Harrison Lagoon Cabin
We don’t think it should be. Every campground should hold some sites for whoever drives up.Tell your representative →
- 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 · 10 notices
In the agency’s own words
Harrison Lagoon Cabin is open for year-round enjoyment, offering a variety of recreational opportunities on land and water. The cabin's remote location makes an ideal base for exploring the natural beauty of Prince William Sound. The Cabin is located on Chugach National Forest lands within the Nellie Juan - College Fiord Wilderness Study Area. The site can be accessed by float plane or boat, depending on conditions. Guests are responsible for their own travel arrangements and safety, and must bring several of their own amenities including sleeping pads, sleeping bags, cook stove, toilet paper, pots and utensils as well as some form of water purification. Keep reading
Recreation
Guests who have kayaks can use them for exploring the coast or crossing the lagoon, which offers more hiking possibilities than the area around the cabin. It is possible to walk the lagoon at low tide, but tide tables should be consulted to time the return hike at low tide as well. It is also possible to access the Granite Mine Trail via a ~1mile beach walk South from the Cabin along Port Wells to the Granite Mine Trailhead. Again tide tables should be consulted and timed appropriately to avoid being stuck and unable to return to the Cabin in a given tide cycle. Hunting for black bear and waterfowl is allowed with the proper permits in designated areas in-season. Fishing is fair for pink salmon in August, either in Lagoon Creek (inland from Harrison Lagoon) or in saltwater. Shrimping is also possible. Berry pickers can harvest blueberries and salmonberries near the cabin when they are in season.
Facilities
The 16 x 20 foot cabin sleeps six and is equipped with wooden bunks, a table with benches, an oil drip (kerosene) stove for heat and an outhouse with pit toilet. Cabin users must supply thier own fuel for stove. Typically 1 gallon of kerosene/ day is sufficent. Drinking water is accessible by kayak at Lagoon Creek or by walking south of the cabin along the shoreline at low tide. Water from natural sources should be treated before drinking. Items such as a cooking stove and gear, lanterns, sleeping gear, toilet paper, kerosene and garbage bags are not provided. Guests are expected to pack out their trash and clean the cabin before leaving.
Natural Features
Harrison Lagoon is located on the west side of Port Wells in Prince William Sound. The cabin is tucked into a stand of conifer trees on a gravel spit that separates the lagoon and the Sound. One side faces Port Wells, and the other faces the lagoon. The lagoon itself is surrounded by rocky shoreline and dense evergreen forest, with views of distant snow-capped mountains. Black bears, Sitka black-tailed deer and bald eagles make their home here ( learn about bear safety ). The lagoon and Port Wells support many seabirds, Dall's and harbor porpoises, harbor seals, sea otter and some sea lions frequent the area. Orcas and humpback whales may be seen in Port Wells. Contact Info This location is unstaffed. To speak with our main office for general information, please call: (907) 783-3242.
What the agency tells you
! USERS MUST SUPPLY THEIR OWN HEATING OIL ! 1-2 gallon(s) a day is the recommended amount but plan appropriately for cooler temps in Winter, Spring and Fall.
Check In 12:00 PM night of Rental until 12:00 PM the following day.
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)
Everything else this campground posts · 7
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 nearby sources only accessible at low tide or via boat
Please pack out all trash and food
A Forest Order (10-04-00-14-47) that limits occupying/renting a public use rental cabin for more than seven consecutive days by any group or person
Please be aware of the risks of Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) before harvestingany shellfish
Click here for more information about Chugach 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 · 1 cabin
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Pit Toilets
- “…stove for heat and an outhouse with pit toilet. Cabin users must supply thier own fuel for stove.…”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…1 gallon of kerosene/ day is sufficent. Drinking water is accessible by kayak at Lagoon Creek or by…”
- Stay limit
- 7 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- Creek, Beach, Coast
- Boating
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Hunting
- Wildlife viewing
Full this Saturdayread 14:57 UTC
How full the weekend is nationally.
OpenBooked
The one site on offer is taken this Saturday. 1 is free on Mon, Oct 19. read 14:57 UTC Why the weekend fills and the week doesn’t
Watch for a cancellation
Watch this campground
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 · 15
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 14:57 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 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 HARRISON LAGOON CABIN | G05 | cabin nonelectric | 2,576 ft | $75 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Pigot Bay CabinChugach National Forest · 12 mi
Coghill Lake CabinChugach National Forest · 13 mi
Goose Bay CabinChugach National Forest · 19 mi
Paulson Bay CabinChugach National Forest · 21 mi
Shrode Lake CabinChugach National Forest · 23 mi
Williwaw CampgroundChugach National Forest · 27 miThis Cabin is not accessible via the road system. The cabin is on the west side of Port Wells, two miles north of Hobo Bay. It is accessible by float plane, 40 miles from Anchorage or 60 miles from Cordova, or by boat, 34 miles from Whittier.
The lagoon drains at low tide and should only be navigated by skiffs. Please consult local tide reports prior to arrival as they affect both transportation and recreation in the area.
The shoal to the east of the lagoon should only be used for short-term anchoring (unprotected). Boats are not provided by the Forest Service.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Anchorage, AK
Typical weather
Typical October night 36°F, day 44°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 24°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
who answers for it · a letter you can send
Who answers for this land
Harrison Lagoon 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 →
Who can change it · 3
Two offices, two different asks. The draft to the agency asks it to set aside a published share of the sites here for whoever drives up. The draft to Congress asks why that share is zero and presses for a published minimum at the campgrounds it funds.
- The member who votes the moneyNicholas J. Begich IIIU.S. Representative · Alaska, at-large
- Your senator, on the same appropriationDan SullivanU.S. Senator · Alaska
- Your senator, on the same appropriationLisa MurkowskiU.S. Senator · Alaska
Read the draft, or change the wording
For the camper who turned up, or tried to book, and couldn’t get in. Every draft is written from this campground’s own record (its agency, its unit, its site count and its own weekend) and the buttons above copy whichever wording is selected here.
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Harrison Lagoon Cabin, Alaska
Dear Nicholas J. Begich III, I’m a constituent in Alaska, at-large. I tried to camp at Harrison Lagoon Cabin, Alaska, and couldn’t. All 1 sites at Harrison Lagoon Cabin are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, the one site recreation.gov was offering there was already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Harrison Lagoon Cabin keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Harrison Lagoon Cabin. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Harrison Lagoon Cabin (Alaska) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Harrison Lagoon Cabin, Alaska
Dear Dan Sullivan, I’m a constituent in Alaska. I tried to camp at Harrison Lagoon Cabin, Alaska, and couldn’t. All 1 sites at Harrison Lagoon Cabin are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, the one site recreation.gov was offering there was already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Harrison Lagoon Cabin keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Harrison Lagoon Cabin. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Harrison Lagoon Cabin (Alaska) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Harrison Lagoon Cabin, Alaska
Dear Lisa Murkowski, I’m a constituent in Alaska. I tried to camp at Harrison Lagoon Cabin, Alaska, and couldn’t. All 1 sites at Harrison Lagoon Cabin are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, the one site recreation.gov was offering there was already booked. 1,623 of the 7,647 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Harrison Lagoon Cabin keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Harrison Lagoon Cabin. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Harrison Lagoon Cabin (Alaska) via campanac.com