Jim Creek Recreation Area — Reviews

We love spot 26! It was a very quiet parking lot during the night.

Always a nice area

Area clean and quiet.

IT COULD HAVE BEEN GREAT IF HOOK UP (WATER AND ELECTRICITY) AND DUMPING(SEWER) ARE AVAILABLE. JUST A SUGGESTION.

For $35 a night with no hook up you should at least take care of the bees nest. We had to stay away from camp as my kids and I are allergic to bees.

We really enjoy being able to reserve a space at Jim Creek. The grounds are kept clean, the Troopers and the camp host drive through and the riding is phenominal. We had a great weekend!

Quiet night, clean camp ground.

The internet service there prevented us from booking online. I didn’t know you could book online prior to going. Thankfully someone was in the office building and we booked using her iPad and WiFi. Other than that, it was a good experience.

Great campground, a lot of riding to do!

Beautiful mountain views. Lots of rain (of course you can’t control that). Campsites are nice, but I prefer more privacy. Polite staff. Clean bathroom. Noisy track nearby on Sunday. Great walking trail. Beautiful rocks. Nice fire rings.

Don’t like flex booking. Have stayed many times but didn’t pay the extra 5.00 for guaranteed site booking. First time that I was reassigned. Lesson learned if I stay again I’ll pay the 5.00 extortion fee. Money grab Travel trailers are discriminated against as you can’t have a trailer and wheeler trailer on the same site. Motor homes can have one.

I could almost give 5 stars. But we were there for an anniversary party, 50 years!, this was my first time here and the regulations were a bit odd. No more than 6 unrelated people at a site, okay? Then 7 friends could not go camping together in an RV. I didn’t get that one. No more than a couple of quads, okay… my brother has 4 kids and they all have one as well as his wife and himself. So we split that between a couple sites cause I don’t own one and my dad had one. It seemed as if the ranger/host/ enforcer was explaining Jim Creek had a reputation for partying. This was my husbands, myself and my mothers first time here. I guess my dad was aware of the parties, he is now 71 and was born in Alaska and wasn’t going to be causing a ruckus if we could help it. Lol. If the camp hosts are trying to get more geared to family oriented camping, I didn’t feel too welcome. It was a parking lot. So as I go only a few times a year, king river or eagle river would be my top choice. I don’t think I’ll be returning to Jim Creek. But it was a wonderful family weekend overall! Just an odd interaction with patrol. Thank you for allowing us to have a wonderful celebration at your campground!

The only issue was someone was in my spot but the borough person took care of it. She did a great job

⭐☆☆☆☆ I have lived in Alaska my entire life and have camped all over this state. I can honestly say that Jim Creek Campground has some of the most restrictive and frustrating camping rules I have ever encountered. What makes this even more frustrating is that our group rented five campsites for four nights. We spent a significant amount of money to stay here and support the campground, yet we were still treated as though we were trying to break the rules simply because we had trucks, trailers, and off-road vehicles. Our family has been camping in the Jim Creek area for years and never had an issue bringing our camper, truck, and a separate vehicle with a trailer carrying our wheelers and dirt bikes. This trip, we were forced to park equipment in the day-use parking lot because of the campground’s vehicle limits. Yes, the rules are posted, but that doesn’t make them reasonable. When you have thousands of dollars worth of ATVs, dirt bikes, tools, fuel, and camping equipment, you want that gear at your campsite where you can keep an eye on it—not sitting unattended in a public parking lot. After paying for five campsites, being told we still had to separate our equipment from our campsite was beyond frustrating. What makes even less sense is the vehicle counting system. According to the campground rules, one side-by-side counts the same as two ATVs. How does that make any sense? A side-by-side is one machine. Two ATVs are two machines. It feels like the rules were written by someone who doesn’t actually ride or camp. The group restrictions are just as frustrating. Limiting a campsite to one family or six unrelated people may work somewhere else, but this is Alaska. People camp with friends, riding groups, hunting partners, and extended family. That’s part of the outdoor culture here. Instead of creating a campground that welcomes the people who actually use Jim Creek for recreation, these rules make it feel like campers with trucks, trailers, wheelers, dirt bikes, and side-by-sides are treated like a problem that needs to be managed. I’ve camped throughout Alaska for decades and have never encountered a campground with rules this restrictive and out of touch with how Alaskans actually camp. Unfortunately, what should have been a fun weekend turned into a frustrating experience of being told what we couldn’t do. We rented five campsites for four nights, followed the rules, paid our fees, and still left feeling unwelcome. We won’t be returning, and I certainly wouldn’t recommend Jim Creek Campground to anyone looking for the freedom and outdoor experience that Alaska is known for.