Eagle Guard Station

The good:

Nice 3 room cabin. The far left room is locked and separate from the rest of the cabin for use the the USFS. The center room is the kitchen and dining area. An interior doorway connects you to the far right room which is the bedroom. All 3 rooms have their own outside entry and steps.

Mostly easy drive weather permitting in a car. There are a couple of areas that a car may get stuck. Make sure to bring some bags of lava rock or similar so you can place those closed bags in the gullies to get through.

Road gets rough for cars about 3.4 miles from cabin.

Two burner camping propane stove provided but you need to bring standard camping propane canisters. 2 camping propane lights are also provided.

A wood heater is in the kitchen.

Nice dining table with 4 backed chairs.

Curtains on windows except behind the wood heater.

There are 3 bunk beds so 6 beds are available with thick mattresses.

Nice ADA vault pit toilet.

A few games and puzzles.

Great view.

Like that the top of the door was padded between the bedroom and kitchen in case you hit your head.

Fire pit.

Lots of wood.

Locked gate for privacy.

Horse corral provided with water container.

Nice sink area with counter that drains outside although no water is supplied.

Creek a short distance away but not recommended for drinking.

The bad:
Lots of expired canned food left in pantry.

You may get stuck in a car when driving there via the Townsend Ranger District instructions.

If you do not have good clothing and sleeping bags in winter you will most likely end up bringing the mattresses into the kitchen to sleep on the floor.

Unbelievably beautiful setting, lovely restored log cabin. Superficially clean (floor swept etc) but cupboards desperately need a deep clean … ie, mouse half eaten years old bags of dog food, greasy grimey old cans, etc). I picked up carpet to try and shake out the dirt and was covered literally in years of accumulated dirt. Only light and only stove depend on propane canisters that were almost out.

Love this cabin and it's location! The views from the cabin are breathtaking and the restoration done on this cabin was amazing. Unfortunately, people have not taken care of it - screens were pulled off of the window and trash was left in the fire ring. I wish renters would take care of what a wonderful cabin this is. Thank you to the F/S for keeping this program going.

This is a fantastic quiet winter experience! We did snowshoeing 4 miles into the cabin on a seasonally closed forest service road. Heard some wolves on the second night. Beautiful interior and stove warms it up well.

We had a wonderful time. Cute cabin with lots of cozy touches.

The shovel and broom need to be replaced. the top bunk is really high with a log 3' above your head. None of the bunks have ladders and it is really hard to get up and down. The views and hiking are spectacular. There was chopped wood and the wood stove is really good.

Biggest dislike…the road! Second dislike…there was no shade during the heat of the day. Therefore, on a 100 degree day, you’re stuck inside the cabin if your plan was to relax there and not go on an adventure.

Fell victim to FS false advertising. It’s an ATV trail to the cabin. We chose not to beat the mess out of our 4 wheel drive truck about halfway in. Weren’t prepared to hike in. Feel like I’m owed a refund on my 2 night reservation since I was duped.

This is a remote getaway that delivers on the promise of a cozy rustic cabin making you feel like you stepped back in time to the early 1900s. The views are serene, the cabin is sturdy and stays plenty warm heated by the wood stove. The bunk mattresses were comfy and there was room for my husband and I and two children (ages 12 & 10) to relax and enjoy games and telling stories & jokes. There is no running water or electricity so pack a small green propane tank, and/or camp stove, flashlights, lanterns and/or lantern supplies (the cabin has some lanterns there). Since so much relies on your fire, bring some fire starter to make life easy. The vaulted toilet there is very similar to those you see at campgrounds-maybe slightly nicer. There is also shed for firewood and a nice outdoor fire pit area.
We hiked in on foot from the base of the road before the parking lot because we drive a minivan that couldn’t handle wet muddy/snowy roads. The hike was on a forest service road and was not easy with lots of hills and about 4-6 miles one way, but was so rewarding to end at the sturdy and welcoming Eagle Guard Station Cabin.
Bring some propane with you & other essentials you need. The cabin is pretty well stocked with dishes, cooking gear, s’more cooking tools, axes, saws, even some books, puzzles, cards, & Scrabble. There is a creek to haul water from a short distance away that you pass over one the last climb toward the cabin. We filtered the water with a backpacking filtration system and everyone handled that fine. There were many mouse traps throughout the cabin and I noticed some mouse droppings, but we didn’t see any mice. The cabin was clean and in good condition on our arrival. The toilet could use a scrub, but we cleaned it a bit using what we had. We tried to leave it as clean as we could for the next folks and even built a little shelf for the table using some scrap wood from the yard. We look forward to visiting Eagle Guard Station again!

Been here twice during the winter in the past two years, and every time it is a quiet respite from the world.