Plotnikof Lake Cabin
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 30 of the next 30 nights read 16:10 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
Plotnikof Lake Cabin is located on Baranof Island within the South Baranof Wilderness Area, 45 air miles southeast of Sitka, Alaska. The wood cabin is generally available mid-June to October and makes an excellent base for experiencing and exploring this corner of Alaska. This is a remote site. The cabin can be accessed by floatplane only, weather permitting. From Sitka, it's 40-minute plane ride, then a 100-foot walk to the cabin. Visitors are responsible for their own travel arrangements and safety, and must bring their own amenities. Keep reading
Recreation
Plotnikof Lake and its inlet stream on the north shore offer fair rainbow trout fishing. Steelhead runs occur from mid-May to early June on the outlet stream on south shore; coho salmon from late August through September. The 1.2-mile Davidof Lake Trail begins behind the cabin, ending at an outlet stream on Davidof Lake. The trail is not maintained and can be difficult to find. Hunters willing to walk some distance from cabin will find good deer hunting in the surrounding area. For information about fishing and hunting permits and seasons, visit the Alaska Department of Fish and Game website.
Facilities
The 12 x 14-ft wood, Pan abode-style cabin can accommodate up to six people. It offers two double plywood bunks and two single plywood bunks. Amenities include an oil stove for heat ***AS OF 08/30/26 OIL STOVE CONFIRMED INOPERABLE DUE TO DAMAGED FUEL LINE*** , a table with benches, a cooking counter, broom, axe or splitting maul, outdoor screened cooler box and an outhouse toilet. The cabin does not include heating oil, mattresses or cooking utensils. Visitors should bring #1 diesel oil (generally 10 gallons for a three-day stay, more of less depending on the time of year), sleeping bags and pads, a cooking stove, pots, pans, plates, utensils, food, toilet paper, a lantern, garbage bags, a fire extinguisher and fire starter. Rain gear and boots are recommended. Firewood is not provided for campfires; gather dead and down wood. Water is available from the lake or a nearby inlet stream, but must be treated before using. It's recommended that visitors bring their own water. ***AS OF 06/10/24 SKIFF REPORTED DAMAGED/MISSING*** A small skiff with oars is provided. A 2-10 HP long-shaft outboard motor enhances use of the skiff, but is not provided. Bring personal flotation devices (PFDs). Be sure plug is in before launching boat. Tie skiff well up on shore and pull plug before leaving so boat does not fill with rain water. *** TAKE THESE FACTORS INTO CONSIDERATION WHEN MAKING RESERVATIONS, USE PRECAUTION WITH ALTERNATE HEATING SOURCES AND SHORELINE TRANSPORTATION*** Click here for more cabin information and maps.
Natural Features
The cabin lies near the north end of narrow, 4-mile long Plotnikof Lake on Baranof Island at an elevation of 275 feet. The cabin sits 100 feet back from the shore, on a narrow path lined with dense thickets of shoulder-height brush and berries. Large old-growth spruce and hemlock trees surround the cabin. The area offers wilderness solitude and beauty. The view from the cabin includes waterfalls cascading from steep granite slopes that rise to snow-capped ridges. Brown bear frequent the area.
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
Cabin is located in a designated Wilderness area; access by helicopter is illegal
Everything else this campground posts · 8
Cabin may be inaccessible from November through early June due to frozen lake surface (floatplanes cannot land); please contact the local Forest Service Ranger District office for current information prior to making reservations during this period
Cabin is not maintained in winter
Carry stove oil in FAA-approved container or jerry jug in a non-tip box
Boil or treat stream water before drinking
All garbage and food must be packed out
For boat or air charters, contact the Sitka Convention and Visitors Bureau at 907-747-5940 oronline
Learn more about the 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
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- None listed
Facilities
- Toilets
- Yes, the record doesn't say what kind
- “Amenities include an oil stove for heat ***AS OF 08/30/26 OIL STOVE CONFIRMED INOPERABLE DUE TO DAMAGED FUEL LINE*** , a table with benches, a cooking counter, broom, axe or splitting maul, outdoor screened cooler box and an outhouse toilet.”
- Drinking water
- None, bring your own
- “…using. It's recommended that visitors bring their own water. ***AS OF 06/10/24 SKIFF REPORTED…”
- Firewood
- Mentioned
Around the campground
- On the water
- Waterfall, Lake, Creek, Beach
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Hunting
2 of 2 site-nights open this Friday and Saturdayread 16:10 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 · 14
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 · 4
recreation.gov availability, read 16:10 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
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 PLOTNIKOF LAKE CABIN | S15 | standard nonelectric | 216 ft |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Davidof Lake CabinTongass National Forest · 2.3 mi
Avoss Lake CabinTongass National Forest · 8.3 mi
Sevenfathom Bay CabinTongass National Forest · 22 mi
Kanga Bay CabinTongass National Forest · 27 mi
Salmon Lake Cabin SitkaTongass National Forest · 28 mi
Samsing Cove CabinTongass National Forest · 33 miAccessible early June through October. This cabin is located 45 miles southeast of Sitka, 4 miles east of Whale Bay, on the south-central part of Baranof Island. Access by floatplane is 40 minutes from Sitka.
For geographic features surrounding the cabin, refer to USGS topographic map Port Alexander C-3.
The weather
the next four days
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Sitka, AK
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
Plotnikof 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 →