Eklutna Lake Campground

44 sites with asphalt pads and road. The only pull-through is an ADA site – all others are nearly level back-in sites or walk-in tent sites (at least 8 walk-in tent sites.) 16 of the sites are doubles. Some of the sites will handle units up to 45 ft. There are three double vented outhouses scattered around the loop. The lake is a short walk away from some of the sites.

The campground is approximately 10 miles from the main highway but the access road is all paved. There is no Verizon or AT&T signal available at the campground but backtracking about 3 miles towards the highway will be enough for you to find some. The campground opens sometime before Memorial Day – this year it was May 15th, and closes at some time in the fall. It is a very popular get-away spot for the Anchorage area residents.

When we were here in September, the lake was essentially full. In mid-May, 2015 after a low snowfall winter, the lake was very low. It would have looked at home in California. There is a canoe and kayak rental business at the campground, but their boat inventory wasn’t there when we visited in mid-May.

No generator hours are from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Part of the Chugach State Park system, this recreation area is a locals’ paradise for ATVing, hiking, and sunbathing by a glacial lake. Eklutna is a a great spot for dry camping. Each site is level and paved for even the largest RVs. The sites are a mixture of single, private spaces, and double, side by side spots. While sites were tree lined, many still had lots of potential for solar. Water is available at the end of the loop near sites 48 & 49, but there isn’t a dump at this park. The only negative was the host allows locals to use the campground for day-use parking, which doesn’t leave many/any spots of available for campers. Best of all, tasty ice cream is only .25 miles down the road,

This is a nice campground. Access in and throughout is paved. Steep incline on 8 mile paved narrow road to access the campground. Eklutna Lake is a glacial lake that provides primary water source for Anchorage.

Paved sites are level. Would be nice if they opened/cleared the site tree canopies for better use of solar. That being said, we still were able to dry camp with our solar for 4 days without a generator.

Great hiking, canoeing, biking, wildlife viewing, horseback, and ATV area. ATVs are only permitted Sun-Wed. No ATVs in the camping area, and its enforced. Park rangers active in the area.

No cell signal. Eagle river is nearby, 20 minutes, for groceries, gas, deisel, propane, mail delivery. No dump, no hookups in campground. Well water on site. Trash dumpsters on site. Active camphost.

Canoe and bike rental at the lake.

You take the Eklutna exit and it's about 10 miles to the campground. About 9 miles is up hill on a narrow road but the road is paved. Just go slow and you will be fine but remember there are NO shoulders to the road.

Once at the campground the sites are okay and I saw a large class A in one with no issues. All sites have a picnic table and a fire ring and all parking is paved and fairly level. There are 50 camping areas but two are handicapped. There is also over flow parking/camping on the lower level

The lake is nice and there is lots of room to spread out and enjoy yourself. There are hiking trails and bike trails so if you don't want to sit around the camp there are physical things you can do. The trail that goes up the mountain has great views the lake and valley but it's all up hill. The trail that goes around the lake is an old road and an easy walk or bike ride.

The only negative is this campground is close to Eagle River (20 minutes), Anchorage (40 minutes) and Wasilla (40 minutes) so on the weekend it was full. Of course, we did have one camper that liked his music! There is a camp host but we did not need them.

Remember this is bear country, both black and brown, so if you are going to hit the trails be bear wise and keep your camp clean. There is a trash dumpster as you come into the campground. I carried bear spray and noticed most people did.

Nothing special to report. Only dry camping next to a lake. It’s a quiet place, no cellphone service available.