Chilkoot Trail Camping Permits

From June 1 through September 12, you must obtain a permit in advance. Print it and validate it at the Trail Center in Skagway before starting. A twenty-dollar nonrefundable fee applies per trip. From April 1 through May 31, no permit is required. Campsites operate first come, first served, and you do not need to check in at the park during this window.

The trail spans multiple campgrounds, each with wooden tent platforms or bare ground sites. Finnegan's Point sits at mile marker 5. It has six platforms and a warming shelter. Canyon City is at mile marker 7.7 with sixteen sites, a log cabin, and two warming shelters. This makes it a popular first-night stop. Pleasant Camp at mile marker 10.7 has eleven bare ground sites and sits at higher elevation. Sheep Camp is at mile marker 13.3 with twenty-two platforms. It serves as the main staging area for the climb to Chilkoot Pass. Each camp includes bear boxes or bear poles for food storage, composting outhouses, and nearby water sources in rivers or streams. All water must be purified before drinking.

Each campsite allows one ten-by-ten-foot tent space suitable for up to two small tents. If your group needs more space, you reserve additional sites. All campgrounds require you to pack out food scraps and dispose of grey water into fast-moving water to follow Leave No Trace principles. Warming shelters with wood-burning stoves provide shelter from weather during your stay.

The trail does not currently permit crossing into Canada. Plan your itinerary around the designated campgrounds and notify the park when making your permit reservation how many nights you intend to camp and how many people are in your party. Verify current permit requirements, reservation dates, and trail access with the National Park Service before arrival. Conditions and policies change.