Best Tent Camping near Ninilchik, AK

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.

Hidden Lake canpground is made up of three sections. Skyview loop the furthest from the lake is the largest with sites large enough for any rig. #6, 10 15 and 20 are handicapped only, do not park here unless you have tags or hanging proof. Ridge Loop and Lake Loop are both tighter and have signs warning of limited manuverbility. Sure #6 on lake loop is ADA and #1 on Ridge loop is ADA. There are trails down to the lake from the upper two, ridge and skyview. There is a free boat launch to access Hidden lake which has trout, dolly garden, kokanee and land locked salmon. Seven day limit at only $10 a day. There are day use covered picnic pavilions, an amphitheater, hiking trails and camp host. The walk in tent area is very private and tree covered. All sites have tables and fire rings. Love this place!

Camping is basically anywhere on the beach where you can find a spot (within signposted designated area). It's dispersed. While it was busy, we had no trouble finding a spot that wasn't too crowded. I said the cost is 0-$10 as I don't remember how much we paid. I recall we had a permit that we fixed to our tent, but it was very cheap.

There were about 8 to 10 porta-potties all in a row at the where the beach meets the road. They were disgusting and nearly full. In fact, it has been 2 years since we were down there and that is my biggest memory. Others who frequent the campground bring a tall "privacy" tent with their own portable toileting system- probably a bucket.

A little loud at night with a few raucous drunk people on ATVs. We parked our car in front of our tent as a deterrent. There were no problems, luckily.

It was beautiful, being on the ocean and a short drive or 20 min walk to the popular dipnetting area. And convenient to get up for early morning dipnetting sessions without the crowds. The weather was great but I imagine it would be rough camping on the beach if windy with flying sand everywhere.

Four hours from Anchorage is a must see and do destination.. Homer Alaska. It is a very small town that gets lots of visitors in the summer months. Especially June, July and August thanks to charter companies who will take you out to get halibut, salmon and whatever else the magical ocean has in store for you.

Homer is also the place to get a water taxi to see Kachemak Bay, Halibut Cove, Seldovia, Nanwalek and Port Graham. Water taxi rides are roughly 75$ round trip for one person.. give or take a few bucks and cheaper for kids.

The Spit as it is called is the end of the Road here.. literally. The Spit is surrounded by water.. yeah that's why it's called a Spit lol. It has Restaurants tons of little shops. Some geared toward touristy things but some of the best hand crafted made only in Alaska gifts that keep you coming back for more. You may have heard of the infamous Salty dog saloon.. if you dare - go in and order a salty dog here.

If you choose to camp on the Spit you will have two choices.. One is the RV/ Camper side and one is the Tent on the beach side. I have done both and although I prefer tenting hands down.. nothing beats an RV with wet sticky sandy dogs.. love some of that in your sleeping bag! (not)

There is a fee to tent camp, it's not much. You can build a fire right on the beach and set your tent so as you lay back, free from the wind, your whole view will just be ocean and mountains. Truly amazing! You can by wood by the bundle or just comb the beach for drift wood. If you do bring your dogs just be courteous of others and bring your own doggie bags :)

There are honey buckets for use.. but sometimes we walk the spit and find a real bathroom. (There are state toilets on the RV side, which is directly across the only road on the Spit)

On the RV side the fees are a bit more.. but you get full electrical hook ups, bathrooms, showers, and laundry if you need it. WOW! Bring your bikes to ride the spit or good shoes to walk around town. Also be ready for any kind of weather.. as you are surrounded by the ocean.

There are a few city run campgrounds on the spit in Homer.  This mini peninsula juts a few miles out into Kachemak Bay and creates one of the main tourist areas for the town. This is another of Alaska's pot-holed, parking lot camping areas where tents can be set up just off the perimeter and RVs of any size can take up residence within it. Picnic tables and fire rings lie between the parking and the beach and there’s a general esprit de corps of the folks hanging out there.  

Like many Alaskan camping spots what the site itself lacks in charm, is simply overwhelmed by the spectacular views in any direction. That's why you come here in the first place. The bathroom situation is simple, a couple of port-o-potties with a hand washing station. Recycling and trash dumpsters are right next to the toilets. Water can be filled up for free at the city RV dump station in town, right across from the Post Office on the Sterling Hwy. Payment can be made at the automated permit machine. 

The lack of any trees made solar power a no-brainer, even on the cloudy days. With our solar suitcase from Renogy and 200W of solar on the roof, we were able to recharge our battery without any issues. 

There's a great bike path that leads to the many tourist shops, bars and restaurants on the spit. The spit is also a great launching area for kayaking in the ocean side of the spit- launching on the other bay side can be tricky because of tides and mud. Parking along the spit is pretty easy and there are large lots which allow for overnight parking if you are going to use the area as a launching pad for other adventures either on the Kenai or further afield. Homer is known as a particularly good spot for Grizzly Bear tours into Kobuk Valley National Park (the holy grail of grizzly sightings). Be sure to tour the Alaskan Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Visitor’s Center, it’s difficult to get out to the Aleutian Islands, but through the engaging films and interactive displays, you can get a feel for the history and wildlife of these remote areas. 

Homer has all the services that campers need including grocery stores and good restaurants (we loved Fat Olive and Carmen’s Gelato out on the spit.)  A short drive along East End Road will take you right by Fitz Creek General store, which is a treat for all kinds of cool stuff -- the chocolate muffins alone are worth the drive alone. The village farmer’s market is truly amazing with veggies, baked goods, prepared food, and lots of other arts and crafts.

We stayed for a few nights from midweek. There are 9 large campsites that can accommodate RVs and small groups. There are fire rings, a vault toilet, and a launch ramp into the river. You can access the lake from the river, but is about a mile upstream. There is not really a trail to reach the lake. Young people seem to come out here to party for the evening and then leave, and leave their trash. We only had this one night. There are no dumpsters or trash cans here and it shows. The road through the campground should be checked before you drive through. Some parts would not be passable for an RV during our visit.

Moose roam through the campground. Beautiful views of the river, flowers, and tons of different birds.