Upper Paradise 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 · 15 notices
In the agency’s own words
Upper Paradise Lake Cabin is extremely remote and secluded in the forest of south-central Alaska. The cabin provides access to fishing and hunting, as well as day hikes that warrant spectacular views of glaciers. The cabin is accessible only by floatplane and access is extremely difficult in the winter when the lake freezes. Visitors are responsible for their own travel arrangements and safety, and must bring several of their own amenities. Keep reading
Recreation
The cabin offers seclusion and good fishing. A rowboat and oars provided at the cabin gives anglers excellent opportunities to catch grayling on the small, adjacent lake. Life jackets are not provided, however. Hunting is popular during designated seasons. The area is home to a variety of wildlife, including moose, black and brown bears, sheep, and mountain goats. While there are no maintained trails in the area, it is rife with potential for exploration. A good day hike leads to views of the majestic Wolverine Glacier, high in the Kenai Mountains.
Facilities
The log cabin has bunk space for six and a maximum occupancy of eight people. It is equipped with counter space, table, benches and a wood stove for heat. An outhouse is also provided. Firewood is limited in the area. A handsaw and splitting maul are provided at the cabin. Visitors will need to bring their own water for drinking, cooking and cleaning purposes. Water taken from the lakes or streams should be treated or boiled prior to consumption. Visitors will also need to bring their own bedding and sleeping pads, flashlights, cooking gear, food, clothing and cooking utensils, among other necessities. All garbage and food must be packed out.
Natural Features
The alpine cabin is located east of Seward Highway, on the western shore of Upper Paradise Lake.It sits in a forest of alder and willow trees at an elevation of about 1,340 feet and offers very scenic views. Wild berries are ripe for the picking in late-summer to fall. For more information on access and regulations pertaining to this cabin, trail conditions, safety precautions and outdoor safety and ethics , please contact the Seward Ranger District.
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
Access to this cabin is by floatplane only
Everything else this campground posts · 12
In fall, winter and early spring, this cabin may be inaccessible due to frozen lake surface (floatplanes cannot land); contact the Seward Ranger District office for information prior to making reservations during these periods
There is no source of fresh water near the cabin; guests must bring their own or treat or boil water from streams and lakes.
Use of this cabin by a commercial operator, such as an outfitter or guide, is not allowed
All garbage and food must be packed out
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
It is unlawful to use a public recreation cabin without a valid cabin reservation.
Occupying a Public Recreation cabin with more than eight individuals per cabin for each permitted day is prohibited.
Camping, pitching tents, or staying overnight within 300 feet of any public recreation use cabin is prohibited unless you have a valid cabin reservation.
It is prohibited to hitch, tether, or hobble any saddle or pack animal including dog teams, within 200 feet of an established trail, water source, or developed recreation site, including Forest Service recreation cabins.
Camping and/ or occupying any one Public Recreation Use Cabin for a period longer than seven consecutive days by any person or group including but not limited to family members, members of the same household, and members of the same camping party within a 30 day period, and three consecutive days May 15 to August 31.
Learn more 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
Facilities
- Toilets
- Yes, the record doesn't say what kind
- “An outhouse is also provided.”
- Drinking water
- None, bring your own
- “…at the cabin. Visitors will need to bring their own water for drinking, cooking and cleaning purposes. Water…”
- Firewood
- Mentioned
- Stay limit
- 7 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, Creek
- Boating
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Hunting
- Wildlife viewing
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.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 19
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 16:10 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 UPPER PARADISE LAKE CABIN | S01 | cabin nonelectric | 76 ft | $60 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions
Where it is
Lower Paradise Lake CabinChugach National Forest · 2.5 mi
Ptarmigan CreekChugach National Forest · 12 miPrimrose CampgroundChugach National Forest · 12 mi
Trail River CabinChugach National Forest · 13 mi
Trail RiverChugach National Forest · 13 mi
Crescent Saddle CabinChugach National Forest · 18 miAccess via floatplane only (15 minutes from Moose Pass or 15 minutes from Seward). Travel times may be dependent on seasonal and/or weather conditions. For current travel conditions call the Seward Ranger District at 907-288-3178.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Primrose, 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
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
Upper Paradise 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 →