Chugach State Park Public Use Cabins

Locat­ed just south of the Dol­ly Var­den Cab­in at Eklut­na Lake

With excep­tion­al­ly easy access for fam­i­lies, Yudit­na Creek cab­in may be one of the most ver­sa­tile back­coun­try cab­ins in the state, whether cycling, ski­ing or hik­ing. Locat­ed at the end of a three-mile trip down a most­ly flat trail along Eklut­na Lake into the heart of Chugach State Park, the cab­in offers a per­fect base for all-day adven­tures in a spec­tac­u­lar moun­tain valley.

New in 2016, Dol­ly Var­den Cab­in offers the same recre­ation oppor­tu­ni­ties that you’d find while car camp­ing in the Eklut­na Camp­ground, but you sleep inside an insu­lat­ed with a wood-burn­ing stove and loads of space. Aimed at peo­ple who might want to expe­ri­ence the pad­dling, bik­ing, hik­ing and climb­ing pos­si­bil­i­ties of the stun­ning Eklut­na Val­ley, but don’t want to ​“rough it” or chop wood for heating.

Nes­tled just off the Seward High­way near Bird Creek, these two new, spa­cious cab­ins might allow you to ful­fill almost any fam­i­ly-friend­ly Alaskan recre­ation fan­ta­sy in a sin­gle week­end. They offer unmatched options for all kinds of activ­i­ties — bik­ing, fish­ing, hik­ing, wildlife view­ing — with excep­tion­al­ly easy access by car.

Locat­ed at the back of Eklut­na Lake, Seren­i­ty Falls is one of Alaska’s largest huts. With an enor­mous bank of win­dows fac­ing the falls and a moun­tain so high as to near­ly block the sky, the place feels as though you have crossed into the alpine realm. Yet it’s a rel­a­tive­ly easy 12-mile hike or bike along the wide, flat Eklut­na Lake­side Trail, mak­ing it a great choice for fam­i­lies with kids or large groups.

Locat­ed about four miles south on the west­ern shore of Eklut­na Lake inside Chugach State Park, the new, spa­cious Koka­nee Cab­in offers back­coun­try pad­dling and ski­ing with a strong wilder­ness vibe. Off the trail sys­tem and reach­able only by trav­el­ing across the lake, the cab­in is sur­round­ed by for­est that’s seen almost no human use. With this iso­la­tion, it’s a place that asks for self-suf­fi­cien­cy and gives soli­tude, plus a taste of what it might  ...more