Alaska State Parks reservation switch leaves 2027 bookings unsettled

Booking 2027 stays remains unclear

Anyone hoping to book an Alaska State Parks cabin for a stay in early 2027 faces an unsettled system. The state's own procurement records set an Oct. 1, 2026, launch for a new online reservation platform. Reserve America stops taking reservations Dec. 31.

The Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation is soliciting the new system through a request for proposals, a bid process in which vendors submit their own approach and price. Addendum 1 to that solicitation states: "Offerors must launch the online reservation system by no later than October 01, 2026." The addendum also moved the proposal deadline from Jan. 29 to Feb. 5, 2026.

The timing matters now because of how far ahead the system books. Under the division's published FAQ, cabin reservations can be made seven months in advance, at 12 a.m. AKST. That means stays in early 2027 fall inside the window travelers would normally be booking during the changeover.

Alaska News reported earlier on a related deadline in the same transition. Reserve America gift certificate credits for Alaska State Parks will not transfer and expire Sept. 30, 2026. The division's public notice materials do not state how reservations for stays beginning Jan. 1, 2027, will be taken during the changeover.

What the addendum spells out

The state answered vendor questions in the addendum. Existing reservations and any new reservations made before go-live must be migrated to the new system, the state said. The contract is a no-cost agreement, meaning the winning vendor collects revenue from transaction fees charged to customers rather than from the state. In 2024 those fees totaled $72,721 across 12,824 reservations, 696 changes and 1,939 cancellations.

Only three of the division's 76 campgrounds currently take online reservations. Public use cabins, pavilions and seasonal ice huts are also in scope.

Shawn M. Olsen is the procurement contact for the solicitation, at the Department of Natural Resources Procurement Section in Anchorage. The division has not published a public notice describing how it will handle the December cutoff.