Agency-listedUSFSFee
El Capitan Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · AK · 56.16249, -133.32102
Ask an AI about this campsiteOpens Grok already loaded with this site. It reads the same records this page is built from, and links whatever it tells you.
Ask about this camp →U.S. Forest Service lists this as a developed campground. Expect marked sites, a fee station or a reservation, and the usual campground rules. The dispersed-camping freedom of the surrounding forest does not apply inside it. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at El Capitan Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 49 ft.
Fire & smoke — around El Capitan CampgroundNIFC · AirNow
Checking active fires & air quality…
Active wildfires from NIFC (within ~50 mi); air quality from AirNow. Always confirm current fire restrictions with the managing office before you go.
Everything you need — measured from El Capitan Campground · Tongass National Forest · AK
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel8 mi
- @Mail8 mi
- WWater36 mi
- GGrocery39 mi
- HHardware42 mi
- +Urgent care42 mi
- RxPharmacy42 mi
- LLaundry47 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 36-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 8 mi out, no EV fast charger is listed within 150 mi.
Not within 60 mi: Dump, Propane. Plan those before you head up.
EV fast charger: none listed within 150 straight-line mi (US DOE data). Charge before the turn-off.
One dot per need — the nearest of each kind, straight-line from camp. Places from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors); the EV fast charger from the US DOE station locator. Open in Google Maps ↗
The site — El Capitan Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
49 ft
State
AK
Coordinates
56.16249, -133.32102
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around El Capitan Campground · Tongass National Forest · AK (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townWhale Pass · ~11.2 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelLast Chance Gas · ~7.9 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Groceriesnone within 30 mi
- Mapping is thin out hereAn empty row means nothing is mapped within that radius — not that nothing exists. Small stores, seasonal resorts and single fuel pumps out here often never make it onto the map. Treat these as unconfirmed and ask locally.
EV charging — from El Capitan Campground · Tongass National Forest · AK — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast chargerNone listed within 150 straight-line miles. Plan the charge before the turn-off.
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)100.0 mi — ELECTRIC BUS MPL ELEC BUSS, Metlakatla, AK · ChargePoint Network · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Read this honestlyStraight-line miles, like every distance on this site. Roads run longer than this, and you have to get back. We know where a charger is listed. We don’t know if it works today, how fast it is, or the road miles. Check the network before you commit.
Snapshot 2026-09-16 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around El Capitan Campground · Tongass National Forest · AK — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletEl Capitan Campground · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletEl Capitan Cave Interpretive Visitor Center · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletEl Capitan Cabin · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletBeaver Falls Karst · ~3.6 mi E · USFS
Open El Capitan Campground elsewhere
Other camps near El Capitan Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
The unit that manages El Capitan Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at El Capitan Campground are set by Tongass National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — El Capitan Campground
Source
U.S. Forest Service recreation data
Confidence
Likely — The record is good enough to put a pin on, but thin in places. Treat the details as a starting point, not gospel.
How it was placed
Developed FEE campground (not free) - review | auto:usfs-fee 2026-08-20: US Forest Service developed campground, agency coordinates, agency states a fee. No dollar amount in the agency record -- expect a charge and confirm the current rate before you go. Not field-verified.
EV chargers
US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center station locator, snapshot 2026-09-16. Straight-line miles to the nearest public, open, unrestricted station; restricted and planned units are shown but never counted.
Field check
On the agency's books. The land manager inventoried this site, so its existence is not in question — current conditions are. Nobody from here has camped it recently.
What we don’t know about El Capitan Campground
A land record can put you within a few meters of a spot. It cannot tell you any of this — so check it yourself, and treat anything below as the open question it is.
- Road surface & last-mile access
- How many rigs actually fit
- Cell coverage by carrier
- Seasonal & winter access
- Current fire restrictions
- Whether any water here is drinkable
- Shade & wind exposure
- Noise and who else shows up
- Whether a listed EV charger works today, or the road miles to it
Before you go — El Capitan Campground
Water on public land →What “dispersed” means here →Dumping grey & black →First-night troubleshooting →All field notes →
Been here? Tell us what changed. This page is built from public records, so the fastest way it gets better is somebody who has actually pulled in. Road washed out, site gone, gate locked, or it is exactly as described — all of it useful. Send a report →