Petersburg Lake Cabin
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 30 of the next 30 nights read 16:09 UTC
- Sites
- 1All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 11 notices
In the agency’s own words
THIS IS NOT THE PETERSON LAKE CABIN NEAR JUNEAU. Petersburg Lake Cabin offers a tranquil place to stay on the shores of a Wilderness lake in southeastern Alaska. It provides access to outstanding fishing opportunities, as well as hunting and wildlife viewing. This trail is in the process of being maintained, it is difficult to find at times and has many natural features such as large sections of beaver ponds and downed trees to navigate. If you intend on hiking in to this cabin please come prepared with map, compass, GPS and please know your route or discuss trail with Petersburg Ranger District prior to departure. The cabin is accessible by float plane or by a boat-trail combination, dependent on tides. Guests are responsible for their own travel arrangements and safety and must bring several of their own amenities. Keep reading
Recreation
The nearby creek offers outstanding steelhead, coho and sockeye fishing, while the lake boasts cutthroat trout and sockeye salmon. A rowboat and oars is available at the cabin, however, life jackets are not provided and guests should bring their own. Guests may also choose to bring a small outboard motor. Attention Hikers: Petersburg Lake Trail is in very poor condition. The middle section of the trail, around mile marker 4 to 9.5, is very muddy, wet and not well marked. If you plan on hiking that part of the trail make sure and bring a map and compass and know how to use those tools. Rubber boots with non-slip soles are recommended. Portions of the trail have rotting and broken boards to beware of. We recommend avoiding this section of the trail if possible. Hiking and hunting are popular activities. Hunting is available as per state or federal hunting regulations; click here for more information from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
Facilities
This pan-abode style cabin was constructed in 2003. It has two bunk beds with double space below and single above. The cabin is equipped with a table and benches and both a wood stove and oil stove for heat. Firewood is not guaranteed. Please bring your own kerosene for the oil stove. An outhouse with a basket/barrel system is provided. The only fresh water available is from the lake, creek or melted snow. Water taken from any outdoor source should be treated or boiled before consumption. Guests are encouraged to bring their own drinking water if possible. Guests will need to bring their own kerosene, sleeping bags and pads, lanterns and flashlights, cook stove and cooking gear, towels, food, clothing, fire starter and garbage bags, among other necessities. The cabin will need to be cleaned prior to leaving and all garbage and food needs to be carried out. Click here for more cabin details and maps.
Natural Features
The cabin is located on Kupreanof Island, 9 miles northwest of Petersburg, in the Petersburg Creek-Duncan Salt Chuck Wilderness. The Petersburg Creek Valley is a glacial valley with a broad, flat bottom and steep sides. The area surrounding the lake and creek is flat; otherwise the terrain is steep. The setting is pristine, old-growth spruce and hemlock forest with scattered muskeg. The area abounds with wildlife and wildflowers. The creek and lake are a haven for black bears and eagles, who feed on the spawning salmon there (learn about bear safety).
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 is not the Peterson Lake Cabin near Juneau
Everything else this campground posts · 8
This cabin is in a designated wilderness area; access by helicopter is illegal
Tides affect access to this cabin if you plan to hike in from saltwater; consult local tide tables before making a reservation
In fall, winter and early spring, the cabin may be inaccessible due to frozen lake surface (float planes cannot land); contact the Petersburg Ranger District office for information prior to making any reservations during these periods
Use of this cabin by a commercial operator, such as an outfitter or guide, is not allowed
Firewood at the cabin is supplied only for heating the cabin, it is not for outdoor campfires; collect dead and down wood from the forest for your outdoor campfire
All garbage and food must be packed out
Learn more 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
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Drinking water
- None, bring your own
- “Guests are encouraged to bring their own drinking water if possible.”
- Firewood
- Mentioned
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, Creek
- Fishing
- Hunting
- Wilderness access
- Wildlife viewing
2 of 2 site-nights open this Friday and Saturdayread 16:09 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 · 17
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 16:09 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 PETERSBURG LAKE CABIN | P07 | cabin nonelectric | under 10 ft | $25 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Salt Chuck East CabinTongass National Forest · 5.7 mi
Portage Bay CabinTongass National Forest · 7.2 mi
Towers Arm CabinTongass National Forest · 8.0 mi
Ravens Roost CabinTongass National Forest · 11 mi
West Point CabinTongass National Forest · 12 mi
Castle Flats CabinTongass National Forest · 16 miThe cabin is accessible by float plane 9 miles from Petersburg, or by a boat-trail combination, dependent on tides. At high tide (15 feet or higher), access by boating 4 miles up Petersburg Creek to the high tide trailhead, then hiking 6.5 miles along the Petersburg Creek Trail. At lower tides, go a half-mile to the low tide trailhead at the city of Kupreanof's boat dock on the Wrangell Narrows. The hike from this trailhead is 10.3 miles.
Refer to USGS topographic map Petersburg D4. Maps are available online or by calling the Petersburg Ranger District at (907) 772-3871.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Kupreanof, 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
Petersburg 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 →