King For a Day Campground

The Great Outdoors

When you rent a camper near King for a Day Campground, you can easily visit Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. Wrangell is a tough nut to crack as far as national parks go though. There’s only one road that partially crosses it, leading from Chitina on its western edge to the historic mining town of McCarthy, a little over two hours' drive away. The road to McCarthy is built on an old railway bed and is all gravel too. Once in McCarthy, you can scale some of the glaciers that the park is famous for, but many choose to take a helicopter for a flightseeing adventure or to be dropped off (and picked up) in a more remote section of the park.For a less daunting adventure, there are a variety of interesting outdoor destinations a couple of hours' drive to the south along Prince William Sound. Keystone Canyon is close to the town of Valdez and is home to two magnificent roadside waterfalls, Bridal Veil and Horsetail Falls. They’re particularly spectacular during the spring melt when the water flow is at its highest. If you’re keen on hiking, there’s a trailhead just behind the highway guardrail by the falls.Prince William is also quite famous for its kayaking excursions; water taxis pick up and drop off paddlers near remote islands, iceberg fields, and near whale pods, usually in the presence of an experienced guide. Rentals are available in Valdez for solo paddlers, but this should only be attempted by those accustomed to sea kayaking in frigid waters.

Exploring the City

King for a Day Campground occupies a lone position along the Richardson Highway, with most of the nearby towns having populations of around 100 residents or less and little to no services. When you book an RV in Valdez-Cordova, it’s important to be self-sufficient. Towns like Copper Center and Glenallen will have gas stations, but not much else. In fact, the closest community with over 1,000 people is Valdez, all the way out on the coast.Being the cultural center of this part of Alaska, Valdez has a few good museums to check out. If you’re interested in learning about the area, hit up the Valdez Museum and Historical Archive. It’s a small-town museum packed with exhibits highlighting the Alaskan Gold Rush, the Exxon Valdez oil spill, and Native American culture.Another option is the Maxine and Jesse Whitney Museum, which houses several large specimens of taxidermy wildlife (grizzly bears, polar bears, wolves, and other big Alaska animals). There are some great pieces focused on the culture of Native Alaskans and how they have survived in such a harsh environment too.Valdez is also the only place where you’ll find any kind of variety in restaurant cuisine. The coastal town has Mexican, Thai, health food, along with the usual pizza and burgers that can be found at any diner along the Richardson Highway. It’s also home to the only supermarket for hundreds of miles, so stock up if you’re doing any kind of cooking back the campground.