Outdoors/Adventure

Now's the time to reserve a dream Alaska public-use cabin for midsummer

Last week I paid $35 to reserve the cabin at Crow Pass six months in advance. This payment meant more than a normal online transaction. It was a promise to myself that although it's the darkest time of the year now, the longest day will eventually come. I felt giddy and shared a calendar invite with my husband that read "Play Hooky @ Crow Pass."

Now is the time to make summer solstice reservations for public use cabins across Alaska. If you're like me, you often visit the reservation sites too late to score a good cabin. It pays to plan and, luckily, with hundreds of cabins to choose across Alaska, there are still plenty available if you book now.

Why cabins?

There are pros and cons to staying in public-use cabins. If you typically backpack and tent, a night in a cabin in a setting where you might otherwise camp can be a dream. Four walls and a roof that aren't fabric and that you don't have to install yourself? Yes. Especially in the rain, cabins offer respite from the elements a tent cannot match. Most cabins sleep upwards of four people and offer at least wooden sleeping platforms, a table and chairs. They may not offer four-star service, but after a long day a cabin can feel plush.

Of course, part of the value of hiking in and sleeping overnight is the feeling of being outside. Especially when it's gorgeous and sunny (hard to imagine now, I know), it's great to wake up outdoors. Plus, even when you plan to stay overnight in a cabin instead of tent, the load you carry in and out doesn't decrease much. To stay in a cabin you still need a stove, fuel, sleeping bag, pad, food, water purifier, etc; and you will be packing out all of your waste. If you're going on a multi-day trip, you might still need the tent.

That said, cabins are fun. They offer a home base for day hikes, hunting or fishing, providing cozy shelter at night. Especially if you fill them up with your friends (or, in some cabins depending on whether the reservations are for the entire cabin or per person, make new friends). In addition, cabins are a great resource for hosting out-of-town guests, kids, or those that are leery about or unable to tent camp.

As Ben Ellis, director of Alaska State Parks, puts it: "There's a plethora of reasons why people use public-use cabins." Some cabins are so popular they are booked solid for much of the year, which is why now is the time to book.

Which Alaska cabins are most popular?

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Typically, the most-reserved cabins in the state are the easiest to access and the least expensive. Carol Goularte, recreation public services staffer for the Tongass National Forest, told me the most popular cabins in Tongass are on the road system in the Juneau Ranger District. These cabins are easy to get to, on foot in the summer or via cross-country skiing in the winter.

No guarantees

In my big backyard outside of Anchorage, cabins that top the list of most quickly booked include the nine cabins along the Resurrection Pass Trail between Hope and Cooper Landing. Paul Clark, recreation and trails program manager with the U.S. Forest Service in Chugach National Forest, says these are popular cabins year-round. Many visitors try to book several of the cabins for a multi-day trip, and this can get quite competitive.

"It's like the Gold Nugget Triathlon or the Lost Lake race," Clark said of popular competitions that sell out in hours. "You have to be really on top of it knowing six months out, even to the hour of when that booking becomes available." Cabins managed through the website recreation.gov are available for reservation starting at 10 a.m. Eastern (Standard or Daylight) Time exactly 180 days prior to the first date of the reservation, and some Alaskans sit with fingertips poised above the keyboard, ready to book their favorite spot. Even then, there are no guarantees since someone could have already booked a multiple day stay at the cabin several days prior.

So, what makes these cabins worth the trouble? That varies place to place. Some cabins are particularly memorable because of their features. "The Upper Russian Lake cabin has a very neat design,"said Clark. "I've read some rave reviews online about the cabin itself and some wood carvings our cabins crew did. That's a neat destination cabin."

Another cabin with an interesting story is the McKinley Trail cabin, just off the Copper River Highway. Built in 1916, it recently underwent a historic renovation.

Other popular cabins are near popular trails or destinations. These include:

• The Crow Pass cabin;

• Dale Clemens cabin in Seward off the Lost Lake Trail;

• Barber Cabin, usually accessed from the Russian River campground;

• A roadside cabin at Matanuska Glacier;

• The Bore Tide Cabin at the Bird campground just south of Anchorage;

• Cabins near the popular Chena Hot Springs. Hunt Memorial Cabin off Chena River Road was rented 239 nights, or eight out of 12 months, last year.

There are also, of course, hidden gems that don't get booked as often simply because they're harder to access. The Upper and Lower Paradise Lake cabins on the Kenai Peninsula are gorgeous and just east of the Seward Highway, but are mainly accessed by floatplane. Other cabins, like those on Afognak Island State Park near Kodiak, are hardly utilized throughout the year except in the months of September and October hunting season. Cost and logistics make it difficult to access these more remote cabins, but they are still incredible destinations if you have the money and will to plan them.

Booking a cabin

How do you book a cabin?

If you haven't done it before, booking a public-use cabin can feel a little overwhelming because the 250-plus available cabins in Alaska are owned and operated by multiple agencies. The long and short of it is that you should use two primary websites to find which cabin you want to visit.

To check out what Alaska State Parks has to offer, visit the state website here (http://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/cabins/ ) and click on the region. You can find information and make reservations there. One perk to booking an Alaska State Park cabin is that Alaska residents get first dibs. Residents may reserve cabins seven months in advance, while visitors get the standard six-month window.

The other helpful resource is www.recreation.gov. Although this tool does not include Alaska State Parks cabins, it is a one-stop-shop for federally owned and operated public-use cabins. Available search criteria include handicap accessibility, waterfront, and more. There's also a handy map view that allows you to click on the specific area you'd like to visit. Detailed information is included in a profile about each hut, including photos, a map, features, and even the weather forecast. While the forecast says it's snowing right now at Crow Pass, I am optimistic that by summer it will have stopped.

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When I asked Ellis which cabin is his favorite, he said, "Truly, my favorite cabin is the one I'm sleeping in." Clark's response: "Any chance I get a chance to get out for work or on my own time, they're a great destination to get out to visit for Alaskans and visitors."

For a very merry Christmas gift to yourself, check the state and federal websites and book yourself a mid-summer getaway. It's essentially a down payment on summer, and a promise of something uniquely Alaskan to look forward to when daylight returns.

Alli Harvey lives, works and plays in Anchorage.

Alli Harvey

Alli Harvey lives in Palmer and plays in Southcentral Alaska.

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