The previous posts pretty much summed up upon the immediate nearby campgrounds as mentioned (Eagle River, Bird Creek, Military) as the Anchorage area does not have much to offer for campgrounds.
We'll never stay in Wasilla again. Due to a flat tire we didn't make our preferred stop and had to overnight in Wasilla at a commercial RV park. UGH. Worst stop of the whole trip. Lots of full-timers in the park we stayed at and it was in sad shape. And we thought we picked the best one, by looks anyway.
Drugs were openly shared and sold. Tenants sitting in their outdoor chairs staring at the tourists (us!). Didn't sleep well that night
For those that read Sue's post, she was not exaggerating -
Wasilla is a nice town and all, as in the nearby outskirts of Lake Lucille and Lake Wasilla are real nice areas but it is all private property, however Wasilla does have a high crime rate for the size of it...a person like me raised in the big city of Los Angeles and other places in Southern California, I would always feel much safer in Anchorage versus Wasilla whenever I visited the general vicinities, especially if I ever were to be driving a camper rig around.
If I were forced to overnight in Wasilla in my camper, it would be at the Walmart, Fred Meyer or Carrs parking lots, or a vacant lot area just behind the Chevron Station on the Parks Hwy. which isn't saying much as far as feeling safe enough for an overnighter.
The mile 49 area haven that had the major eyesore of connexes, storage units and quanset huts where people with hardships, were homeless, handicapped, and poverty income groups were living in was finally cleaned up and obsolete from the articles that were posted a few years back as those people were forced to move to other places.
The Wasilla area is not locally known as the Meth-Su (vs. Mat-Su) for no reason
Wasilla is known as the meth capitol of Alaska, as my area (Meth Pole) is a close second... Generally the commercial areas and established campgrounds and family orientated places of Alaska is still safe as the tourist normally does not see the illicit activity that happens in other places.
The times I have driven on the main backroads of Wasilla (Schrock, Lucille, Seldon, Church, Bogard, Pittman, Wasilla Fishhook) I have seen more then my share of creepy characters crossing paths with on the those roads.
Whenever I visit the Mat-Su area, I do tend to start watching my back at Trapper Creek on south along the Parks Hwy., from Sutton on west along the Glenn Hwy.
For those of you that like to do a little research on reported crime in Alaska prior to your visit to give you an idea of your surroundings, go to the Alaska Dept. of Public Safety website under Alaska State Troopers, public information office (PIO), daily dispatches as they cover regional areas (A detachment - Southeast Alaska) (B detachment - Southcentral and Mat-Su Valley) (D detachment - Fairbanks area and Interior Alaska).
The posts in the B detachment you will see exceed more activity than the other areas by far.
Have a happy and safe Alaska camping adventure to all.
