I have no help or advice for you, but it sounds like you're off on a fabulous trip! I hope you tell us all about it when you get back. Have fun and travel safe.

sweet p! we just came back from a camping trip in AK, spent the entire week down on the kenai.

as to camping in seward, yep, it's definitely a parking lot style camping there. we did it because it was the one night we were going to go out "to hit the town" and it was super convenient. otherwise i think we were looking at one that was about 5 miles outside of town that afforded more "ambiance". but everywhere else we camped all week had that, so we opted for in town. i can give you the name of the other if you want it...

did you guys buy the alaska camping book? it's a must have.

we had no rezzies for any of the campgrounds and only ran into trouble when we were trying to stay next to the kenai river where there was direct fishing access, on the day that salmon season opened.

feel free to let me know if you have any other questions. we just did this trip in early june and it was a blast.

just wanted to follow up on this. we had a fabulous trip to Alaska, but as all good things go, it simply went by too quickly! here's a run-down of the CGs we hit up:

Riley Creek CG, Denali NP - I forget how much per night because I paid for our park entrance fees, bus tour tickets and camping all together (totaling ~$126, if I remember corrrectly, so maybe something like $15/night)
- convenient location w/regular shuttle bus service
- merchantile (with somewhat limited supplies) within walking distance
- the ones on the west side of the Caribou Loop are closest to the creek and quite nice
- there's a walk-in tents only section, but for some reason, we were in the vehicle area (with pull-ins for camper/trailers, etc.)
- be aware that there are no bear boxes available at the vehicle sites - only at the walk-in sites, so we had to schlep our gear and food back and forth, but thankfully it wasn't too far

Chena Hot Springs Resort CG (~60 miles east of Fairbanks) - $20/night
www.chenahotsprings.com/
- grabbed a great site *right* next to the West Fork Chena River, which flows through the property
- generally speaking, the CGs weren't much to write home about, but the hot springs, although very developed, were extremely welcome to our weary bones
- lots of activities available, including tours of their ice museum, horseback rides, mtn bike rentals, dog sled tours, etc. - but we just soaked and then soaked so more! one-day swim/soak pass = $10 (bring your own towel or rent one for an additional $5)
- on-site restaurant a bit pricey (even for Alaska standards) but quite delicious, with good, friendly service

Rosehip State CG (~30 miles east of Fairbanks on Chena Hot Springs Rd.) - $10/night
- some incredibly beautiful sites, mostly tucked into birch forests, some nearly riverfront property (main stem Chena River)
- we went for a late-night dusk stroll down by the river and saw not one, not two, not three or even four but FIVE beavers, just as busy as ever, tail smacking and everything!
- lots of spawning salmon (100s of miles from the ocean, ta'boot!)

Granite Creek CG (~50ish? miles south of Anchorage on the Seward Highway) - $14/night
- pulled in super late so we just slept in the back of the rented mini-van
- bathrooms not very well maintained the evening we arrived, but were cleaned up a little by morning
- really nice scenery to wake up to
- some sites a little too close to the road/noise an issue along the busy highway

Exit Glacier/Kenai Fjords CG (~9 miles north of Seward) - *FREE*
www.nps.gov/kefj/planyou...mpgrounds.htm
- couldn't believe what a BONUS this free walk-in campground was!!!
- we scored site #7, the closest to the river flowing out of Exit Glacier
- no fires allow at the sites, but there's a cooking shelter with picnic tables and bear boxes available
- best CG restroom facilities EVER! super clean, well maintained, even had hand sanitizer
- after dinner one night, we drove up the road to the parking lot and visitors facilities (which closed at 5pm so we got in for free!) and took the 2-3 mile hike up to the edge of the glacier...arrived there around 10:30pm and still had enough light in the sky to make it back to our car before it was too dark. gotta love Alaska for that! : )

let me know if anyone's interested in seeing the pix from our trip...