Harding River Cabin
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 30 of the next 30 nights read 16:08 UTC
- Sites
- 1All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 10 notices
In the agency’s own words
Harding River Cabin is located in the Bradfield Canal near excellent fishing and crabbing spots. It is also in a prime spot for viewing birds and wildlife. The site can be accessed by float plane or boat, depending on conditions. Boats and planes should anchor in deeper water, and guests should take small skiffs or punts to the cabin. Guests are responsible for their own travel arrangements and safety, and must bring several of their own amenities. Keep reading
Recreation
Anglers can fish in the Harding River for cutthroat trout and Dolly Varden from May through September, steelhead in April and May, and silver and chum salmon in August and September. Bradfield Canal offers excellent crabbing, but tide charts should be consulted before planning any boating or crabbing excursions.
Facilities
This 14-by-16 cabin ( hunter-style ) was built in 1978 and has two single bunks and two double bunks to sleep up to six people. It is also equipped with a table and benches, broom, an oil stove for heat (No. 1 oil only) and an outhouse toilet. A food storage locker is located on the partially covered front porch. Water and electricity are not provided. Water is available from the Harding River, but guests should be sure to treat or boil any water taken from an outside source, prior to consumption ( water safety tips ). It is recommended that guests bring their own water supply. Heating oil is not supplied by the Forest Service. In addition to bringing a supply of No. 1 stove oil, guests should pack sleeping bags, sleeping pads, a cooking stove, 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 relatively flat land overlooking the Harding River and Bradfield Canal. The surrounding rainforest is primarily Sitka spruce and western hemlock with scattered cedar. Muskeg is also common in the area. Brown and black bears, harbor seals and bald eagles are often spotted around the cabin ( bear safety information ). A lucky few may spot gray whales swimming in the nearby waters. The upper end of Bradfield Canal is a spring and fall stop for migratory waterfowl.
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 be prepared to treat water from natural sources
Everything else this campground posts · 7
There is no cell phone service 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
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
- “1 oil only) and an outhouse toilet.”
- Drinking water
- None, bring your own
- “It is recommended that guests bring their own water supply.”
- Bear boxes
- Yes
Around the campground
- On the water
- River
- Boating
- Fishing
- Hunting
- Wildlife viewing
2 of 2 site-nights open this Friday and Saturdayread 16:08 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 16:08 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 HARDING RIVER CABIN | W28 | cabin nonelectric | 1,330 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 · the phone number
Where it is
Marten Lake CabinTongass National Forest · 10 mi
Anan Bay CabinTongass National Forest · 11 mi
Eagle Lake CabinTongass National Forest · 12 mi
Anan Lake CabinTongass National Forest · 12 mi
Reflection Lake CabinTongass National Forest · 14 mi
Frosty Bay CabinTongass National Forest · 17 miLocated southeast of Wrangell on the mainland at the mouth of the Harding River, which is on the north side of the Bradfield Canal. Distance is 31 miles by air, 40 miles by boat from Wrangell.
The beach near the cabin slopes gradually and does not provide for easy boat anchorage. Anchoring the boat in deeper water is recommended, and using a skiff or punt between the boat and shore.
The weather
the next four days
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Wrangell, AK
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
Harding 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 →