Alava Bay Cabin
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 30 of the next 30 nights read 16:05 UTC
- Sites
- 1All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 11 notices
In the agency’s own words
Alava Bay Cabin was built in 1974 and sits on Revillagigedo Island on the southwest side of Alava Bay. This secluded retreat is open year-round and offers opportunities for relaxation, sightseeing and a variety of recreational activities within the Misty Fjords National Monument Wilderness. The site can be accessed by floatplane, boat or kayak, depending on conditions. Visitors are responsible for their own travel arrangements and safety, and must bring several of their own amenities. Keep reading
Recreation
The bay and surrounding area can be explored by kayak, but visitors must bring their own equipment. Navigating the waters here poses a challenge due to tides, merging currents and exposure to open ocean waters ( local tide charts ). Opportunities exist for saltwater fishing, hiking and beachcombing. Hunting for Sitka black-tailed deer and black bear is a popular pastime.
Facilities
This 12x14-ft. pan-abode style cabin sleeps six and comes equipped with two single bunks, two double bunks, a table and benches, broom, wood heater and an outhouse. The cabin has a front deck and receives plenty of sunshine on clear mornings. A mooring float is available, but it is not for the exclusive use of cabin visitors. Water and electricity are not provided. Bring your own firewood as it cannot be guaranteed. Water is available from a nearby creek, but must be treated before being used. It is recommended that visitors bring their own water supply. Other items to pack include sleeping bags, sleeping pads, food, cookware, plates, utensils, lanterns or flashlights, toilet paper, garbage bags, a fire extinguisher, axe, and fire starter. Visitors are expected to pack out trash and clean the cabin before leaving. Click here for more cabin details.
Natural Features
The cabin is backed by old-growth rainforest with a rocky beach nearby. The surrounding landscape features gentle slopes and dense forest. Visitors can look out over Alava Bay from the front deck of the cabin. A small island is nearby, situated between the bay and Behm Canal. This is often a stop for those exploring Misty Fjords, an area known for its unusual rock formations, steep fjord walls and quiet inlets. Black and brown bears, wolves, moose, bald eagles and Sitka black-tailed deer are common to this area. Misty Fjords is home to a variety of marine mammals, including orcas, humpback whales, harbor seals and sea lions.
What the agency tells you
The mooring buoy is missing. You will need to anchor.
This facility is located in an extremely remote and wild area; before making a reservation, become aware of bear, water, and weather safety (including cold)
Recreating in Alaska can present both obvious and hidden dangers; please be aware of your surroundings and be prepared for extended stays due to occasionally poor weather
Everything else this campground posts · 8
This cabin is in a designated Wilderness area and access by helicopter is illegal
Water is not available at the cabin; visitors must bring their own water supply
Please pack out all trash and food
Use of this cabin by a commercial operator, such as an outfitter or guide, is not allowed
High levels of Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) have been reported in this area
Click here for more information about Tongass National Forest
Don't Move Firewood: Prevent the spread of tree-killing pests by purchasing firewood near your destination and burning it on-site. For more information visit dontmovefirewood.org.
The invasive European Green Crab (EGC) has been found in southern Southeast Alaska and is suspected to be in more locations on the Tongass National Forest. Please actively look for and report EGC to help map the distribution and contribute to management.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 1 · 1 cabin
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- None listed
Facilities
- Drinking water
- None, bring your own
- “It is recommended that visitors bring their own water supply.”
- Firewood
- Mentioned
Around the campground
- On the water
- Creek, Beach, Coast
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Hunting
- Wildlife viewing
2 of 2 site-nights open this Friday and Saturdayread 16:05 UTC
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
OpenBooked
Watch for a cancellation
Full? Watch it.
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
Tell me when the season opens
Watch for the season to open
One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 15
What you actually pay
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 5
recreation.gov availability, read 16:05 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
1 sites · the site map
All 1 sites
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 1 of the 1 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
Measured shade is NLCD Tree Canopy Cover 2024 (USDA Forest Service / MRLC) read at the site’s own coordinate, 27% canopy or more, and only for the sites the agency gave no Shade value. It never changes the agency’s own shaded count beside it.
| AREA ALAVA BAY CABIN | M01 | cabin nonelectric | 442 ft | $60 |
OpenStreetMap has no toilet mapped within 1 km of this campground, so no site here carries a toilet distance. That’s a gap in the map, not a finding about the campground.
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Fish Creek CabinTongass National Forest · 12 miIcehouse Cove Buoy Camping AreaTongass National Forest · 13 mi
Ella Narrows CabinMisty Fjords National Monument · 19 mi
Winstanley Island CabinMisty Fjords National Monument · 19 mi
Winstanley Lake CabinMisty Fjords National Monument · 19 mi
Bakewell Lake CabinMisty Fjords National Monument · 20 miThe cabin is approximately 20 air miles southeast of Ketchikan on Revillagigedo Island. Accessible by floatplane, kayak or boat with mooring buoy. Navigation is challenging due to tides, merging currents and open ocean waters. Please check tide tables in advance. Refer to USGS Ketchikan A-4.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Metlakatla, AK
Typical weather
Typical October night 42°F, day 54°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 33°F. Bring the bag rated for it.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Augusts are colder than the August line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it
Roadless country, and what’s coming for it
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Alava Bay Cabin is in Alaska’s at-large congressional district. Its representative, Nick Begich (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →