Best Tent Camping near Seward, AK

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

This review covers the Tent Camping Area near Waterfront park and Resurrection RV campground. Some spots have trees and provide some privacy. Tent spots have sand/gravel pads. Spots have picnic tables and fire pits. Dogs allowed but need to be on a leash. No showers but has a nearby restroom. If you want to take a shower you have to go to city center 10min = $2. $10 a camp spot and max of 2 tents. No reservations. First come first serve. Check out is at 12pm.

Campground is near waterfront park that has a skate park and great playground for kids. There’s a paved path that goes along the water close to the campground. Walking, biking, and rollerblading is all possible on the waterfront path. Path runs from waterfront campgrounds all the way to the Sea Life Center.

Check the weather before heading for Seward. It has a reputation for being rainy and tent camping in the cool rain isn’t fun.

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.

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.

WHAT YOU MUST KNOW: The campground is either accessible via boat or hiking in at LOW TIDE ONLY. It is a lovely hike along the coast with views of eagles, bears, glaciers etc. 5.1 miles one way from Lowell point. The campsite is free but parking is $5/day or free with your state parks pass.

We found South Beach to be a wonderful place to camp. There are a few brand new wooden platforms that we set one of our tents up on, but there are lots of sites both in the woods a little way for wind protection but also along the beach and up on the grass before the beach. There are two bear bins for food. The one nearest us had a nice overhang shelter with 4 picnic tables for cooking/eating. It did rain so we appreciated having somewhere dry to eat and listen to the horror story from the group that ignored the low tide warning and were nursing their wounds from falling on the razor sharp rocks.

No running water but there's a lovely stream for water filtering nearby. 2 outhouses- Warning, no TP. Bring your own!

The trailhead to Caines head/Fort Mcgilvray is at the end of the beach by the abandoned pier and easy to find. Long story short (see the website), Fort Mcgilvray is an old abandoned WW2 fort that is worth the hike uphill to explore. Bring a flashlight. Really gorgeous views of the bay from the top. Great place for lunch at the old gun emplacements. There's even picnic tables at the lookout. There are a few other trails to explore and even a few days at the beach with a good book and a pair of binoculars would be some great R+R.

Although we didn't camp here overnight, we ended up staying in the campground for a couple hours waiting out the rain. The vault toilets and covered group cooking/eating areas were in great shape and stayed dry.

From the campground, we hiked up to explore the abandoned WWII fort, Fort McGilvray. Super interesting and much bigger than I expected! See the full hiking route here: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/alaska/caines-head-trail

You have two options for getting here: 

• 1. Hiking in, which we did on the way in. It is very important to check the tides, and it is recommended to avoid hiking along the beach once the tide reaches+3. See tide tables here: https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/noaatidepredictions.html?id=9455090&legacy=1 
• 2. Water taxi, which we did on the way back. The water taxi that we took was priced was$50 one-way. Rainy weather is common here, but fortunately there are covered areas for cooking/eating.