National Park Service · Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park · AK

Chilkoot Trail Camping Permits

ReservableOut of season; the next season isn't published.
Book on recreation.govWe make nothing when you book
Right now
Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
Sites
55All of them booked ahead
770 ftElevation
73 ftWater · an unnamed streamTidal flat · 11.2 mi
10.2 miN of Skagway, AK
55%Tree cover
Bortle 1Night sky · 134th darkest of 280 in AK

The place

the agency’s own description · what’s there · 15 notices

In the agency’s own words

The Chilkoot National Historic Trail is not open for crossing the Canadian border. When you apply for your Chilkoot Trail permit you will need to select the campgrounds you wish to use, select which nights you will be there, and how many members are in your party. Each campsite includes one 10ftx10ft space which may be used for up to two small tents. If additional spaces are needed, select additional camp sites. April 1-May 31 camping permits are not required. Campsites are listed as Walk up - First Come, First Served to indicate the campgrounds are open. Keep reading

You do not need to check in at the park upon arrival during this time period. June 1 - September 12 camping permits must be reserved, printed out beforehand, and validated at the Trail Center in Skagway prior to heading out on the trail. There is a $20.00 nonrefundable permit fee per trip. Guide to Planning Your Chilkoot Trail Hike . Finnegan's Point Campground Finnegan's Point is the first campground on the Chilkoot Trail. It is located near the Taiya River. Warming shelter and bear boxes are located close to the trail. Outhouse and tent platforms are up the hill from the warming shelter. Finnegan's Point is a good choice for hikers starting late in the day. Location: Mile Marker 5 Site Elevation: 249 ft. Campsites: 6 sites, with wooden 10ftx10ft tent platforms Warming Shelter: 1 Canvas, walled tent with wood burning stove Food Storage: bear boxes and one bear pole Toilet: 1composting outhouse Water Source: Taiya river located close to the warming shelter, all water must be purified Grey Water Disposal: Pack out all food scraps, dispose of grey water into fast moving water to follow Leave No Trace principles. Canyon City Campground The Canyon City campground provides a nice place to take a break from hiking, with several tables and two warming shelters. Canyon City is a common first night stop. Spending the night here makes it easy to explore the Canyon City Loop Trail. Location: Mile marker 7.7 Site elevation: 463 ft Campsites : 16 sites, with wooden 10ftx10ft tent platforms. Warming shelter : 1 canvas walled tent, 1 log cabin with wood burning stoves Food storage : bear boxes Toilet : 2 composting outhouses Water source : Taiya River located a short distance from the campground, a small stream runs behind the wall tent, all water must be purified. Grey water disposal : pack out all food scraps, dispose of grey water into fast moving water to practice Leave No Trace Pleasant Camp Campground Pleasant Camp is located near the Taiya River. It is just after a relatively large elevation gain coming from Canyon City. It is a good place to stay for experienced hikers accustomed to long days who want a quieter campground than Sheep Camp. Location: Mile marker10.7 Site elevation: 750 ft Campsites : 11 bare ground sites Warming shelter : 1 canvas walled tent with wood burning stove Food storage : bear boxes Toilet : 1 composting outhouse Water source : Taiya River located a short distance from the campground, all water must be purified Grey water disposal : pack out all food scraps, dispose of grey water into fast moving water to practice Leave No Trace Sheep Camp Campground Sheep Camp is the last campground on the U.S. side of the trail before the trail summit. Sheep Camp is the location of the NPS backcountry ranger station, a quarter mile from the campground. Location Mile marker: 13 Site elevation: 1,058 ft Campsites : 25 sites, with wooden 10ftx10ft tent platforms, have places to tie securing lines. Warming shelter : A large covered, but open air picnic shelter for meals. A restored 1960s era log cabin, also with wood stove. Note: sleeping in shelters is not permitted. Food storage : bear boxes Toilet : 3 composting outhouses Water source : Taiya River located a short distance from the campground, all water must be purified Grey water disposal : pack out all food scraps, dispose of grey water into fast moving water to practice Leave No Trace Facilities You are required to stop by the Trail Center in Skagway to validate your permit and receive a safety briefing prior to starting your hike. Contact Info This location is unstaffed. To speak with our main office for general information, please call: (907) 983-9234.

What the agency tells you

Rule

From April 1-May 31 permits are not required. Campsites are listed as Walk up - First Come, First Served to indicate the campgrounds are open. You do not need to check in at the park upon arrival during this time period, but we highly recommend checking in on the trail head register. As always, make sure there are people who know when you are going, how long you'll be gone, and when you'll be back. Expect to encounter significant snow and ice, especially at higher elevations.

Rule

From June 1-September 12 you are required to stop by the Trail Center in Skagway to validate your permit and receive a safety briefing prior to starting your hike.

Rule

Your permit guarantees you a site within the campground you have chosen. Individual sites are first come, first served. When you arrive in the campground you may set up camp at any unused site.

Everything else this campground posts · 12
Rule

There is a $20.00 nonrefundable permit fee per trip. The permit covers all Chilkoot Trail campsites that you reserve for your trip.

Rule

The Chilkoot Trailhead is located north of the Dyea townsite, about 10 miles (16 km) from Skagway, and is accessible by road.

Rule

The Taiya river and all tributaries are non-potable. Due to high sediment levels and potential bacterial and viral contamination all water must be filtered before drinking or using. You must bring your own water filtration system.

Rule

This is a backcountry wilderness trail. You are responsible for your own safety. Experience in route-finding and navigation are required. You must pack in and pack out everything.

Rule

There is no cell service anywhere along the Chilkoot Trail. Satellite-enabled phone users may seek 24-hour emergency assistance through the ARCC dispatch at 1-907-683-9555 or their emergency line at 907-683-2276. Hikers using a personal Garmin InReach must use the SOS button. Bad weather conditions may delay medical or rescue assistance for several days. Helicopter medical evacuations from the trail can be extremely expensive. Trail hikers are advised to consult their medical insurance policies before starting their hike. You are responsible for your own safety.

Rule

Weather conditions can be severe and unpredictable. Conditions above tree line change quickly and can be especially severe. High winds, driving snow, and poor visibility may prevent travel through this alpine terrain. Whiteout conditions are common and can prevent detection of hazardous avalanche terrain, cliffs, open water and overflow. Temperatures vary from 30F/-1C to -50F/-46C. It snows up to 200inches/508cm. per year at the Pass. Be prepared for rain, sleet, snow, ice and winds in excess of 50mph/80kmph. Come dressed and prepared for cold weather environmental conditions.

Rule

Remain bear aware at all times. All food and scented items must be stored in the provided bear boxes at each campsite.

Rule

Camping in shelters is not allowed. Tent pads must be used at Finnegan's Point, Canyon City, and Sheep Camp. Designated bare ground campsites must be used as Pleasant Camp. Do not use stones or cobbles to secure tents as they may belong to historic building foundations.

Rule

Only those experienced in winter backcountry travel, prepared with essential avalanche safety and winter camping gear, and travelling with partners should attempt the Chilkoot Trail in early Spring.

Rule

Pets: Although pets are allowed on trail, they must be leashed at all times. Please note that many sections of the trail may be extremely challenging to navigate with your pet on a leash and having your pets present may also increase the potential for aggressive encounters with bears. Because of this we do not recommend bringing them. If you do choose to bring your pet please note that they are not allowed in cooking shelters, their food must also be stored in a bear box, and all feces must be cleaned up and disposed of in the outhouses.

Rule

Fires: Open fires are prohibited on the Chilkoot Trail. You must bring your own backpacking stove and fuel for cooking. There are wood stoves in many of the shelters and you may collect down and dead wood but please note that the wood is often too wet to use.

Rule

Fishing: With an Alaska State fishing license, you can fish along the US portions of the trail.

Read them on the agency’s own page →

Tents and rigs

Sites
55 · 55 walk-in
Hookups
None
Accessible sites
None listed
Pets
Allowed
Campfires
Not allowed
Source: Recreation.gov campsite records · Aug 23, 2026

Facilities

Toilets
Yes, the record doesn't say what kind
OUTHOUSE on 49 of 55 campsite records
Bear boxes
Yes
Stay limit
14 nights
recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Source: Stated in the agency description · Aug 23, 2026
Water, toilets and showers: counted from this campground’s own campsite records, shown above · Sep 12, 2026

Around the campground

On the water
River, Creek
Source: Stated in the agency description · Aug 23, 2026

No reading yet, book on recreation.gov

Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.

No availability snapshot inside the last 36 hours, so this page draws nothing rather than ageing a reading into fiction.

Booking windowOut of seasonOut of season, no booking. The last reservable season the agency published ended September 12, 2026, and it hasn't published the next one.recreation.gov
Max stay14 nightsthe facility record
If plans change$10 to cancel$10 to change a reservationrecreation.gov’s schedule
Runs itNational Park ServiceBooked through recreation.govthe agency’s record
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.

Free forever, no booking kickbacks.
Book on recreation.gov

We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.

Every line of the receipt · 11

What you actually pay

The sign priceNational Park Service
The National Park Service publishes no per-night rate for this campground that we can read, so there’s no sign price to print. That’s a gap in the record, not a free campground.
There is a $20.00 nonrefundable permit fee per trip .
The permit covers all Chilkoot Trail campsites that you reserve for your trip.
The booking feerecreation.gov
Reservation fee, booked online$8
One fee per reservation, however many nights you book, and it’s non-refundable. $9 if you book by phone, $3 in person.
Pass discounts only apply to the recreation (or use) fee for the facility. Other charges such as electricity or water hookups, reservation or other fees are not eligible for a discount.
What a stay costs
The agency publishes no nightly rate for this campground, so there’s nothing to add the $8 booking fee to. We won’t total a receipt with a number missing from it.
If your plans changerecreation.gov
Change fee, moving to dates outside your booking$10
Cancellation fee$10
Cancelling the day before, or the day of$10 + your first night
No-show$20 + your first night

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

rules read Sep 9, 2026 · record Aug 23, 2026 · How we know all this

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

The sites

55 sites · which ones have room · the site map

The sites, ranked

from 55 mapped sites
—between you and the next site, typically

55 sites share one published coordinate and are left out of the rankings.

All 55 sites

55 of 55 sites located
Walk, hike or boat in55

Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 31 of the 55 sites listed. A site with no reading is unknown, never far.

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.

Canyon City CampgroundSite 1 Canyon Cityhike to163 ftOuthouse listed
Canyon City CampgroundSite 10 Canyon Cityhike to163 ftOuthouse listed
Canyon City CampgroundSite 11 Canyon Cityhike to163 ftOuthouse listed
Canyon City CampgroundSite 12 Canyon Pointhike to163 ftOuthouse listed
Canyon City CampgroundSite 13 Canyon Cityhike to163 ftOuthouse listed
Canyon City CampgroundSite 14 Canyon Cityhike to163 ftOuthouse listed
Canyon City CampgroundSite 15 Canyon Cityhike to163 ftOuthouse listed
Canyon City CampgroundSite 16 Canyon Cityhike to163 ftOuthouse listed
Canyon City CampgroundSite 2 Canyon Cityhike to163 ftOuthouse listed
Canyon City CampgroundSite 3 Canyon Cityhike to163 ftOuthouse listed
Canyon City CampgroundSite 4 Canyon Cityhike to163 ftOuthouse listed
Canyon City CampgroundSite 5 Canyon Cityhike to163 ftOuthouse listed
Canyon City CampgroundSite 6 Canyon Cityhike to163 ftOuthouse listed
Canyon City CampgroundSite 7 Canyon Cityhike to163 ftOuthouse listed
Canyon City CampgroundSite 8 Canyon Cityhike to163 ftOuthouse listed
Canyon City CampgroundSite 9 Canyon Cityhike to163 ftOuthouse listed
Finnegan's Point CampgroundSite 1 Finnegan's Pointhike to81 ftTaiya River11 ft
Finnegan's Point CampgroundSite 2 Finnegan's Pointhike to81 ftTaiya River11 ft
Finnegan's Point CampgroundSite 3 Finnegan's Pointhike to81 ftTaiya River11 ft
Finnegan's Point CampgroundSite 4 Finnegan's Pointhike to81 ftTaiya River11 ft
Finnegan's Point CampgroundSite 5 Finnegan's Pointhike to81 ftTaiya River11 ft
Finnegan's Point CampgroundSite 6 Finnegan's Pointhike to81 ftTaiya River11 ft
Pleasant Camp CampgroundSite 1 Pleasant Camphike to64 ftTaiya RiverOuthouse listed
Pleasant Camp CampgroundSite 2 Pleasant Camphike to64 ftTaiya RiverOuthouse listed
Pleasant Camp CampgroundSite 3 Pleasant Camphike to64 ftTaiya RiverOuthouse listed
Pleasant Camp CampgroundSite 4 Pleasant Camphike to64 ftTaiya RiverOuthouse listed
Pleasant Camp CampgroundSite 5 Pleasant Camphike to64 ftTaiya RiverOuthouse listed
Pleasant Camp CampgroundSite 6 Pleasant Camphike to64 ftTaiya RiverOuthouse listed
Pleasant Camp CampgroundSite 7 Pleasant Camphike to64 ftTaiya RiverOuthouse listed
Pleasant Camp CampgroundSite 8 Pleasant Camphike to64 ftTaiya RiverOuthouse listed
Sheep Camp CampgroundSite 1 Sheep Camphike to257 ft47 ft
Sheep Camp CampgroundSite 10 Sheep Camphike to257 ft47 ft
Sheep Camp CampgroundSite 11 Sheep Camphike to257 ft47 ft
Sheep Camp CampgroundSite 12 Sheep Camphike to257 ft47 ft
Sheep Camp CampgroundSite 13 Sheep Camphike to257 ft47 ft
Sheep Camp CampgroundSite 14 Sheep Camphike to257 ft47 ft
Sheep Camp CampgroundSite 15 Sheep Camphike to257 ft47 ft
Sheep Camp CampgroundSite 16 Sheep Camphike to257 ft47 ft
Sheep Camp CampgroundSite 17 Sheep Camphike to257 ft47 ft
Sheep Camp CampgroundSite 18 Sheep Camphike to257 ft47 ft
Sheep Camp CampgroundSite 19 Sheep Camphike to257 ft47 ft
Sheep Camp CampgroundSite 2 Sheep Camphike to257 ft47 ft
Sheep Camp CampgroundSite 20 Sheep Camphike to257 ft47 ft
Sheep Camp CampgroundSite 21 Sheep Camphike to257 ft47 ft
Sheep Camp CampgroundSite 22 Sheep Camphike to257 ft47 ft
Sheep Camp CampgroundSite 23 Sheep Camphike to257 ft47 ft
Sheep Camp CampgroundSite 24 Sheep Camphike to257 ft47 ft
Sheep Camp CampgroundSite 25 Sheep Camphike to257 ft47 ft
Sheep Camp CampgroundSite 3 Sheep Camphike to257 ft47 ft
Sheep Camp CampgroundSite 4 Sheep Camphike to257 ft47 ft
Sheep Camp CampgroundSite 5 Sheep Camphike to257 ft47 ft
Sheep Camp CampgroundSite 6 Sheep Camphike to257 ft47 ft
Sheep Camp CampgroundSite 7 Sheep Camphike to257 ft47 ft
Sheep Camp CampgroundSite 8 Sheep Camphike to257 ft47 ft
Sheep Camp CampgroundSite 9 Sheep Camphike to257 ft47 ft

25 of 55 listed

Getting there

the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Coordinate59.63920, -135.29019
The phone907-983-9200
The agency’s pageOfficial page ↗

Where it is

Getting there

- Start by checking in at the Chilkoot Trail Center at 520 Broadway, Skagway, AK. The Chilkoot Trail Center is located on the east side of Broadway between 5th and 6th Avenues.

- Once your permit has been validated you can head to the Chilkoot Trailhead. Head North out of town towards the Klondike Highway. Turn left onto Dyea road, and follow the road for approximately 7 miles.

- The parking lot will be on your left, and the trailhead will be on your right, across the road from the parking lot.

The weather

the next four days · the thirty-year normal

Next four days, and the thirty-year normal

Forecast

Overnight38°Rain Showers Likely70% rain
Saturday48°Rain Showers100% rain
Saturday Night43°Rain Showers100% rain
Sunday47°Rain Showers Likely56% rain

NWS forecast for Skagway, AK

Typical weather

Typical October night 39°F, day 48°F.

Coldest month of the year: typical January night 22°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.

70°32°10°

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.

Measured at: SKAGWAY AP, AK (USW00025335), 13 miles away and 750 ft lower

The land, and who answers for it

who answers for it

Who answers for this land

Nick Begich, official portrait

Chilkoot Trail Camping Permits 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 →

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

How we know

every fact on this page, and where it came from
Right now: National Park Service publishes no season and no closure for this campground, and it takes no bookings we can read. That’s a gap in the record and not a locked gate: the number below is the only way to be sure.
Cell signal: the Park Service’s own campground description, read as text by CAMPANAC. None of this is a measurement. It’s what the land manager published about the place, and phones, carriers and weather all disagree with each other; treat it as a warning, not a promise.