Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Cabins

Very nice cabin, we could hardly hear the wind howling(& it was)and the rain on the roof! The trail is a little overgrown in areas but definitely doable. Overall awesome trip!!

Very nice cabin, we could hardly hear the wind howling(& it was)and the rain on the roof! The trail is a little overgrown in areas but definitely doable. Overall awesome trip!!

Tusty was at extreme high water level due to glacier melt from recent heat and rains on top of that. There was ZERO shore all around the lake from the Kasilof River entry to the cabin. At the cabin it was a 6" step up out of the boat and onto grass...no shore at all where the boat could pull up. So Tusty was a huge body of water surrounded by swamp from knee to waist deep along most of the usually exposed shorelines. Boating to the cabin if the winds are over 15 mph is probably something to consider carefully depending on your boat and experience....winds over 10 mph and it begins to get tad rough. The cabin was in good shape...but the door needs to have the latch adjusted so that it can be secured against animal/bird entry. When we arrived someone had used a foot long cord with a hook to close the door since they evidently could not operate the faulty latch. This left the door open over 6"....totally unsat. We saw a martin that lives around/under the cabin...an open door not a good thing. The latch can be closed...and we did close it properly when we departed....but it takes a stronger person and some determination to get it over the latch hoop. It needs to be repaired soonest. All else was good....the Dutch Door Outhouse is cute...and it was even stocked with feminine hygiene product...go figure. Plenty of firewood was there on our visit....but someone had spilled it all out of the shed probably looking for smaller birch they could split...we loaded it back into the wood shed prior to leaving. We didn't need the wood burning stove which looked quite good or the fire ring with grill but it would certainly work for grilling steaks. Very nice facility....hence the 5 stars. Cell service was excellent with zero dropped connection with ATT as long as you walked 30 yds out of the cabin to the shore and faced south....zero service in cabin....go figure why 30 yds makes a diff??? So calling out no issue....getting calls in to you probably a problem???

Tusty was at extreme high water level due to glacier melt from recent heat and rains on top of that. There was ZERO shore all around the lake from the Kasilof River entry to the cabin. At the cabin it was a 6" step up out of the boat and onto grass...no shore at all where the boat could pull up. So Tusty was a huge body of water surrounded by swamp from knee to waist deep along most of the usually exposed shorelines. Boating to the cabin if the winds are over 15 mph is probably something to consider carefully depending on your boat and experience....winds over 10 mph and it begins to get tad rough. The cabin was in good shape...but the door needs to have the latch adjusted so that it can be secured against animal/bird entry. When we arrived someone had used a foot long cord with a hook to close the door since they evidently could not operate the faulty latch. This left the door open over 6"....totally unsat. We saw a martin that lives around/under the cabin...an open door not a good thing. The latch can be closed...and we did close it properly when we departed....but it takes a stronger person and some determination to get it over the latch hoop. It needs to be repaired soonest. All else was good....the Dutch Door Outhouse is cute...and it was even stocked with feminine hygiene product...go figure. Plenty of firewood was there on our visit....but someone had spilled it all out of the shed probably looking for smaller birch they could split...we loaded it back into the wood shed prior to leaving. We didn't need the wood burning stove which looked quite good or the fire ring with grill but it would certainly work for grilling steaks. Very nice facility....hence the 5 stars. Cell service was excellent with zero dropped connection with ATT as long as you walked 30 yds out of the cabin to the shore and faced south....zero service in cabin....go figure why 30 yds makes a diff??? So calling out no issue....getting calls in to you probably a problem???

Don’t go

Don’t go

We had a great time at the Kelly Lake Cabin - we hiked the half mile to the cabin and then took the rowboat back to the parking lot to load up and bring over the rest of our stuff. Good to know: There are several life jackets at the cabin of varying sizes. The place was clean and well laid out. There is enough room between the bunks to put a queen size air mattress on the floor. We appreciated having the counter next to the wood stove to prepare food. The table and benches are large and were perfect for our family of 5. Two things I wish we would have brought: eye masks or a couple of blankets to hang over the windows and a bug zapper to get the pesky mosquitos in the middle of the night. Otherwise, awesome stay!

We had a great time at the Kelly Lake Cabin - we hiked the half mile to the cabin and then took the rowboat back to the parking lot to load up and bring over the rest of our stuff. Good to know: There are several life jackets at the cabin of varying sizes. The place was clean and well laid out. There is enough room between the bunks to put a queen size air mattress on the floor. We appreciated having the counter next to the wood stove to prepare food. The table and benches are large and were perfect for our family of 5. Two things I wish we would have brought: eye masks or a couple of blankets to hang over the windows and a bug zapper to get the pesky mosquitos in the middle of the night. Otherwise, awesome stay!

We loved this cabin, boat and swing. The atmosphere and space were so peaceful. A perfect family spot to camp in comfort 😊

We loved this cabin, boat and swing. The atmosphere and space were so peaceful. A perfect family spot to camp in comfort 😊