Basin Station Cabin

The cabin is comfortable with a large wood stove in the sleeping area, and another wood cooking stove in the kitchen/dining area. I stayed during a snowstorm in 2019, and found the bedroom stove kept the cabin so warm that I would go outside to chop wood to cool off a little. There is a large open space behind the cabin with an irrigation ditch crossing it. The front of the cabin faces a county road, which gets a fair amount of traffic to Hebgen Lake, especially on summer weekends. This makes it unsafe for dogs. On my last trip I brought along a temporary fence to put along the split rail fence in the front for my dog’s safety. It did its job. The kitchen counter has seen years of use, and I would recommend bringing along a cutting board or some sort of cover to place over the counter for food cleanliness. There are grizzlies in the hills just west of the cabin. The owner of the Diamond P Ranch, which is 1.7 mi from the cabin, told me he had two grizzlies at the door of his house in August 2020. A grizzly was seen on one of the Diamond P trail rides the week of August 8th, 2021. I would hear coyotes yipping every evening in August 2021. It was a good place to view the Perseid Meteor Showers.

The cabin was clean and there was plenty of chopped wood for use. New mattress pads were comfy. I was surprised to find that the pots and pans were missing and the cupboards were bare- previous years there had been plenty of pots for boiling water and cooking utensils. Also lots of food left behind, which is a kind gesture but not ideal for keeping critters out.
One of the neighbors plowed a single lane so we were actually able to drive until about 1/2 mi from the cabin and drop our stuff off for a shorter ski in. Got to explore further up the road to the campground and saw a fox and bald eagle by the water.

The cabin was clean and there was plenty of chopped wood for use. New mattress pads were comfy. I was surprised to find that the pots and pans were missing and the cupboards were bare- previous years there had been plenty of pots for boiling water and cooking utensils. Also lots of food left behind, which is a kind gesture but not ideal for keeping critters out.
One of the neighbors plowed a single lane so we were actually able to drive until about 1/2 mi from the cabin and drop our stuff off for a shorter ski in. Got to explore further up the road to the campground and saw a fox and bald eagle by the water.

Cozy & clean cabin! Easy to access with XC ski's

Cozy & clean cabin! Easy to access with XC ski's

The road to the cabin was snowed in so we were not able to get to the cabin so we did not stay in the cabin
Contacted Will Smith at Forest service in West Yellowstone and he was no help.

The road to the cabin was snowed in so we were not able to get to the cabin so we did not stay in the cabin
Contacted Will Smith at Forest service in West Yellowstone and he was no help.

Spent a week in June 2023. The new outhouse is top notch, as are the foundation repairs to the cabin and a new counter top. I brought along a temporary vinyl fence again to put along the west side so my border collies don’t wander on to the county road and have a disaster that would ruin the trip. It did its job. Basin Station is my favorite forest service cabin, because of all the open space to the east and north, and then you can cross the road and hike west up towards Lionhead, all which are forest service land. We did that often at dusk, making sure to yell ‘hey griz’ once in a while. That back barn is incredibly photogenic in the evening light, and I got some good shots of me and the dogs, which you will be able to see on journeywest dot com.

Spent a week in June 2023. The new outhouse is top notch, as are the foundation repairs to the cabin and a new counter top. I brought along a temporary vinyl fence again to put along the west side so my border collies don’t wander on to the county road and have a disaster that would ruin the trip. It did its job. Basin Station is my favorite forest service cabin, because of all the open space to the east and north, and then you can cross the road and hike west up towards Lionhead, all which are forest service land. We did that often at dusk, making sure to yell ‘hey griz’ once in a while. That back barn is incredibly photogenic in the evening light, and I got some good shots of me and the dogs, which you will be able to see on journeywest dot com.

What a dream it was to stay here! Some updates to the listing: the road to the cabin is paved, mattresses and cleaning supplies are provided. AT&T had great service. We used the wood stove and the wood was easy to access and we'll stocked. The outhouse was clean and new.