PORCUPINE (AK)

OVERVIEW Porcupine Campground is located in the Chugach National Forest in south-central Alaska near the town of Hope. Visitors have a prime location to watch windsurfers in the bay and spot Beluga whales from the scenic overlook. RECREATION Popular activities include fishing, hiking, whitewater rafting and gold panning. Gull Rock Trail offers excellent hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding. It extends for 5.1 miles along the south shore of Turnagain Arm from the end of the Hope Highway to a rocky peninsula. Snow usually melts in the area by early May and the scenic trail leads visitors over gradual hills with occasional steep sections. FACILITIES Porcupine boasts an impressive scenic overlook of Turnagain Arm. Firewood is sold on-site and the campground provides an accessible vault toilet, drinking water from a hand well, fire rings, a dumpster and picnic tables. NATURAL FEATURES The remote campground, surrounded by a mostly birch forest, sits beside Porcupine Creek on the south coast of Turnagain Arm. Turnagain Arm is a branch of the Cook Inlet, the waterway that divides the Kenai Peninsula from the mainland of Alaska. NEARBY ATTRACTIONS The town of Hope is considered the best preserved gold rush town in the region. Campers can head to town to explore the quaint historic streets and try their hand at gold panning.