Sunshine Guard Station

We have stayed here a number of times. Always enjoy the location and amenities. this time there were several issues which I called the Forest Service about. This facility needs regular maintenance, or it will become unusable.

Don't forget your water.

Cabin was clean and comfortable. Electicity! Not much to do in the area unless you drive some.

We have stayed here on and off for years. The location in a secluded eastern Oregon valley is beautiful. The cabin has never had as much charm as many we've used, but it is still fine. Very nice walks in the valley and hills. Saying that, this cabin does need a little TLC. It seldom is clean, even by FS cabin standards and this time it was even worse. Must be due to cooking smoke, but all three hard-wired smoke devices are pulled off the wall and the two battery powered ones are also not working. Side porch; look out. The wood is rotted and loose and a heavy person could go through. Fridge had old food in it and tons of dead flies. Couch had a meal's worth of food on it and several small "home" items, like lamps or utensils we have left over the years are gone now. As usual, we left things cleaner than when we arrived, but this needs at least a once-a-year deep clean. The price of this cabin has gone up greatly in the last decade, and I see none of the fee's reinvested into the cabin. Sad. Ending on a positive, thanks for the new stove.

This cabin was not in good hygienic order. Lots of dead flies and heavily soiled mattresses and seating surfaces. Had a good time regardless.

This is one of our favorite FS rentals and it almost always has availability! We have only visited in the winter because we like to xc ski on all the different roads around the area. There are literally miles and miles of roads accessible right from the cabin door. A short drive down the road offers even more! The cabin itself is well equipped with a fridge, oven/stove, dining table, coffee pot, toaster oven, microwave, couch, and cushioned chair. It has electricity so you could bring and use really anything that plugs in. It has an electric wall heater which keeps it plenty warm inside. We do wish it had a wood stove though. Mice haven't been an issue during our stays, but the flies are abundant!! It will take a bit of sweeping up on arrival to get it more liveable. The oven is a little weird to use, it only conducts heat either from the bottom elements, or the top elements, but not both at once. Cooking a pizza was a challenge as we had to cook the bottom first and then switch and cook the top ha. Same with biscuits we brought. All in all we love this place and this area and will keep returning every winter :)

Very quiet spot. Enjoyed the forest service roads behind the cabin--great area for hikes!

This was a great place to stay. I used it as home base while turkey hunting in the Malheur National Forest. The kitchen has a refrigerator/freezer, electric stove/oven, microwave oven, coffeemaker, and sink, but no water. It works well if you bring food to store in the fridge or freezer and either "cook" or microwave. the stove works great for heating water (for coffee) or cooking. Cabin has electric lights, and a couple built in wall heaters (it was 28 degrees or so at night when I was there and the heat was very adequate).The kitchen has a table and chairs. The main room/living room has a couch and a couple chairs, coffee table and side tables, and a bookshelf with various books and games. 2 bedrooms each with bed, (bring your own bedding and a tarp to cover the mattress it kind of dirty and buggy) ,and a large utility closet. There is a picnic table in the front yard with a fire pit /"grill" so if the weather is nice you can hang out outside. Also a large "vault" toilet next to the cabin. Issues: Bugs 🪳🪳🪳 - It was still cool weather when I was there but Spring and Bugs were arriving. There were a dozens of large flies/spittle bugs in each bedroom on the beds and floor, and other parts of the cabin. So bring some bug spay / repellant if you're averse. Cleanliness 💩💩It is an old cabin so I don't expect a lot, but it was pretty filthy when I got there. I spent 30 minutes sweeping the floor covered with bugs, dog hair, soil, pine needles, etc. Also in the utility closet there are a bunch of old used fly catcher /electric zapper devices covered with dead bugs. Needs some maintenance/upkeep: The windows have been sealed round the edges with duct tape, which is falling off peeling away. And parts of the floor tile are missing. The drain under kitchen sink is broken, so there is a plastic tray under the sink to catch any water which you then needed to empty each time you use the sink. Great view and location. But don't expect an AirBnB.

Great, special place.

Spent a week at Sunshine at the end of Nov. 2024. Was very nice to have a warm and comfortable place. Whoever had the cabin previously had left it in pristine condition. No bugs, flies or mice around. Floors and appliances clean.
It appears the Forest Service visits frequently to keep cabin in good shape and supplied. However, you probably should bring some good toilet paper as the F. S. supplied paper doesn't equal Charmin. Also bring good frying pans, otherwise there is a good supply of cooking utensils, plates etc. Wall heaters keep main areas warm but bring space heaters for the bedrooms if it's very cold.
Saw deer and turkeys but no elk.

People before us were gross. Never cleaned etc. not very nice to walk into