Best Tent Camping near Kenai Fjords National Park

This place is secluded, and magical. Tent camping works best here, sites are pretty small for anything bigger than a sprinter van.

Very beautiful

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.

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.

If 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.

Went 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.

There 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.

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.

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.

Beautiful 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.

One 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.

The 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.

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.

This 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.

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.

Campground: Portage – Williwaw   So many nice things about this campground and the other portage campgrounds.  I always like to give the warnings but hope this does not keep you from coming here.  Be prepared for WIND.  I mean big wind.  Bring extra stakes if you are tent camping.  Be prepared for rain, lots of rain.  Be prepared for wildlife encounters.  I cannot tell you how many times I have seen black bear along this road.   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.   Cell Service: No Internet: No 2020 Cost: $18-$28 Max stay: 14 days Distance from Anchorage: 55 Best sites: Premium sites $28 – 20, 21, 30, 34, 41, 50, 57 Also good are spots 24, 25, 26, and 38 Bug Factor (1 minimal to 10 too many to enjoy): 5 if it gets sunny the bugs come out

Resort area is well organized. RV sites are well-priced, though you won’t get the views that the state sites in town have along the shore. Like many hook-up campgrounds, the RV sites are sterile-feeling (standard parking lot style). Okay if you plan to be out & about all day but not ideal for hanging out around the RV. Campfires only allowed off to the side in a picnic area.

Bathrooms very clean and warm.

Yurts would be my go-to if I were to come again or recommend to family. Fun experience. Fire pits nearby.

Tent sites are really just a patch of grass between the row of Yurts and the playground/bathroom. You could find much more scenic spots not too far unless you’re just looking for a place to lay your head.

Stayed here for 1 night on two separate occasions in March 2022. It’s part of the Seward Municipal Campgrounds but Iditarod is the only part of the campground that is open for winter camping. Tent camping isn’t allowed so its Rv’s/trailers only. There’s no water or electricity but you have a portapotty that is very clean and a dumpster for trash. We stayed in slot 103 both nights because it’s the only spot that has a fire ring and a picnic table. The view in the morning is beautiful as you see the sun rise above the mountains and see the reflection in the water. This camping lot is at mile marker 0 of the Iditarod Trail which I think is really neat!

Verizon cell service is great and it only cost $15 online to camp in the winter. This is the only campground I noticed that was open for winter camping in Seward.

Cooper Creek is a great, smaller campground to choose when the popular nearby spots fill up with anglers. For some reason, this spot is not as in demand as the Russian River campground, despite having many of the same amenities.

This campground is great for group camping trips, as each site is rated for 8 people and a few can have up to 12. There are many ada-acessible sites to choose from as well, which was a great help when bringing along family in need.

The gravel roads can sometimes mean backing-in is a bit more strenuous than other paved campgrounds, but if you're camping in Alaska, you probably already know how to reverse park a camper! Picnic tables were always well maintained, and the deep firepits came in handy for our large fires. They even have grills built in!

Toilets are well maintained, but we always had to supply our own method of handwashing - hand santizer, in our case to leave as little trace as possible.

Don't forget to bring your fishing poles (get that permit first!) and keep an eye out for bear activity.