Baranof Lake Cabin

What a special spot on planet earth

Beautiful isolation and solitude.

This cabin is in a spectacular location with a huge waterfall just over the lake. You may also get some cell service here (sometimes). There is a nice beach to park your floatplane.

This is one of the most scenic cabins in the system.

Baranof Lake is pure heaven on earth--it's probably the most beautiful natural place I have ever visited. My wife and I stayed at the Forest Service cabin there for a week, and the fond memories from that vacation will last a lifetime. The cabin is on the SW corner of the lake, nestled by high mountains. The outhouse is about 50 yards from the cabin, surrounded by towering Sitka Spruce and Douglas Fir trees. There is a beautiful waterfall across the lake, and a (heavy!) aluminum skiff for cabin guests. We used it to row to the western shore to sunbask on the beach, and to row around the lake sightseeing and fishing. We caught (and ate!) Rainbow and Cutthroat trout.

The cabin is only accessible by float plane--it cost ~$950 (each way) to charter a Cessna 206 with Ward Air for the 45-minute flight from Juneau. On clear days you can fly from Sitka, but on overcast days the surrounding mountain tops are in the clouds, so you'd have to fly completely around Baranof Island, which might take about as long as flying directly from Juneau anyway. The small fishing resort at Baranof Warm Springs is ~1/4-mile past the easterly end of the lake, down a trail to Chatham Strait. Unfortunately, we couldn't row that far because one of the oarlocks on the skiff was broken.

You are truly on your own here, although incredibly, there is cellular coverage from the same tower that serves Warm Springs. Bears weren't a problem; I only saw one set of brown bear tracks on the westerly shore--none near the cabin. But you might want something if you hike down the trail to Warm Springs, because brown bears fish in the river that runs along it during salmon runs.

Be sure to bring warm clothes, sleeping bags and pads, and enough food. We used a Coleman propane stove with extra 1-lb cylinders. There is a woodshed next to the cabin for the wood stove--bring firestarter sticks for the stove. I used UV disinfection for the water we hauled from a creek about 100 yards west of the cabin.

The location of this cabin is unbeatable for scenic solitude. The only downside was the condition of the rowboat, which though we were aware of before arriving, was still somewhat disappointing. It was extremely difficult to paddle since the oars were either missing the rubber stops or had the grip part of the handle broken off, not to mention that the metal rings connecting to the boat itself were so worn and torn open that they popped out easily. At any rate, we had to back down from paddling in mid-day winds and missed the hot springs to settle for fishing the cutthroats (which turned out was absolutely amazing, especially at dusk). We eventually made it to the hot springs the next day, it took around 2hrs there and 1.5hrs back. We had actually flown an outboard motor out, but we were told it was a long-shaft (which is exactly what you need) when what they rented us was a short-shaft that didn't stay deep enough in the water to work :( The cabin itself was well kept, plenty of firewood stocked. You can't get too far on foot, so come prepared to use the boat. Get in touch with the outfitter at Warm Springs Bay beforehand, they keep tabs on the cabin so you know what to expect. Despite the challenges, this was one of the most beautiful places I've been and can only dream of returning (with the right outboard motor). Truly a gem if you want peace, we didn't have any visitors from the bay. The hot springs are also such a treat, right next to the river, and plenty hot. I am grateful this cabin exists!