Copper River Campground
Dept. Fish & Wildlife
Write a Review McCarthy Rd. Chitina, AK 99566GPS: 61.5285, -144.4037
Overview of Copper River Campground
Accessibility is not guaranteed, always scout ahead before driving down dirt roads.
Learn more: Boondocking 101
Last Price Paid: $0
Reported by Abworkma on 7/16/2023
Longest RV Reported: 35 feet (Class A)
Reported by VeganRV on 7/26/2018
Number of Sites 12
Pad Type dirt
Elevation 492 ft / 149 m
Tent Camping Yes
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Reviews of Copper River Campground 7 people have reviewed this location.
“Nice Campsites, Toilet Available, Picnic Tables. ”
Reviewed 7/16/2023
Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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Days stayed: | 1 |
Very good place to stay for free just outside of Chitina. Basic pit toilets. No sinks or plumbing. Picnic tables and fire pits in nicely divided campsites with sufficient privacy. Highly recommend for budget traveling.
Abworkma would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“forest wilderness”
Reviewed 5/31/2022
Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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Days stayed: | 3 |
RV Length: | 25' (Class A) |
Sites here are not level and small but we used the center portion where larger rigs should just pull in. Nice to have a fire pit. Bathrooms were in really bad shape and looked like they had not been cleaned since last Fall. Very dusty when wind blows. But it was a nice place to park and relax before and after the drive into McCarth... more
Sites here are not level and small but we used the center portion where larger rigs should just pull in. Nice to have a fire pit. Bathrooms were in really bad shape and looked like they had not been cleaned since last Fall. Very dusty when wind blows. But it was a nice place to park and relax before and after the drive into McCarthy. We left the RV at the CG and drove car up the 58 mile McCarthy Road. No cell phone coverage
JulieDavid would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Great jump off spot to visit Kennicott”
Reviewed 10/22/2019
Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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Days stayed: | 2 |
Site Number: | N/A |
RV Length: | 33' (Class A) |
The campground is located on the right (sharp right turn) just over the bridge . We stayed here on a Sunday/Monday in mid August. The campground was pretty full when we arrived around noon on Sunday but cleared out later in the day. The sites in the middle of the campground are better for larger rigs as the outside sites had 2-3’ dr... more
The campground is located on the right (sharp right turn) just over the bridge .
We stayed here on a Sunday/Monday in mid August. The campground was pretty full when we arrived around noon on Sunday but cleared out later in the day. The sites in the middle of the campground are better for larger rigs as the outside sites had 2-3’ drops from the roadway- we were afraid that we would be “hung up” if we tried one. We found a large site down the road heading to the river - it required a fair bit of jockeying to get in and had sap dripping from the trees but was quite private. There was a lot of noise from the cars on the bridge during the day but it was quiet at night - limited generator noise. It took us about 2 hours to drive from there to McCarthy in our tow vehicle.
I was surprised that although there were bear country signs, the garbage cans were not bear proof and were very full. I did not however, see any evidence of bears.
Kandt would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Good overnight before the trek to McCarthy!”
Reviewed 7/26/2018
Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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Days stayed: | 1 |
RV Length: | 35' (Class A) |
Scout it out before you pick a spot because there are some pretty cool campsites tucked away. We were only able to get Verizon here. AT&T and T-Mobile were a no go. This campground can get a bit rowdy. Tenters showed up at 3 am and made a ton of noise. People were pulling boats out until at least midnight. Also, generators running m... more
Scout it out before you pick a spot because there are some pretty cool campsites tucked away. We were only able to get Verizon here. AT&T and T-Mobile were a no go.
This campground can get a bit rowdy. Tenters showed up at 3 am and made a ton of noise. People were pulling boats out until at least midnight. Also, generators running most of the evening. The river is about a 1/4 mile walk, and we again saw loads of bald eagles. This campground has two vault toilets.
VeganRV would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Can't beat the price”
Reviewed 5/15/2018
Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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Days stayed: | 1 |
Stayed here one night in a 25' RV from Great Alaskan Holidays in early September of 2016. The colors were amazing! No site numbers, just pick a spot that doesn't block the road in any way from what I could tell/remember. Had great Verizon LTE access to stream videos when it got dark. I'll be heading back there this year in my own 27' T... more
Stayed here one night in a 25' RV from Great Alaskan Holidays in early September of 2016. The colors were amazing! No site numbers, just pick a spot that doesn't block the road in any way from what I could tell/remember. Had great Verizon LTE access to stream videos when it got dark. I'll be heading back there this year in my own 27' TT and will spend some time here. I didn't get to visit Kennecott last time, since most RV rentals aren't allowed to take the road to it...this year I will see it for sure.
mmihalek would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Walk to the river or drive to the ghost town of Kennicott”
Reviewed 11/18/2015
Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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Days stayed: | 3 |
RV Length: | 25' (Class C) |
I don't quite remember how we found out about this place, but there isn't a lot of information about it. The campground has some designated sites, but also some clear areas where people park haphazardly. It seems to be frequented mostly by locals who are fishing. Not to be confused with the campground across the street run by Native Am... more
I don't quite remember how we found out about this place, but there isn't a lot of information about it. The campground has some designated sites, but also some clear areas where people park haphazardly. It seems to be frequented mostly by locals who are fishing. Not to be confused with the campground across the street run by Native Americans, which does have a nightly fee and is not any nicer.
Access was a little tricky for us in a big rig, but we drove into a clearing that had room for multiple RVs. Shortly after we got settled, a trailer parked right in front of our windshield, with another next to it. Which meant we would have to back out under some low branches. But the folks were very nice so we let it ride.
There were a couple of toilets and trash cans. But the trash cans were full and people were just laying their bags of garbage next to them. This attracted a grizzly, who apparently visited one night and rummaged through the garbage. Which of course meant that the grizzly would return. But it seems that they took out the trash cans (see other review) and now folks need to pack garbage out - I don't blame them for doing that.
One night there was an "incident' with someone shooting off a gun, we somehow slept through it and the person was arrested. No other incidents while we were there, thankfully.
The river is within walking distance, and the little town of Chitina is bicycling distance. Lots of eagles around, as is common in Alaska.
This campground is the closest to the towns of McCathy and Kennicott without having to drive up the gravel road. It is about a two-hour drive to the towns, and there is also a private service that runs a tour up to McCarthy, where you can pick up a short shuttle to Kennicott.
Island Girl Walkabout would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
“Don't haul your trailer to McCarthy, stay here instead”
Reviewed 8/26/2015
Nightly rate: | FREE! |
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Days stayed: | 2 |
RV Length: | 27' |
I just happened to stumble onto this campground while checking across the street (near the river) for boondocking (it is Native Corp land across the street and very filthy). I could not find any information on who operates this campground, but with signage from the Fish and Game department and the vault toilets my bets were safe that i... more
I just happened to stumble onto this campground while checking across the street (near the river) for boondocking (it is Native Corp land across the street and very filthy). I could not find any information on who operates this campground, but with signage from the Fish and Game department and the vault toilets my bets were safe that it was a legit place to stay.
It is nothing spectacular, with enough sites for about two dozen RVs (give or take). Some are back in, some are pull through, some would be suitable for tents only, none are numbered.
The place does have a bit of trash laying around. We had three discarded refrigerators dumped at the tip of my site as the site I chose was deep into the trees (easy to hide bad deeds like dumping large appliances). The rest did not appear that bad and some even had fire rings and tables.
If you are looking to visit McCarthy, I would recommend this as a home base. It is still 60 miles of nasty dirt road to McCarthy, but if you need cell and do not want to risk damage to your trailer, this is your last stop, and it is worth it for that reason alone. You can camp at the end of the 60 mile road too, but at a cost of $20 per night for dry camping plus the repairs to your rig after the round trip... good luck!
Don't expect much solar as there are a lot of trees.
No trash cans either, so pack it out.
Van-Tramp would stay here again
This review is the opinion of a Campendium member and not of Campendium.com
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Two free campgrounds between Tok and McCarthy, Alaska - VeganRV
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Amenities
Hookups
- dry camping
Recreation
- fishing
- recreation trail
- water access
Site Amenities
- fire ring
- picnic table
- pull thru
Pets
- pets
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