Cripple Creek BLM Campground — Steese Highway

Cripple Creek sits right off Steese Highway (AK-6) near Mile 60, tucked along the Chatanika River drainage. It’s a no-frills BLM site with vault toilets, fire rings, and picnic tables — nothing fancy, exactly what you want before or after grinding up Nome Creek Road. Capacity is modest, maybe a dozen rigs if you pack it in, and it stays lightly used compared to more publicized Interior Alaska camps. Bear awareness applies year-round.

Access is straightforward off paved Steese Highway — most rigs can make it without drama. Open late May through early October depending on freeze. No drinking water on site, so tank up in Fairbanks or at Fox before rolling out. Cell signal is essentially zero past Fox.

BLM base camp on the Steese corridor.