Adventure Appeal
Although Alaska travel vets tend to keep it to themselves, Ptarmigan Creek campground (16 sites) at Mile 23 of the Seward Highway (just south of the hamlet of Moose Pass) is well worth the trip. Not only is the campground tucked into spruce forest and situated on a clear, cold (and often sockeye-filled in late summer!) milky-turquoise glacial-silt stream that attracts bald eagles (and occasionally bears), but it’s also the trailhead for a genuine alpine hike (the Ptarmigan Creek Trail). The roughly seven-mile round-trip hike leads through spruce and cottonwood forest to a finger of glacier-fed Ptarmigan Lake hemmed in by steep peaks inhabited by mountain goats and Dall sheep. It’s unusual to find an easy creekside evening and a true alpine hike accessible from the same parking lot. Kenai Lake, Seward and the icefields of the Kenai are also nearby.
Survival Readiness
There are black and brown bears around Ptarmigan Lake. They’re especially likely to be near the creek during salmon runs, when you’ll see lots of bears fishing. Keep your campsite clean, store food securely, and keep bear spray handy (on your hip, not buried in your pack).
The Kenai can be sunny and warm one minute, and windy and raining the next (even in July!). Layers, rain gear, and extra warm clothes are good ideas.
Ptarmigan Lake is true backcountry, and help is hours away. Tell someone where you’re going, and bring water treatment if you plan to use the lake as a water source. There are stretches of this highway where cell phone coverage is spotty to non-existent.
The trail to Ptarmigan Lake goes over avalanche terrain that can remain snow-covered well into the summer.
Getting There
This popular camp is open from mid-May through September 30. Some campsites are reservable on Recreation.gov (1-877-444-6777) and others are first come, first served (summer weekends can fill up, so get there early or reserve ahead).
The Kenai Lake campground is on Ptarmigan Creek, about two hours south of Anchorage and 25 minutes north of Seward. It’s one of the more easily accessed true-wilderness camps in Southcentral Alaska. From Anchorage, head south along the Seward Highway (which follows Turnagain Arm and goes over a couple of passes) to Mile 23, just south of Moose Pass. The campground entrance is on the east side of the road.
Get gas and supplies in Anchorage, Seward or Girdwood, as there aren’t a whole lot of options once you’re out of town. Fees are around $19/night and the maximum stay is 14 nights. From camp it’s just a short walk to Kenai Lake.
Local Perks
Kenai and Trail lakes are nearby as well, offering salmon runs and lake-trout fishing.
A mere half-hour south of Kenai Fjords National Park, Seward offers day cruises past whales, sea otters, puffins and tidewater glaciers on Resurrection Bay, as well as access to walk-on Exit Glacier.
The storied Resurrection Pass trail, plus plenty of shorter hikes, crisscross this area, while the tiny community of Moose Pass puts on a beloved summer solstice festival each year. And don’t forget that a wild trout stream runs right past camp, and trout and Dolly Varden fishing can be had right on Ptarmigan Creek!
It’s hard to find a basecamp in a better location.
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