Castle River Cabin
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 30 of the next 30 nights read 16:10 UTC
- Sites
- 1All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 13 notices
In the agency’s own words
Castle River Cabin is located on Kupreanof Island on the coastal waters of southeastern Alaska. It offers access to a variety of outdoor recreational opportunities, as well as a secluded place to enjoy its beautiful surroundings. The cabin is accessible only by boat or float plane from Petersburg or Wrangell, and tides impact access. During low tides, a 2-mile hike is necessary to reach the cabin. Guests are responsible for their own travel arrangements and safety, and must bring several of their own amenities. Keep reading
Recreation
The Castle River Trail leads a half-mile downstream to the Castle Flats Cabin, and a half-mile upstream to a rowboat and oars. Wildlife can be seen along the trail. Waterfowl, grouse, moose, deer and bear hunting is also available in designated seasons as per state or federal hunting regulations; click here for more information from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Visitors also enjoy fishing for steelhead trout from April to May, trout from May to October, and coho salmon in mid-August through mid-September. Boating is a popular way to explore the area, but a 16-foot tide is required to cross the tide flats in front of the cabin ( local tide tables ). Life jackets are not available; visitors must bring their own. Visitors may also choose to bring a small outboard motor for the rowboat.
Facilities
The modified A-frame cabin has an extended roof and an upright wall to form a bump-out. It has two double bunks and a sleeping loft to accommodate a total of seven people. The cabin is also equipped with a table, benches, a wood stove and an outhouse with a pit toilet. Firewood is generally available, but is not guaranteed. Firewood is for heating the cabin only, not for outdoor campfires. A broom, dust pan, axe and splitting maul are generally available, but may be missing or damaged. Drinking water is not available at the cabin. Water is available in the nearby river or streams, but it must be treated or boiled prior to consumption. It is recommended that visitors bring their own supply of water for drinking, cooking and cleaning. Visitors need to bring sleeping bags and pads, a cook stove and cooking gear, towels, food, clothing and garbage bags, among other necessities. All trash and food must be packed out, and visitors are expected to clean the cabin before leaving. Click here for more cabin details and maps.
Natural Features
The cabin is located inside a large tide flat on Kupreanof Island at the mouth of the Castle River on the west side of Duncan Canal. The surrounding terrain is predominantly flat-to-rolling old-growth forest and muskeg. A variety of wildlife makes its home in the area, including moose, deer, black bears, waterfowl and grouse ( learn more about bear safety ).
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
Tides affect access to this cabin; consult local tide tables before making a reservation
Everything else this campground posts · 10
An oil stove previously at the cabin has been replaced with a wood-burning stove; firewood may be available, but is not guaranteed
Firewood at the cabin is supplied only for heating the cabin, it is not for outdoor campfires; collect dead and down wood from the forest for your outdoor campfire
Water taken from the nearby stream should be treated or boiled prior to consumption
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 recorded in this area
All garbage and food must be packed out
Please report all missing or damaged items to the Petersburg Ranger District
Learn more 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
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Pit Toilets
- “…a wood stove and an outhouse with a pit toilet. Firewood is generally available, but is not…”
- Drinking water
- None, bring your own
- “Drinking water is not available at the cabin.”
- Firewood
- Mentioned
Around the campground
- On the water
- River, Creek
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Hunting
- Wildlife viewing
2 of 2 site-nights open this Friday and Saturdayread 16:10 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 · 17
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 16:10 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.
| AREA CASTLE RIVER CABIN | P11 | cabin nonelectric | 1,668 ft | $25 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Castle Flats CabinTongass National Forest · 0.4 mi
Breiland Slough Cabin3.8 mi
Kah Sheets Lake CabinTongass National Forest · 7.1 mi
Beecher Pass CabinTongass National Forest · 8.5 mi
Kah Sheets Bay Cabin9.0 mi
Harvey Lake CabinTongass National Forest · 9.4 miFrom Petersburg, it is 16 miles by float plane or 30 miles by boat. A 16-foot tide is required for direct boat or float plane access to the cabin. At lower tides, there is up to a 2-mile hike across the sometimes muddy tide flat to get to the cabin. Another option for access is to boat or fly to the Castle Flats Cabin (a 15-foot tide is required for float plane, or a 13-foot tide for boat access there) and hike the easy 0.5-mile trek to the cabin.
The Castle River Cabin can be found on USGS topographic map Petersburg C-4. Maps are available online or by calling the Petersburg Ranger District at (907) 772-3871.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Petersburg, AK
Typical weather
Typical October night 39°F, day 47°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 27°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
Castle River 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 →