Virginia Lake Cabin
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 30 of the next 30 nights read 16:13 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
Virginia Lake Cabin is a short floatplane ride from Wrangell, Alaska, making it a popular destination for a remote getaway on a scenic lake. It is located 10 miles east of Wrangell on the mainland above Eastern Passage. The area around Virginia Lake provides opportunities for fishing, hunting, paddling and hiking. The site can be accessed by float plane, depending on conditions, or by portaging and paddling watercraft. Visitors are responsible for their own travel arrangements and safety and must bring several of their own amenities. Keep reading
Recreation
Anglers can fish for cutthroat trout and Dolly Varden from May to October and sockeye salmon in August and September. A 14' skiff with oars is provided at the cabin, but visitors must supply their own flotation devices and ensure that the skiff is secured before leaving. Hunting is possible in the area with the proper permits. The .9-mile Mill Creek Trail can be accessed by cabin users by paddling across the lake to the outlet. Trail users can see evidence of past mining and an old sawmill, and can access fishing opportunities in Mill Creek. Alternate access to the cabin from the saltwater at Eastern Passage is by portaging watercraft over this trail. There is no developed trail from the end of Mill Creek Trail at the Virginia Lake outlet to the cabin.
Facilities
The original (pan-abode style) cabin was built in 1965 and is 12-by-14, but it was modified in the mid 1990's to make it wheelchair accessible and add a 10-by-8 addition. It features a wheelchair-friendly deck that wraps around two sides of the cabin and a walkway between the cabin and the outhouse. The cabin sleeps eight people with three single bunks and two double bunks with trundles. It also has a table and benches, broom, both a wood stove and oil stove (No. 1 oil required) for heat, and a campfire ring. Note: the cabin is only wheelchair accessible when the seasonal floatplane dock is in the lake; contact the Wrangell Ranger District at 907-874-2323 to check on the status of the dock. Water and electricity are not provided. Water is available from a stream behind the cabin, but guests should be sure to treat water before drinking or cooking with it ( water safety tips ). It is recommended that visitors bring their own water supply. Cooking facilities are not available. Visitors should provide their own firewood or #1 stove oil, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, a cooking stove, lanterns or flashlights, cookware, plates, utensils, food, toilet paper, garbage bags, a fire extinguisher and fire starter. Visitors are expected to pack out trash and clean the cabin before leaving ( click here for more cabin details).
Natural Features
The cabin sits on relatively flat land with some large meadows near Porterfield Creek, which is about a quarter-mile away. The surrounding rainforest is primarily Sitka spruce and western hemlock with some cedar. Steep mountains surround portions of the lake. A sandy beach is located in front of the cabin. This area is home to brown and black bears ( bear safety information ). Moose also make their home here.
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
Water is not available at the cabin; guests must bring their own water supply or treat water from natural sources
Everything else this campground posts · 6
Firewood is not provided at the cabin; visitors must provide their own
Please pack out all trash and food
Use of this cabin by a commercial operator, such as an outfitter or guide, is not allowed
Expect other users on lake due to easy access and distance from Wrangell
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
- 1
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Yes, the record doesn't say what kind
- OUTHOUSE on 1 of 1 campsite records
- Drinking water
- None, bring your own
- “It is recommended that visitors bring their own water supply.”
- Firewood
- Mentioned
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, Creek, Beach, Meadow
- Berry Picking
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Hunting
- Paddling
- Wildlife viewing
2 of 2 site-nights open this Friday and Saturdayread 16:13 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 · 18
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 16:13 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 VIRGINIA LAKE CABIN | W13 | cabin nonelectric | yes | 240 ft | $45 |
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
Berg Bay CabinTongass National Forest · 9.7 mi
Garnet Ledge CabinTongass National Forest · 11 mi
Middle Ridge CabinTongass National Forest · 12 miUpper Salamander Creek CampsiteTongass National Forest · 12 miThe cabin is on the east end of Virginia Lake, about 10 miles east of Wrangell. The lake is on the mainland (elevation 105 feet) above Eastern Passage. The cabin is accessible by float plane. Virginia Lake is usually ice-free May to October. In fall, winter and early spring, the cabin may be inaccessible due to frozen lake surface (float planes cannot land). Please contact the Wrangell Ranger District at (907) 874-2323 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 Wrangell, 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
Virginia 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 →