Best Campgrounds near Juneau, AK

After being unable to find good reviews of campsites here, I took what I could find and gambled on a site. We were in tent site 021. It was a gorgeous site, had a large picnic table, bear box, water spigot between us and the site next to us, fire pit, clean pit toilets and a clean bath house. This campground has backpacker sites, RV sites, and car sites as well. We had a short walk through the moss on a trail that led down to Mendenhall Lake. It had a gorgeous view of the glacier. We enjoyed listening to all the birds and it was a pretty quiet campground.

There are a few sites close to boggy areas and they can be mushy and muddy, especially after a rain. There is a map on the reservation website where you can kind of see it. Our site was fabulous.

The trails are not far from the campground, so they are walkable.

This campground has 11 sites and we were lucky to get #5, right across from the pit toilets so we didn’t have to walk far. We had a great site, bear box, campfire pit, and a fabulous view when you walk to the edge right behind your site! We didn’t put any hammocks in the trees or do any cooking on site, as it is black bear country and you don’t want any uninvited guests. We went to the picnic shelter at Lena Cove for our morning breakfast and hung our hammocks in the shelter for the morning. We had great views of Auke Bay and Lena Cove.

I could not find any reviews to pick a site but I reserved this one and it was gold! We had a water spigot close to us in the campground, but there are no electric or water supplies at the sites. You need to bring your own firewood because some sites say it was supplied, however, due to low crew numbers they can’t keep up with demand.

Tent camping review. This was a great camp ground. Very clean and quiet. You can't beat the proximity to the park and hiking. Some of the sites even have great views. Each site has plenty of privacy, so even with intermixed RV's it stays pretty quiet. The showers were okay, not the cleanest and not the hottest but got the job done. My only complaint was coming after dark the first night to someone clearly squatting with their RV in our site. The camp hosts do not mark each site with the booked reservations (even though the posts clearly say that the section we were in were "reservation only". So people just drop in and take sites, assuming they aren't reserved. We attempted to solicit the camphosts help but in the 4 nights we stayed there, we never saw the hosts available once. We asked the people to move the next morning in daylight- not wanting to start anything or end up shot by knocking on their door and asking them to move that first night. However, that meant that we set up in someone else's potentially reserved site and started a huge domino effect. So I recommend getting there early to make sure your reserved spot isn't taken.

We’ve been full-time camping in our vintage camper for over10 years, and in that time we’ve taken some “camping trips” without our rig, Hamlet. This time we hopped on the ferry from Haines down to Juneau and pulled out the tent for a few days in this amazing campground. We were just looking for the least expensive place that was close to the ferry terminal in Auke Bay, but struck gold in the hills just above. This might be one of the best traditional campgrounds we've ever stayed in with some of the most stunning views in our "backyard."

The campground is laid out along the southern bank of Mendenhall Lake, and offers drinking water, flush, and vault toilets and hot showers -- at no extra charge. Did I mention that camping here will only set you back $10 per night? We cannot remember such an inexpensive camping experience that offered showers. These $10 sites don’t offer electrical hookups, so bring your solar panels and solar generator or power bank and you’ll be all set. 

The western trailhead is a short walk from the campground, but the Mendenhall Visitor's Center on the east side of the lake is just a few miles away. There are many trails, photographic viewpoints and opportunities to paddle on this side of the lake, but parking is competitive because it is such a popular area- including with the busses from the cruise ships docked in town. So, get there early. We enjoyed paddling on the lake where we got great views of the glacier and Nugget Falls, but keep your distance from icebergs. We watched one crack and roll not too far from where we were paddling, had we been closer I might not be writing this review. 

The Mendenhall Valley has all the amenities you could expect from the Juneau suburbs, grocery stores, malls and restaurants. Downtown has a few more options as well as Douglas Island, just across the bridge.

So lucky to have found this campground. The price cannot be beat starting at $10. Although you are aware of others around you, there is enough forest between most campsites so you get the real roughing it kind of feel without actually hiking out. We got a great site, walk down to the water's edge and see the glacier smack right in your face. Amazing! There is a river further in, so choose your site wisely if camping with kids, pets or partiers! We didn't see a bear, but we did see the beaver! They have a bear cache at every site, so amazing for the price. Highly recommended. It's a 1 way loop so don't make the same mistake I did and go the wrong way! The hosts are very nice and chatty. The troopers do drive through from time to time but never bothered us.

I stay here every summer with my s.o. and our pets and absolutely LOVE it here. The f.s officers could use some grooming but mostly they are okay as long as you are polite and follow the rules they usually leave you alone. They are helpful but tend to not want to listen when you try and explain a situation, any how other then that the camp grounds are usually always clean and I've never had a problem finding my site.  And if I've ever needed a food bear box or anything I've always gotten it asap. Overall pretty awesome place to just kick back enjoy the view and relax the day away.