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Best Tent Camping near North Pole, AK

95 Reviews

Public lands surrounding North Pole, Alaska offer several tent camping options within a short drive. Upper Chatanika River State Recreation Area, located approximately 40 miles northeast of North Pole, provides established tent campsites along the riverbank with basic amenities. Primitive tent camping is also available at BLM Cripple Creek campground and along several hiking trails including Summit Trail and Quartz Creek Trail. For backcountry tent camping experiences, the Wickersham Creek area offers more remote options with trail shelters that accommodate tent campers seeking solitude away from developed areas.

Most tent campsites in the North Pole region feature dirt or gravel pads with minimal site preparation. Upper Chatanika River sites include picnic tables, fire rings, and access to vault toilets, while more primitive areas like Table Top Mountain Loop Trail lack facilities entirely. The camping season typically runs from May through September, with some sites like BLM Cripple Creek open until November, weather permitting. Campers should prepare for mosquitoes, particularly during mid-summer months. Potable water is limited at most locations, so tent campers should bring sufficient water supplies or filtration equipment for longer stays.

Tent-only sites throughout the region offer varying levels of privacy and natural settings. According to reviews, Upper Chatanika River provides good spacing between campsites despite being one of the more popular areas. One camper noted that "the spots offer privacy" even when the campground is relatively busy. Sites positioned along the river are particularly sought after by tent campers. Berry picking opportunities exist on nearby hillsides during August and early September. Walk-in tent sites along trails like Quartz Creek provide greater seclusion but require additional planning and preparation. Mosquitoes can be abundant during summer months, with one visitor reporting "TONS of mosquitoes" as the primary drawback to an otherwise pleasant camping experience. Winter conditions make tent camping impractical from late fall through early spring in most locations.

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Best Tent Sites Near North Pole, Alaska (9)

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Tent Camping Reviews near North Pole, AK

95 Reviews of 9 North Pole Campgrounds

  • Andrew V.
    May. 23, 2023

    Harding Lake State Recreation Area

    Fantastic and Clean Campground, Great for Kids

    Harding Lake State Recreation Area is a shady and scenic site about twenty minutes from North Pole. The lesser-known and elder cousin of the many water-themed state recreation areas that trace the Richardson Highway from Fairbanks to Delta Junction.

    This large and accommodating campground boasts a boat launch into Harding Lake, a baseball field, a large group recreation area near the water, a self-guided nature trail, a trailer dump site, and unpotable bulk water--along with various bathrooms with trash receptacles. 

    Our family of 5 tent camped in May and had a fantastic weekend. The sandlot-reminiscent baseball field was a rare and magical find that suited our family's wiffleball addiction perfectly. It's like wandering through a moss grove and emerging into a boreal. baseball field. A subarctic Field of Dreams. I also hit two first-pitch homeruns off my 9 and 5 year old--which may or not be related to the magic of this field--but I choose to believe.

    The spacious and thoughtfully-designed campground certainly feels beyond its prime--old, unserviceable water pumps (perhaps not yet operable for the season); aspen saplings dotting the baseball infield; and many downed spruces over the nature trail. The posted maps are a little outdated. However, the campground boasted some of the cleanest bathrooms I've ever seen, anywhere-with a very friendly on-site host who came by to chat and kept the facilities in pristine condition.  The camping spots are well-placed along the loop to allow for varying degrees of privacy between sites.

    Mosquitoes are everywhere in springtime Alaska--please let me know when you find a campground in a birch forest without them. That said, bring all the bug repellant and preventative measures you can muster. I was swarmed by a biblical cloud of man-eating Culicidae when we first pulled in--but they soon dispersed and only became annoying for intermittent periods. 

    Overall this was a magnificent campground, quiet and clean, with plenty for the kids to do. Fantastic and memorable experience.

  • Shari G.The Dyrt PRO User
    Oct. 12, 2022

    Chena Hot Springs Resort

    Forest Camping + Hot Springs = Heaven!

    Chena Hot Springs offers a full resort experience with hotel rooms, cabins, restaurants, and a host of activities including soaking in the infamous hot pools. It also offers camping with and without electrical hook-ups in either creek side privacy or open lot RV parking. It is a world-famous destination with shuttle buses to and from Fairbanks daily. You will meet people from all over the world. 

    Camping and soaking are charged separately, as are any extra experiences like the Ice Museum (glad I did it, not sure I would again).  Vault toilets, rubbish and recycling bins, and potable water are all available in the campsite, flush toilets and showers are a part of the pool/hot springs facility. Hiking, biking, boating and fishing are all available close by in addition to the experiences offered by the resort. 

    The nearest services for groceries are about 45 miles back down the road toward Fairbanks, or North Pole, AK. We camped in the primitive area, which was lovely, forested and right along the creek, but the opportunity for solar power collection was limited by the trees, so plan ahead.  We parked in the main lot for awhile to recharge, then took our rig back into the campground.  Worked well!

  • Samantha M.
    Jun. 15, 2020

    Birch Lake State Recreation Site

    Great swimming area for kids

    This was a parking lot style camping with 17 parking spots. There are a few walk-in tent sites on site as well. If you are military there are quite a few options for cabins and more sites but you need permission to enter. There were picnic tables, fire pits, a dock, and shared grassy area for this campground. There’s a rental place near by for water toys which makes a great day on the water for kids. I would choose this place to swim over Harding Lake this summer due to high waters at Harding. The mosquitoes were bearable but be prepared for back to back camping and zero privacy. The lake is stocked with fish and you can see plenty swimming around as soon as you look in the water. Bathrooms on site. Make sure to bring your own firewood. Passing the Air Force base on your way to the campground is so cool if you get to see a take off on your way!

  • M
    Sep. 18, 2018

    Cripple Creek Campground

    Lovely little BLM campground

    The BLM has some of the nicest campgrounds in Alaska, and this one is no exception. There are 12 sites with plenty of space between, although they're small for large RVs and trailers (it was perfect for my teardrop trailer). The sites are not directly on the Chatanika River, but you can hear the river running in the background and there is a trail that runs along the riverbank between the campground and the day use area. There are a few walk-in tent sites between the main campground and the river, as well.

    Like other BLM facilities it's cleaned and well-maintained, and there are signs up showing local wildlife. Each camping spot has a fire pit and picnic table, and there is a pump to get untreated water near campsite 7. Because it's only about an hour from Fairbanks it doesn't get much traffic from people passing through, although it can get busy during hunting season.

  • MickandKarla W.The Dyrt PRO User
    Jul. 7, 2025

    Fairbanks / Chena River KOA

    One of the Best KOAs We've Stayed

    For once in a long time on our journey through Alaska, the campground (CG) was not right off the highway. We followed our RV GPS to the Badger Road exit and found the CG tucked back from the main road. Check-in was busy but quick. We were assigned pull-through site 133D with full hookups and 50 AMP. This site has special routing instructions—staff had us drive a few hundred yards down Old Badger Road, which runs adjacent to the CG, to enter through the back KOA gate. From there, it was an easy approach into our site. Site 133D is a KOA Patio site with a deluxe Trex deck, outdoor furniture, propane fire pit, and a Weber propane grill with tools. The gravel pad was long enough for our 40’ toy hauler and F450, with room to put down our rear patio. On arrival, the CG WiFi was unusable, but we got an email update that they were working on it. A later speed test showed 4.97 Mbps download—good enough for email and light browsing. Starlink worked but was slower than usual in this area despite a clear sky view. We got one bar on both Verizon and T-Mobile. This is a well-run KOA, with staff constantly mowing, cleaning, and maintaining the grounds. During our stay, several RV caravans came through—they had their own designated area and even buses for tours. The CG has spaces for all types of campers, from tents to big rigs. There’s a laundry facility, two fenced dog parks, swing benches by the river, and plenty of space to walk your dog. All in all, this is one of the best private CGs we’ve stayed at. If you need a great vet while in the area, we highly recommend Dr. Dawn Brown at North Pole Veterinary Hospital. They are an AAHA accredited clinic and we’ sure all the vets are great, but we definitely had a wonderful experience with Dr. Brown during our appointment with our two Braque's. The CG made an excellent base for exploring the Fairbanks area.

  • Stacey C.
    Aug. 28, 2018

    River Park Campground

    Great wooded campground!

    We've been here twice. Once in late August in 2014 and again in July 2016. We were delighted how this campground (in a city) feels like wilderness. In late Aug it was getting cooler and sparsely populated. In July, it was pretty crowded but the camp sites aren't right on top of each other and there is foliage around. The flush toilets, drinking water and picnic tables was great. It's close to supermarkets too.

    While we only have good things to say about our stay in August, There were some shady people hanging around in July just kind of...lingering. There were 3 of us and all felt that our cars/tents were being scoped out occasionally. Perhaps that was the case, or perhaps we were just paranoid but throwing it out there so you all know that opportunists seem to be lurking about here.

  • M
    Jun. 25, 2019

    Fairbanks / Chena River KOA

    Great RV Park

    This is a great place to stay near North Pole/Fairbanks. They were really helpful with booking. The sites have enough space between for slide outs, but still a little tight. Really nice view of the Chena River. You give a $5 deposit for a key for showers and laundry, will be refunded when you return the key.

  • MickandKarla W.The Dyrt PRO User
    Jul. 13, 2025

    Eielson AFB Bear Lake

    Seen Better Days

    While staying in North Pole, AK, we decided to check out Eielson AFB Bear Lake FamCamp as we’d heard from other military RVers and on different forums that the campground was not worth staying at. On the major RV review sites the most recent review was from 2023. We normally don’t post reviews on a campground (CG) we didn’t stay at, but made an exception to help other military RVers out. As we entered the campground, we noticed that there were not many campers (there was what looked like a camp host, but no sign), and could immediately see why. The sites had non-potable per signs attached to the water spigot. We also noticed that many of the sites were grown over. There are pull-through sites on one row that could handle big rigs and then back-in sites of various lengths on another row. These sites are water and electric 50 and 30 AMP). However, on most sites you would need to cut brush and low-hanging limbs. There were signs on the bathhouse and laundry facility that the water was bad due to too much chlorine. They do have a dump station. There’s a lake at the end of the CG area, but the grass again was so high it was up through the picnic tables along the shoreline. Based on the CG’s condition and distance from the sights to see in the Fairbanks area, this in our opinion is not a good CG choice, especially with taller 5th wheels or Class A rigs. Fort Wainwright, which is closer to Fairbanks, has Glass Park RV Campground on post and they have sites that should fit bigger rigs according to the site sizes on their webpage.

  • Samantha M.
    Jun. 15, 2020

    Harding Lake State Recreation Area

    Mosquitoville

    This was a nice campground with a friendly couple hosting. The spaces were spaced out with privacy trees. I think we scored one of the best spots number 11. The mosquitoes were unbearable outside and in 73 degree weather you needed to be completely covered. The water was so high that the only water play area was the boat launch area. The kids still had a great time but I would check the water level before coming back. There is a dump station, water, and plenty of bathrooms throughout the campground. It is a party campground for water activities so expect noise well after 2am. There are no electric hookups. The closest store is about 10 minutes down the road and has your basic essentials. There are other lakes to visit within an hour radius which makes this a fun location. There is a baseball/soccer field on site which was a lot of fun for the children to run off so energy and it wasn’t very buggy. The water pump was turned off due to Covid19. There’s a water toys rental by the boat launch that offers paddle boats, canoes, kayaks, and paddle boards $25/2 hours or $35 for all day. They are only open Friday-Sunday or by appointment.

Guide to North Pole

Tent camping near North Pole, Alaska, offers a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in the stunning natural beauty of the region while enjoying various outdoor activities.

Tips for tent camping near North Pole

  • At the Salcha River State Rec Area, be prepared to bring your own firewood and picnic supplies, as these amenities are not provided.
  • The Upper Chatanika River State Rec Area allows pets and has drinking water available, making it a great choice for families traveling with furry friends.
  • If you're looking for a well-reviewed spot with good spacing between sites, consider the Birch Lake State Rec Area, which also features a swimming area perfect for kids.

Local attractions and activities

Some prices for tent camping range from $0 to $20

  • The Cripple Creek Campground typically has no fees, making it an excellent budget-friendly option for campers.
  • Expect to pay around $10 for a night at the Summit Trail Shelter, which offers a simple camping experience.
  • The Quartz Creek Trail is another affordable choice, with prices generally around $15, providing access to beautiful trails and scenery.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near North Pole, AK?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near North Pole, AK is Upper Chatanika River State Rec Area with a 3.7-star rating from 3 reviews.

What is the best site to find tent camping near North Pole, AK?

TheDyrt.com has all 9 tent camping locations near North Pole, AK, with real photos and reviews from campers.

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