Humpback Lake Cabin
- 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 · 9 notices
In the agency’s own words
Humpback Lake Cabin is located on the mainland within the Misty Fiords National Monument Wilderness. It has the feel of a secluded getaway, even though a commercial lodge is nearby. The cabin is open year-round, offering relaxation, sightseeing and recreation in Alaska's beautiful Inside Passage. The site can be accessed by floatplane, depending on conditions. Guests are responsible for their own travel arrangements and safety, and must bring several of their own amenities. Keep reading
Recreation
A 14-foot aluminum skiff with oars is available at the cabin, but guests must provide their own life jackets. Guests can row to the Humpback Creek Trailhead and enjoy a scenic 3-mile hike to Mink Bay. The trailhead is located at the north edge of a large log jam near the west end of the lake. The lake offers excellent fishing for Dolly Varden and cutthroat trout.
Facilities
This 12x14-ft. pan-abode style cabin sleeps six and comes equipped with two single bunks, two double bunks, a table and benches, tiny woodstove, broom and an outhouse. Firewood cannot be guaranteed , bring your own firewood or biobricks. Water and electricity are not provided. Water is available from the lake, but guests must treat water before drinking or cooking with it. It is recommended that guests bring their own water supply. Other items to pack include sleeping bags, sleeping pads, lanterns or flashlights, cookware, plates, utensils, food, toilet paper, garbage bags, a fire extinguisher and fire starter. Guests are expected to pack out trash and clean the cabin before leaving. Click here for more cabin details.
Natural Features
The cabin offers spectacular views of the glacier-carved lake and the surrounding high alpine peaks with sheer granite walls. The landscape is covered in lush old-growth forest of Sitka spruce, cedar and western hemlock. This area is home to a large population of brown bears. Other species that make their home in the Wilderness include Sitka black-tailed deer, wolves, martens and moose. A variety of waterfowl may be seen around the lake.
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
This cabin is in a designated Wilderness area, and access by helicopter is illegal
Everything else this campground posts · 6
Water is not available at the cabin; guests must bring their own water supply or treat water from natural sources
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.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 1 · 1 cabin
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- None listed
Facilities
- Drinking water
- None, bring your own
- “…with it. It is recommended that guests bring their own water supply. Other items to pack include sleeping bags,…”
- Firewood
- Mentioned
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, Creek, Coast
- Boating
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Wildlife viewing
Something open on 30 of the next 30 bookable nightsread 14:57 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 · 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 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.
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.
| AREA HUMPBACK LAKE CABIN | M08 | cabin nonelectric | 131 ft | $45 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Hugh Smith Lake CabinMisty Fjords National Monument · 6.2 mi
Bakewell Lake CabinMisty Fjords National Monument · 17 mi
Alava Bay CabinMisty Fjords National Monument · 28 mi
Winstanley Lake CabinMisty Fjords National Monument · 30 mi
Wilson Narrows CabinMisty Fjords National Monument · 31 mi
Winstanley Island CabinMisty Fjords National Monument · 33 miThe cabin is approximately 48 air miles southeast of Ketchikan, east of Mink Bay on the mainland and is accessible by floatplane. This cabin is in a designated Wilderness area, and access by helicopter is illegal. Refer to USGS Ketchikan A-2.
In fall, winter and early spring, the cabin may be inaccessible due to frozen lake surface (floatplanes cannot land). Please contact the Ketchikan-Misty Fjords Ranger District for information prior to making reservations during these periods.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Metlakatla, AK
Typical weather
Typical October night 42°F, day 54°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 33°F. Bring the bag rated for it.
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 Augusts are colder than the August 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
Humpback Lake 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 →