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Williwaw Campground
 This federal campground is one of the most popular and well
maintained in Southcentral Alaska. The whole campground features paved roads and
parking. Every time we have been here the campground has been completely
full. It is operated by the U.S. Forest Service.
If you are planning to camp here, make sure to reserve a campsite by calling
(907) 522-8368.
 To
find this campground, head toward Portage Lake from the Seward Highway on
Portage Glacier Road. Look for the blue and gray U.S. Forest Service signs
on the right side of the road after about four miles.
The campground features restrooms, pull-through sites for RVs, water, amphitheatre,
and 59 campsites. These are very nice
sites, extremely well cared-for. Each
campsite's driveway is paved, and each has a picnic table, fire ring and level area to pitch a tent.
The cost to camp here is a bit more expensive - $12.00 for a regular site and
$18.00 for a double.
  Next
to the campground there is also a day use parking lot.
To the north of the parking lot there is a salmon spawning viewpoint.
Or walk south through the campground to find the Williwaw trail.
Three beautiful waterfalls can be found at the top of this easy hike.
The view from the trailhead of Middle Glacier is excellent but as you
walk the trail the mountains obscure the view.
The trail is level and well maintained.
We estimate the trail is about
a mile round trip. Hike up on the
snow field to see the third hidden waterfall to the left of the canyon.
Black Bear Campground
Another federal
campground can be found just a bit before Williwaw Campground along Portage
Glacier Road. Although it is much
more primitive than Williwaw we prefer to stay
here because it is more "woodsy." There are a
couple of pull through campsites for RVs.
The campsites
have very nice picnic tables (they appeared to be brand new) and fire
pits. Bear proof food
lockers are provided along the road. Public
use toilets are centrally located. In our
opinion, this campground is designed more for tenters  than Williwaw (which is more RV
friendly). There are only 12 sites
here. Water pumps can be found in this campground.
The ground is
not paved, and more of the forest is intact for greater campsite privacy.
The cost for each site is $10.00.
Last Visited: July 2000
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