour companies use this park. There are more than 200 sites in this park. Showers were clean and free. Nice laundry room. About 1/4 of park is occupied by long-term residents - clean and well maintained. Park is located within a couple miles of downtown, across street from Costco, and adjacent to a large run down mobile home neighborhood. Wi-fi is offered, but we were too far away from the office so couldn't connect.

• 

  Taylor G.

  Scout

  

  Jul. 7, 2023

  Porcupine Campground

  All my little family needed

  It was quiet and from all aspects was exactly what we were looking for. As locals we just needed a quick and easy getaway for the weekend. Couldn't have picked a better place!

• 

  Cathy B.

  Scout

  

  Jun. 24, 2023

  Hidden Lake Campground

  Hidden Lake Camp Ground

  The camp hosts were exceptional, I am handicap and they found us a great handicap space for car camping at the time. This as Fourth of July weekend 2021

• 

  Michael V.

  Guide

  

  May. 30, 2023

  Cooper Creek North Campground

  Lots of Space

  Very basic campground with no amenities. Lots of space between sites with fast moving water on the north side.

• 

  Shari G.

  Legend

  

  Apr. 10, 2023

  Eklutna - Chugach State Park

  Peaceful Retreat Near Anchorage

  This place is a secret wonder, just off the Glenn highway north of Anchorage. The autumn color was spectacular here!  It was raining and cold in early September, but simply gorgeous.

  The first-come, first served sites are on the smaller side and very wooded; with lots of space in between sites, but not a lot of open canopy. This was a bit of challenge for our rooftop solar, but we used portable solar suitcase on an extension cord to capture some sunlight. 

  The bathrooms are simple, but clean, vault toilets.  Water is available at spigots located throughout the campground loop. The lake offers lots of stunning recreation opportunities for flat water paddling and fishing -- careful, the lake can kick up some pretty mean chop during windy afternoons. 

  Hiking on the Twin Peak trailhead is just around the corner, and cycling along the main road could be a great way to get some hill climbing exercise, as it’s a steep road up to the lake from the Glenn.  If you are visiting the Musk Ox Farm in Palmer, this is a great close by campground (about 30 miles away).

  We loved that this campground had the feeling of a remote, wilderness campground but all within an hour’s drive of Anchorage. There is one local tourist ice cream shop just a few miles back down the road, which offers food, showers, and laundry. It is only open during the summer months. Further afield the suburban area around the interchange between the Glenn and Parks Highways has all of the services campers need about 30 minutes to the north of the campground.

• 

  Shari G.

  Legend

  

  Apr. 4, 2023

  City of Whittier Camp Ground

  Mediocre Campground in a Spectacular Setting

  This is a glorified parking lot, for sure, but it is set in the middle of an Alaskan wilderness wonderland. In every direction you look lies stunning views: mountains, glaciers, fjords, waterfalls, and rivers.  What the campground lacks in charm, the scenery simply overwhelms. The sites lie around the perimeter of the square, where there are some grass areas for tents and ample places for RVs of any length. If you can make it through the tunnel, there's room for your rig.  Pay for your site at one of the village parking machines near the marina.

  The two vault toilets were clean enough to get the job done. There is water and a dumpster or two for trash– but remember, you’re not there for the campground.  The surrounding area is gorgeous, but as the locals say, "The weather is always shittier in Whittier!"  We got 1.5 nice days and it rained the rest of the time.  Regardless, we fit a lot in!

  A note about generator etiquette, while there is no rule stating that you can’t run your generator all night long, that does not invite you to do so. If you must power whatever it is you have to run while you sleep there is a better way to do so without impacting your neighbors. Check us out at https://freedominacan.com/solar-powered-by-renogy for all the solar power information you could possibly want. 

  If you are lucky enough to visit when the sun shines, consider yourself extra blessed and don’t waste a minute of that time inside! There’s a short biking/ walking path into the town from the campground, take a boat excursion, go for a guided sea kayaking paddle(complete with viewing 1,000 foot waterfall) or explore the area on foot. There’s a great hiking trail which starts right across the main road. It’s stunning. 

  The town has a few services, including gas, bars and restaurants and a convenience store. There’s not a lot of options in town though so come prepared.