Hidden Lake Campground
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
- Sites
- 25All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 1 notices
In the agency’s own words
The Dena’ina people call this special place Yaghanen — “the good land.” Today, it is known as the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. From ice fields and glaciers to tundra, forests, and coastal wetlands, the refuge is often called “Alaska in miniature.” Biodiversity here is unusually high for this latitude due to the meeting of two distinct biomes: the Sitka spruce-dominated coastal rainforest and the westernmost reach of North America’s boreal forest. This rich ecosystem serves as a critical anchor for biodiversity on the Kenai Peninsula amidst regional growth, shifting fire regimes, and a changing climate. Keep reading
Wildlife & Fisheries Mammals: Home to moose, brown and black bears, lynx, wolves, and more. Birds: Nesting grounds for trumpeter swans and various waterfowl. Fisheries: The famed Kenai River originates within the refuge and is world-renowned for sockeye (red), and coho (silver) salmon, as well as Dolly Varden and rainbow trout. Camping on the Refuge The refuge offers a variety of roadside campgrounds to explore: Reservations: Most campsites operate on a first-come, first-served basis, with the exception of the Skyview Loop in Hidden Lake Campground (which accepts reservations). Stay Limits: Maximum stay is 7 days in Hidden Lake Campground and 14 days elsewhere on the refuge. Discounts: Federal Interagency Senior and Access Passes provide a 50% discount on camping fees in refuge campgrounds. Plan Your Visit Website: kenai.fws.gov Phone: Refuge Visitor Center at (907) 743-9146 Recreation Hidden Lake Campground is located within the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge's Skilak Wildlife Recreation Area—a destination featuring 100 miles of hiking trails, scenic overlooks, a 19-mile scenic drive, and multiple lakes for boating. Hiking: Burney's Trail Located across from Skyview Loop (Site #7), Burney’s Trail connects to the Hideout Trail for a continuous thru hike that ends at Mile 1.9 of Skilak Lake Road. Difficulty & Terrain: Short and relatively easy, with a moderately steep section near the end as it winds through aspen and spruce forest. Highlights: The upper portion follows the burn edge of the 2019 Swan Lake Fire and offers sweeping views of Hidden Lake, Skilak Lake, and the Kenai Mountains. Boating & Water Rules Boating: Hidden Lake is open to motorized and non-motorized boats. Personal watercraft (e.g., jet skis) are not permitted. Aircraft: No summertime landing of aircraft is allowed on Hidden Lake.
Facilities
Campsites & Reservations Hidden Lake Campground features 44 total campsites: Skyview Loop: 23 sites available by online reservation. Lake & Ridge Loops: Available on a first-come, first-served basis. Payment must be made on-site via cash or check at the self-serve "iron ranger" pay station. Hookups: No electric or water hookups are available. Water, Boating & Amenities Boat Launch: A free boat launch is available with adjacent parking for vehicles towing boat trailers. Water Supply: Hand pumps are located in each camp loop and near the boat launch. Note: Water is not guaranteed potable; please boil for at least 1 minute or treat before drinking. Dump Station: On-site RV dump station Day-Use Pavilions & Group Permits Two day-use pavilions with raised charcoal grills and picnic tables are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Groups larger than 20 people require a Special Use Permit issued at Refuge headquarters.
Natural Features
Spanning 1.9 million acres across the western Kenai Peninsula, the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge is a dramatic expanse of Alaskan wilderness. The landscape sweeps from the rugged western slopes of the Kenai Mountains across forested lowlands, rivers, lakes, and coastal wetlands along Cook Inlet. Positioned at the heart of the peninsula, the refuge borders Chugach National Forest to the east and Kenai Fjords National Park to the southeast. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (907) 743-9146.
Charges & Cancellations
A $10.00 service fee will apply if you change or cancel your reservation. The $10.00 service fee will be deducted from the refund amount.
What the agency tells you
Hidden Lake Campground Information: Check-in: 2:00 PM Check-out: 12:00 PM (Noon) Campground Hosts: On duty daily at Skyview Loop #5 and Ridge Loop #37 ⚠️ Cellular Service: Limited to no reception throughout the campground and refuge. Expect unreliable coverage. Important Campground Rules: Quiet Hours: 11:00 PM – 7:00 AM. Please keep noise levels down and be respectful of your neighbors. The use of radios, speakers, instruments, or sound amplification systems that causes an unreasonable disturbance to others is prohibited. Firewood & Campfires: Only gather dead and downed wood for firewood. Firewood bundles are available at camp host sites for $6. Cash only. Never leave a campfire unattended. Extinguish fires completely before leaving your site. Loaner buckets are available near the water pumps to help douse your fire. Pets: Dogs must be kept on a leash no longer than 9 feet at all times. Bear Safety: Help keep wildlife wild! All food, coolers, trash, and scented items MUST BE STORED inside a vehicle or bear-resistant storage box when not actively in use. Do not approach wildlife.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 25
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- 4
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
Facilities
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…towing boat trailers. Water Supply: Hand pumps are located in each camp loop and near the boat…”
- Dump station
- Yes
- Boat ramp
- Yes
- Camp host
- On site
- recreation.gov lists “Host”
- Stay limit
- 7 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, River
- Amphitheater
- Biking
- Birding
- Boating
- Canoeing
- Mushroom Picking
- Picnicking
Nothing on the booking system for the next 30 nightsread 15:38 UTC
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
Every one of the next thirty nights is in recreation.gov’s record and not one site is being offered on any of them. That’s a campground closed or not yet released for booking, not a sold-out one.
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 · 10
What you actually pay
“A $10.00 service fee will apply if you change or cancel your reservation. The $10.00 service fee will be deducted from the refund amount.” · this campground’s own terms
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 15:38 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
25 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 25 mapped sitesAll 25 sites
| Skyview | 1 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 828 ft | |
| Skyview | 10 | standard nonelectric | yes | 33 ft | 1,134 ft |
| Skyview | 11 | standard nonelectric | 33 ft | 1,108 ft | |
| Skyview | 12 | standard nonelectric | 66 ft | 1,052 ft | |
| Skyview | 13 | standard nonelectric | 53 ft | 1,031 ft | |
| Skyview | 14 | standard nonelectric | 53 ft | 1,004 ft | |
| Skyview | 15 | standard nonelectric | yes | 165 ft | 839 ft |
| Skyview | 16 | standard nonelectric | 124 ft | 1,285 ft | |
| Skyview | 17 | standard nonelectric | 89 ft | 1,190 ft | |
| Skyview | 18 | standard nonelectric | 89 ft | 1,251 ft | |
| Skyview | 19 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 1,163 ft | |
| Skyview | 2 | standard nonelectric | 20 ft | 842 ft | |
| Skyview | 20 | standard nonelectric | yes | 40 ft | 1,202 ft |
| Skyview | 21 | standard nonelectric | 96 ft | 1,149 ft | |
| Skyview | 22 | standard nonelectric | 84 ft | 1,084 ft | |
| Skyview | 23 | standard nonelectric | 70 ft | 1,164 ft | |
| Skyview | 24 | standard nonelectric | 70 ft | 1,148 ft | |
| Skyview | 25 | standard nonelectric | 118 ft | 1,226 ft | |
| Skyview | 3 | standard nonelectric | 44 ft | 865 ft | |
| Skyview | 4 | standard nonelectric | 50 ft | 874 ft | |
| Skyview | 5 | standard nonelectric | 58 ft | 816 ft | |
| Skyview | 6 | standard nonelectric | yes | 104 ft | 787 ft |
| Skyview | 7 | standard nonelectric | 161 ft | 953 ft | |
| Skyview | 8 | standard nonelectric | 134 ft | 1,054 ftHidden Lake | |
| Skyview | 9 | standard nonelectric | 134 ft | 1,112 ftHidden Lake |
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
Barber Cabin (Chugach National Forest, AK)Chugach National Forest · 7.3 mi
Russian RiverChugach National Forest · 7.8 mi
Aspen Flats Cabin (Chugach National Forest, AK)Chugach National Forest · 9.7 miCooper Creek SouthChugach National Forest · 11 mi
Trout Lake CabinChugach National Forest · 12 mi
Upper Russian Lake CabinChugach National Forest · 13 miHidden Lake Campground Access & Road Conditions
- Location: Mile 3.6, Skilak Lake Road (Best accessed via the East Entrance at Milepost 58 off the Sterling Highway / AK Highway 1).
- Road Surface: Gravel, transitioning to paved road at the campground entrance.
- Seasonal Conditions: Expect muddy gravel from late April to early May depending on snowpack melt. Road conditions normalize by mid-May, making the site easily accessible to standard 2WD vehicles and RVs all summer long.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Cooper Landing, AK
Typical weather
Typical October night 31°F, day 41°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 16°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
Who answers for this land
Hidden Lake Campground 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 →