MCKINLEY LAKE CABIN

Overview McKinley Lake Cabin offers guests recreation, relaxation and a remote lodging experience in southcentral Alaska. Located on the northwest end of McKinley Lake in the Chugach National Forest, guests will find fishing, hiking, hunting and wildlife viewing all within the vicinity. Access to the cabin is by hiking, float plane or canoe.

Visitors are responsible for their own travel arrangements and safety, and must bring several of their own amenities. 25 miles from the trailhead. The trail meets the shoreline of the lake at its southern lobe and at the cove at its upper end.

Hiking approximately a quarter-mile beyond the cabin, visitors will find remnants of the Lucky Strike Mine. Rusting machinery, pipes and a collapsed tunnel are the most obvious evidence of the mine site. 25 miles from the McKinley Trail trailhead is the junction for the Pipeline Lakes Trail, which wanders through muskeg meadows and spruce-hemlock forests below steep mountainsides.

In the spring, brown bears can be seen grazing on the new grass on the south-facing slopes. Anglers will find cutthroat trout near inlet creeks and gravel shoals near the cabin, and more healthy coho and sockeye at the mouth of the lake outlet. Many anglers concentrate on the Dolly Varden that follow the sockeye to eat their eggs.

Walking up the Pipeline Lakes Trail, anglers will discover a series of five small lakes with resident cutthroat trout and some Dolly Varden. Using dry flies is the best bet in these lakes. Hunters can take advantage of a long hunting season in the surrounding national forest.

Bear season occurs during spring and fall, while deer season begins in late summer and lasts through late fall. Facilities The 16-by-20 cabin is equipped with wooden bunks that sleep up to six guests.