Tongass NF — Largest National Forest

The Tongass is the largest National Forest at 16.7 million acres — bigger than West Virginia — and reframes the rig question because most of it isn't accessible by road at all. The few road systems (Juneau, Ketchikan, Sitka, Wrangell, Petersburg) each connect to the Alaska Marine Highway and run a handful of USFS-developed campgrounds: Mendenhall Lake (Juneau, near the glacier visitor center) is the headline rig-grade loop, dry-camp with no published length cap because the access is mostly drive-on/drive-off ferry-staged. Last Chance Basin (Juneau-area) and Starrigavan (Sitka) add capacity. Dispersed camping is mostly prohibited inside the Tongass under Forest Service Manual provisions specific to Southeast Alaska — the wilderness areas and roadless rule combine to push casual rig dispersal to designated sites. The MVUM is the binding rule. Black bear and brown bear both present; food storage enforced. Aurora season runs September through April.

Every fact on this page traces back to these primary sources.

• Tongass National Forest — Forest recreation overviewfs.usda.gov
• Tongass National Forest — Recreation area detailsfs.usda.gov
• Tongass National Forest — Camping & cabins directoryfs.usda.gov