Garnet Ledge 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
Garnet Ledge Cabin provides a basecamp for boaters and paddlers exploring the Stikine River and Delta. It is also known for its location near Garnet Ledge, a garnet bedrock outcropping on private land. The site can be accessed by a shallow draft boat or a float plane, depending on conditions. Boats need a tide of at least 15 feet and float planes require at least 18 feet in order to access the cabin. Visitors are responsible for their own travel arrangements and safety, and must bring several of their own amenities. Keep reading
Recreation
Garnet Ledge is the source of the garnets sold by children in the town of Wrangell. The ledge is on private property left to the children of Wrangell, held in trust for them by the First Presbyterian Church of Wrangell. An unmaintained trail along the beach leads from the cabin to Garnet Ledge (the old boardwalk trail was destroyed by extensive blowdown in 2005). Contact the Presbyterian Church for information regarding the collecting of garnets. This cabin is also a popular stop for paddlers on their way to Wrangell from floating the Stikine River. Paddlers can explore the area around the cabin, but should check local tide charts first. Anglers can fish for hooligan in the Stikine River in April.
Facilities
The 16-by-16 cabin (A-frame style) was built in 1964 and can sleep up to seven people. It has two single bunks (one with a trundle bed) and a second-floor loft. The cabin also has a table with benches, a wood stove, a woodshed (firewood not guaranteed), broom and an outhouse. The partially covered front porch has a bear-proof food storage locker available for use. Water and electricity are not provided. Water is available from a stream behind the cabin, but guests should be sure to treat water before drinking or cooking with it ( water safety tips ). It is recommended that guests bring their own water supply. In addition to bringing a cook stove, guests should provide their own firewood, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, lanterns or flashlights, cookware, plates, utensils, food, toilet paper, garbage bags, a fire extinguisher and matches, among other necessities. Guests are expected to pack out trash and clean the cabin before leaving ( click here for more cabin details).
Natural Features
The cabin sits on flat land overlooking the Stikine River delta and tidal flats with a backdrop of moderately steep mountains. The surrounding rainforest is primarily Sitka spruce and western hemlock. Brown and black bears, bald eagles, sea lions, harbor seals, gulls and moose inhabit the area ( bear safety information ). Alaska's second largest concentration of bald eagles occurs during the April hooligan (eulachon) run at the mouth of the Stikine River.
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
Water is not available at the cabin; guests must bring their own water supply or treat water from natural sources
Everything else this campground posts · 10
Firewood is not provided at the cabin; visitors must provide their own
Cell phone service is not available at the cabin
Please pack out all trash and food
Use of this cabin by a commercial operator, such as an outfitter or guide, is not allowed
For more information on garnets, write to: Presbyterian Church, 220 Church Street, Wrangell, AK 99929 or call (907) 874-3534
Others may visit the site, particularly during summer months near high-tide
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
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Yes, the record doesn't say what kind
- OUTHOUSE on 1 of 1 campsite records
- Drinking water
- None, bring your own
- “It is recommended that guests bring their own water supply.”
- Bear boxes
- Yes
- Firewood
- Sold here
Around the campground
- On the water
- River, Creek, Beach
- Boating
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Paddling
- 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 · 18
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 GARNET LEDGE CABIN | W12 | cabin nonelectric | 207 ft | $35 |
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
Where it is
Sergief Island CabinTongass National Forest · 2.4 mi
Koknuk CabinTongass National Forest · 2.7 mi
Gut Island 1 CabinTongass National Forest · 5.4 mi
Gut Island 2 CabinTongass National Forest · 5.4 mi
Little Dry Island CabinTongass National Forest · 6.3 mi
Mount Rynda Cabin7.7 miThis cabin is located on the mainland at the mouth of the Stikine River, south of Point Rothsay, and near the Garnet Ledge. It is 8 miles from Wrangell, and a 15-foot tide is generally required for shallow draft boat access, or an 18-foot tide for a float plane to land.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Wrangell, 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
Garnet Ledge 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 →