Avoss Lake Cabin
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 30 of the next 30 nights read 14:57 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
Avoss Lake Cabin is situated 35 air miles southeast of Sitka, Alaska, within the South Baranof Wilderness Area of the Tongass National Forest. The rustic A-frame cabin makes an excellent base for a remote backcountry experience that includes photography and hunting. The cabin is accessed via a 30-minute float plane trip from Sitka, weather permitting. Visitors cannot access the cabin by helicopter, as it is located in a designated wilderness area. From the lake shore, visitors must walk along a narrow, 150-foot trail through a lightly wooded area to reach the cabin. Visitors are responsible for their own travel arrangements and safety, and must bring several of their own amenities. Keep reading
Recreation
Photography and hunting are favorite activities at Avoss Lake. From July to September, anglers may catch Dolly Varden and rainbow trout, although the fishing is slow. Deer and mountain goat hunting is possible in season. This area is remote, rugged and surrounded by steep, mountainous terrain. Plan hunting trips accordingly. For information about fishing and hunting permits and seasons, visit the Alaska Department of Fish and Game website.
Facilities
The A-frame cabin measures 16 by 16 feet. It contains a sleeping loft that is reached by climbing a vertical ladder. The cabin's lower level is furnished with one double plywood bunk and one single plywood bunk (no mattresses), a table and chairs, a cooking counter and a broom. An outhouse toilet is provided. The cabin is equipped with an oil stove for heat, but oil is not provided. Visitors must bring their own supply of #1 diesel oil (10 gallons for a 3-day stay, more or less depending on the time of year). Transport oil in an FAA-approved container or jerry can in a non-tip box. Visitors must also bring sleeping bags and pads, a cooking stove, pots, pans, plates, utensils, food, toilet paper, a lantern, garbage bags, a fire extinguisher, fire starter, rain gear and boots. Water is available from the lake or nearby inlet stream, but must be treated before being used. It is recommended visitors bring their own supply of water. Learn about water safety . A small but heavy, square-bowed skiff (rowboat) with oars is provided. A long-shaft outboard motor in the 2-10 hp range is highly recommended for use with the skiff, but is not provided. Each person using the skiff should have a Coast Guard approved personal floatation device (PFD). Tie the skiff well up on the shore and pull the plug before leaving so the boat does not fill with rain water. Click here for maps and additional cabin information.
Natural Features
The area offers wilderness solitude and beauty. The cabin sits just off the northern shore of Avoss Lake at an elevation of 800 feet at the edge of a muskeg near an inlet stream to Avoss Lake. The lake is about 1.5 miles long and nearly half a mile wide. The cabin is five miles northeast of Whale Bay on the south central portion of Baranof Island. Many streams and small channels flow through the surrounding area. Wildflowers bloom in abundance during spring and summer. Brown bear frequent the area. Learn about bear safety and precautions .
What the agency tells you
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
Cabin may be inaccessible from October through mid-June due to frozen lake surface which means float planes cannot land; please contact the local Forest Service Ranger District office for current information prior to making reservations during this period
Everything else this campground posts · 8
Cabin is not maintained in winter
Treat or boil water before drinking
Firewood is not provided for outdoor campfires; wood that is dead and down may be gathered
This cabin is in a designated Wilderness area, and access by helicopter is illegal
All garbage and food must be packed out
For boat or air charters, contact the Sitka Convention and Visitors Bureau at 907-747-5940 or online
Learn more about the 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.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 1
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- None listed
Facilities
- Toilets
- Yes, the record doesn't say what kind
- “An outhouse toilet is provided.”
- Drinking water
- None, bring your own
- “It is recommended visitors bring their own supply of water.”
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, Creek, Coast
- Hunting
- Wildlife viewing
1 of 1 sites open on Sat, Oct 17read 14:57 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 · 14
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 · 4
recreation.gov availability, read 14:57 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
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 AVOSS LAKE CABIN | S13 | standard nonelectric | 168 ft |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Davidof Lake CabinTongass National Forest · 6.6 mi
Plotnikof Lake CabinTongass National Forest · 8.3 mi
Sevenfathom Bay CabinTongass National Forest · 15 mi
Salmon Lake Cabin SitkaTongass National Forest · 20 mi
Kanga Bay CabinTongass National Forest · 20 mi
Samsing Cove CabinTongass National Forest · 25 miAccessible early June through October. Located 35 air miles southeast of Sitka, east of Whale Bay, within South Baranof Wilderness Area. Access by floatplane takes 35 minutes from Sitka. This cabin is in a designated wilderness area; access by helicopter is illegal.
For geographic features surrounding the cabin, refer to USGS topographic map Port Alexander C-3.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Sitka, AK
Typical weather
Typical October night 41°F, day 49°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 31°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.
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 Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it
What threatens this place
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Avoss Lake 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 →