Honestly, when we first pulled in I was bummed. I thought we'd hit a bad spot. Until we ventured in…read moreand realized the camp sites here back up to cooper creek, just a short jaunt from the sites. Super private, gorgeous, very Alaska. We loved it so much we went to our next stay and came back the following day to stay at the river side of the campground (warning - that side is first come, first serve so arrive before 11!). Bonus points - the host is amazing and no one cares if your dog is off leash.

There are several campgrounds located in Cooper Landing and the immediate vicinity. Apart from…read moreSkilak Lake Recreation Area, Cooper Creek Campground is my personal favorite because some of the spots overlook the water. It's sort of a strange set up because the campground is bisected in half by the main road that runs through Cooper Landing (hence the confusion regarding the North and South campgrounds.) They are ONE campground with one host. The sites on the South side overlook Cooper Creek and the sites on the North Side overlook the beautiful aquamarine shores of the Kenai River. Can you guess which side I prefer? Sites have picnic tables and fire pits. There's a total of 26 sites. Most of them can accommodate an RV, but this is an older campground with some erosion issues, so you need to be a good parker to stick the landing. Lol. I don't recall seeing any pull through sites. There's a dumpster, bear boxes, pit toilets, hand pump water and firewood for sale. You can not fish or launch a boat from any part of this campground. River access is very nearby in either direction. Bears are a real consideration, so one needs to plan accordingly. Reservations are absolutely necessary during fishing season.

Awesome well laid out USDA campground!…read more Great place to stay for fishing at the Russian River, floating the Kenai river, or hiking the numerous trails. Just remember to bring bear spray and/or firearm for bear protection. Numerous parking available if you arrive early enough and with a reservation.

Russian River Campground has got to be one of the biggest, if not the biggest in Kenai and maybe…read moreall of Alaska. It is a massive, sprawling complex that encompasses many camping areas, day uses areas, trails, and of course river access for fishing. I HIGHLY recommend bringing a bike, scooter, skateboard or roller blades if you plan to stay here because of the distance from one area to the next. You definitely need bear spray and or a gun as well. One of the things that makes Russian River unusual is it actually has an TV dumpster AND limited running potable water for drinking (both if which are unusual in state and federal parks in Alaska). Most parks have hand pump water. Pit toilets, no sinks, no showers. The camp sites can accommodate large RVs. Some are pullthrough, but most are not. The sites are very functional, but much to close together for my liking. I wonder if that was deliberate to discourage the bears... There's no privacy in 98% of the camp sites. They all have a picnic table, bear box and fire pit. You DEFINITELY need to make reservations online during peak season. This campground runs at capacity during fishing season. Sites are 18 bucks. I personally wouldn't stay here because of how close together the campsites are and none of them have water view. I definitely will be making use of the day use areas and trails in the future. I think most people staying here will find it satisfactory all in all.

We just bought an RV and didn't want to camp in the "hot spot" of Seward so we did the next best…read morething and went to Moose Pass. Having lived in Alaska 6 years I honestly have never stoped in moose pass, only obeyed the speed limit and slowed down while passing though. The campground is super easy to find (especially when obeying the speed limit). They have a sign out on the road. The camp host was beyond friendly. We let her know it was our first time and we were hoping for a spot a little more secluded so we could work out any kinks and hangout with our pups. She put us in a location that was easy for us to back into and we isn't have any camp neighbors within a visual radius. A few of the spots do but up against the highway so you'll have some street noise, but that mellowed down around 10pm. There was a group fire pit where folks brought some drinks and hung out. Super friendly place! The next morning we went for a walk down to the float plane docs and along the railroad tracks. Such a cute little town and a nice break from the hustle and bustle of Seward.

This campground is a hidden, underutilized jewel. The rates are dirt cheap - maybe the best in…read moreAlaska. The grounds are nicely manicured. The grounds are beautiful with trees througout. Sort walk to "town" which is very cool. Had a great lunch at the Inn. My dog got to swim in the lake. The lake and surrounding mountains are stunning. Please stop here. They deserve your support and this campground needs to remain open.

Super relieved to be able to confirm after my visit that Hidden Lake was essentially unaffected by…read morethe Swann Lake fire. All the services (toilets, dump site, amphitheater, boat launch, campsites, etc) were not touched by the flames. However, from the lake shore (boat launch and day use area) there is visible fire damage so the fire came VERY VERY close. So if you intend to hike while in Skilak you'll likely want to go southerly, as we observed heavy fire damage from mile zero through mile 4. But the fire did jump all over the place so you may want to confirm with the park service if you have specific questions about trails or the back country.

Excellent service and friendly staff! It's a simple service, but consistent, comfortable, and they…read morelook to make the experience positive and meaningful.

Attended a wedding at this Lovely spot. It was…read moreGlorious despite the smoke from Swan Lake Fire. Walkways to the river are covered with rubberized squares and makes walking very easy. Easy entry to Campground and lovely ceremony.

So while I stand by my initial review of the campground, the trail here is incredible. It's one of…read morethe most bang-for-your-buck hikes I've ever done in Alaska. The first mile and a half is fairly flat and has a spectacular view of the creek, mountains, flowers and berries I've ever seen in such an accessible location. It then shifts to an gentle uphill hike without boreal shade. I recommend a machete if you plan on going further. The Devils Club is wicked beyond this point unless it's fall. There is absolutely no cell service here so be sure to bring emergency supplies and appropriate preparation for Alaskan animals and volatile weather.

Gaft, I cannot pronounce this place!!…read more Ptarmigan is part of the Chugach National Forest off Mile 23 on Seward Highway. If you're on your way to Harding Icefield/ Exit Glacier or back to Anchroage, Ptarmigan is worth a stop! So thanks to my hyper active bladder and my constant imbibing of crisp glacier water, I really needed to pee!!!! Thankfully, toilets were not far off and found ourselves here. Toilet is standard outhouse thing. Nothing fancy. But what IS cool is that there is fish viewing from Aug-Sept!!! FREE OF CHARGE!! We saw some tours wanting to charge for this, psh!!! Anyway, we got to the side of the creek... and saw red sockeye salmon swimming against current... waiting to mate, lay eggs and die =(. There were so many of them too!!! Here's something I didn't know...salmon gets its red color when they are spawning (so you don't want to eat these since they are old). When they are young, they are silver in color. Huh! =) Also (didn't know this), but apparently there is an abundance of rainbow trout during mating season. They come and eat up the salmon eggs (roe). Luckily, people are able to fish for rainbow trout and dolly varden fish (june 11 - may 1st). Absolutely no salmon fishing all season!! We did see some fishers there, but they told us that they were there for catch & release only.

Stayed at the Kenai Riverside Campground / Bed & Breakfast in July 2014…read more The facilities were good, the rooms clean and the staff very friendly. All in all we were very happy with the accommodations. Every room had 2 beds - 1 queen and 1 twin with a shared bathroom, living space and dining area. The staff made breakfast each morning which consisted of muffins, bagels, toast, fruit, coffee, tea and juice. Certainly not elaborate but satisfactory for the $60 per night for 3. The campground has RV, Tent and Bed&Breakfast rooms. Its also located on the Kenai river and is about 5 minutes drive from the Russian/Kenai confluence. Considering your options in Cooper Landing. Kenai Riverside Campground is pretty nice and the staff go out of their way to help make your stay a good one.

Made reservations to stay at a tent site here last week. When we showed up it looked like there…read morewere a bunch of vehicles that had been parked there for a very long time... almost as if they were using some of their land as a vehicle storage lot. However, we were staying at the tent sites near the river, so we figured we'd be far enough away that it wouldn't matter. We checked in and the staff was very friendly. They told us which spot we'd be staying in, gave us a map, and made sure we knew where we were going. When we went to our assigned spot, there was nowhere to put a tent without sleeping tree roots or very rocky ground. It was also RIGHT next to a very dusty road. There were some other open tent spots, so we went back to the office to see if we could get a spot that was a little further from the dusty road and had a grassy area to pitch a tent. The staff offered their apologies but said that all the spots were reserved. We ended up going to the state run campground and lucked out finding a spot available there. Much nicer and even a few bucks cheaper than this place. The staff was nice and it is nice to be so close to the river, but I wouldn't recommend this place for tent campers. Might be alright for someone who is in an rv, but if you're looking for tent camping I would really recommend going someplace else.

I have a lot to say about this campground, but I just want to write a quick review for the time…read morebeing. Porcupine Campground in Hope is my favorite, but Trail River is a very close second. It has all the things I love - outstanding views of the mountains; tons of trees; relatively private, large sites that can accommodate RV's; not one but two impressive bodies of water; plenty of places to explore and NO CELL SERVICE. The campground is in the middle of nowhere (Crown Point, which essentially doesn't exist since it doesn't have a zip code.) It's at mile 24.2 of the Seward Highway, about halfway between Moose Pass and Seward. GPS coordinates are GPS Info. (Latitude, Longitude): 60.41472, -149.38028 60°24'53"N, 149°22'49"W This is a huge campground with about 80 sites on 3 loops. But even so, reservations on summer weekends are pretty much a necessity. Sites are $18 a day. Make reservations here: https://www.recreation.gov/camping/trail-river/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=70678 The best campsites are on Kenai Lake (see my close up shots of the map), almost all of which are tent-only sites. Only 2 RV sites are on Kenai Lake, #72 and 70. 73 is also near the lake. Ironically, none of the campsites are on the Trail River. You have to drive, bike or walk down the Trail River access road a little ways to view the MAGNIFICENT river, which is in my opinion, more beautiful than the Kenai and Russian Rivers. The plants here are really interesting. And I heard more bird song than I've heard anywhere else I've camped. I awoke every morning to the most beautiful sounds. Really I want to write so much more about how awesome Trail River is, but I'm tired from camping. LOL If you have any questions, PM me.

We decided to go camping last minute with the kids on a Friday after work. We packed up and started…read moredriving, not knowing where we would camp. We drove by two others and found Trail River Campground, found a spot that wasn't reserved, and set up camp. It was spacious and clean with all things ready--fire pit, table, and tent space. For a last-minute camp trip, it worked out great, and we had fun. We would visit again and recommend to others.

GORGEOUS National Park campground. When people imagine camping, this is probably what most people…read morethink of. These campsites are all of a gracious size and some of them have spectacular views of Porcupine Creek in Resurrection Bay. Be sure to make reservations (online or over the phone) ahead of time or you will probably not get a spot and end up and the Seaview RV Park instead. Porcupine Campground is nicely wooded and many of the spots give a real sense of privacy which is surprisingly hard to find in a lot of campgrounds in South Central Alaska. They seem to think that since the state is so big we must all like to be crammed together like sardines (safety in numbers?) Thankfully, Porcupine Campground allows plenty of room so you can stretch out and relax. Tent spots are $15 per night, plus a $9 booking fee if you book ahead. Pay the booking fee or take a HUGE chance there won't be any spots for you. You can check online first before you take the drive if you don't have a reservation.

I like this campground if I want to stay close to Anchorage because it has typical amenities. It is…read moreclose to a great trail, views of the inlet, camp area with a fire pit and picnic table, and there is bathrooms and water if needed. I like to camp on the spots to the right so I can have a view of the inlet, but a lot of the camp spaces are decently situated to feel private enough from the next camper. There is a camp host in the summer that will sell wood and collect camp fees. Will come to camp again.