Most of the popular destinations have already been reserved, but campers will soon see a fee increase for the public-use cabins maintained by Alaska State Parks.
The increase, between $5 and $10 per night, depending on the cabin, will go into effect May 15 — though prior reservations made for the cabins will not be changed.
Claire LeClaire, deputy director of the division of parks and outdoor recreation, many of the more popular of the state’s 66 cabins have been booked for months.
Of the sixteen cabins in the Kenai and Prince William Sound areas — on the Kenai Peninsula in Kachemak Bay State Park Lagoon Overlook cabin in Halibut Cove and Sea Star Cove Cabin have a handful of days available over the next four months while in the Caines Head State Recreation Area, near Seward, the Porcupine and Spruce Glacier Cabins are similarly booked.
LeClaire said the state has not changed its fees for state park cabin reservations nine years and the state has continued to add cabins and seen use expand during that time.
“People are finding ways to get to them in the shorter seasons or going into winter locations when we didn’t used to have as much use in the snow seasons,” she said.
Fees from cabin-use as well as state maintained campgrounds and boat launches are used to pay for staff, utilities, operations costs and supplies for park areas, she said.
Rashah McChesney can be reached at rashah.mcchesney@peninsulaclarion.com
