The biggest savings on my 8 week trip from Seattle to Alaska and the Arctic Ocean came from camping, or more specifically free camping in Alaska, Yukon, and British Columbia. I only spent $150 in camping fees in 8 weeks, with half of this spent camping at festivals. These are some of my top tips for finding free camping and some of my favorite free campgrounds from the trip.
This post contains affiliate links. This website earns a small commission for items purchased through these links with no additional cost to you.
How to Find Free Camping when Driving to Alaska
Besides intuition, I relied on three sources to find free camping in Alaska, Yukon, and BC:
Most importantly, the iOverland app lists many paid and free campgrounds and wild camping areas. This app is amazing and it is free. Even better, it works offline (without data or wifi)
Maps.me is another app and it pairs nicely with iOverland. iOverland doesn’t provide great directions, but maps.me does if it’s a mapped location. Make sure you download the relevant maps before your trip. Maps.me also works offline.
The Milepost Guide contains all the major roads to and in Alaska, along with all points of interest along the way, including free campgrounds. This is a must purchase before your trip to Alaska. Buy the Milepost at amazon now
Free Camping in Alaska
There are quite a few place to camp for free in Alaska. But there are also some towns that are especially not free camper friendly including Homer and Anchorage. Some free places I camped in Alaska include rest areas, National Recreation Area campgrounds, user-maintained campgrounds, businesses that allow camping, and select in-town sites. Here are some of my favorite free places to camp in Alaska:
Whiskey Gulch Campground
Whiskey Gulch is off the Sterling Highway, between Soldotna and Homer on Kenai Peninsula. Years ago, the road to access Whiskey gulch was steep, narrow, and dangerous. Now it is just steep, but most vehicles can make it down to the beach. I parked right by the beach with views of volcanoes and sunsets and bald eagles. There was one porta-potty at this site.
Denali Highway
There are 100’s of places to camp along the gravel Denali Highway, located halfway between Fairbanks and Anchorage. I parked next to 50-Mile Lake to enjoy this beautiful view and wildlife (I spotted a single caribou, many beavers, swans, and a couple of bald eagles).
Valdez Harbor and Valdez Iceberg Lake
I found two great places to camp in Valdez, my favorite town in Alaska. You are allowed to “stealth” camp for up to 48 hours at the Valdez Harbor, with picnic tables and bathroom access. Wake up to great views of the Harbor. The other great place to camp near Valdez is at the Iceberg Lake at the base of Valdez Glacier. No toilets but amazing views.
Haines Bayside Picnic Area & Road Pull-Outs
There are a few places to camp along the road to the Haines Ferry Dock. While there are no camping signs at the picnic spot closest to the town, there are several other pull-outs with no such restrictions.
Deadman Lake & Lakeview Campgrounds
These two free campgrounds are part of Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge, along the Alaska Highway between the Yukon border and Tok, AK. Not only is there free camping, there’s also free canoeing at Deadman Lake. Read more about these campgrounds here.
At the Summit of the Salmon Glacier in Hyder, AK
This spot is technically in
Free Camping in Yukon
There isn’t abundant free camping in Yukon – you are not supposed to camp at highway rest areas. Other areas that look good for camping will have “No overnight” signs. However, there are some great governmental campsites for $12 CAD that include free firewood. I didn’t spend many nights in Yukon (often crossing into Alaska where there were some free spots), but here are a couple free places I camped:
Gravel Pit in Tombstone Mountain Territorial Park
There’s a $12 campground in Tombstone Mountain Territorial Park along the Dempster Highway, but the spots are in the trees with little view so I headed north and parked in one of the gravel pits with awesome views. I also had a weird experience with 3 owls swooping my head that night.
Ogilvie-Peel Viewpoint
After slogging thru deep mud in the fog, I was so tired I stopped at a rest area along the Dempster Highway. The next morning, I woke up to a great view.
Dawson City Visitor Center Parking Lot or Midnight Dome
If you want to enjoy the “nightlife” of Dawson City without worrying about driving, you can camp for free overnight at the Dawson City Visitor Center for free. Alternatively, you can camp up at the Midnight Dome viewpoint
Free Camping in British Columbia
British Columbia has some fantastic free campgrounds! There are many so called “British Columbia Recreation Sites” or “BC Rec Sites” that are provincial parks with un-hosted or user-maintained campgrounds. These campgrounds had camp areas, usually with fire pits and picnic tables. There were also vault/pit toilets, with or without toilet paper. I often found the settings at these free campgrounds where nicer than the hosted BC Provincial Park campgrounds that cost $20 per night. It’s also possible to camp at many of the highway rest areas, although they can be very noisy.
Dragon Lake Recreation Site
Dragon Lake is a BC Rec Site. This was a great spot on the little traveled Nass Forest Road on the way out from exploring the Nass River Valley driving to the Cassiar Highway. The lake has places to launch a kayak or swim from a swimming dock.
Sawmill Point Recreation Site
I got to park right on the beach of Dease Lake at this Rec Site just off the Cassiar Highway. If you can stand the chilly water, Sawmill Point is a great place to swim or kayak.
Lasalle Lakes Recreation Site
Yet another great spot to camp among the BC Rec Sites. This spot is found on the Yellowhead Highway, half-way between Prince George and the Canadian Rockies.
Do you have any favorite free campgrounds in Alaska, Yukon, or BC not mentioned above? Please leave comments below.
Like this post, click on a picture below to save to pinterest:
Recent Comments