Blacksmith Fork Guard Station

Loved the cabin plan on going there again next year

Ok, this is not a fancy cabin so set your expectations appropriately. This is a guard station and doesn’t have a cleaning or maintenance crew that checks on it between stays so if you are the first one to stay in it in a while it is not uncommon to have mice poop, and it dead flies.

However once you have appropriate expectations, the cabin is quite nice. Fire wood was provided as well as some basic dishes. The lights and stove worked well. The hike up was quiet. We stayed in the winter when the road is closed. If you stay in the summer the canyon can be pretty busy especially on the weekend.

The reason for four stars rather than five is the fact that the minimum stay was two nights when we only wanted to stay for one.

Absolutely loved it here. Loved that it had everything to clean up with, eat with and cook with. The river was our favorite part

We love staying at the guard station. It’s been a family tradition for a few years now. The space is large enough for lots of tents, and the dry cabin is a great place for families with small children and for storing and cooking food, since there is a gas fridge and cooking range. There is also a cool stream near the campsite we’re the kids spend lots of time. Highly recommended!

I had low expectations after reading the reviews and was pleasantly surprised. The road to get there was extremely rocky and bumpy and took about 30 mins from the turn off, going under 10 mph. The house itself was clean and reminded me of where my grandma grew up. No electricity but there were propane lights, full stove and oven, and cold fridge and freezer. Lots of plates, cups, and pots and pans too. The mattresses seemed new which was nice. There was a table with 5 chairs and a twin bunk bed in the common area and a bunk bed that was twin on top and full on the bottom in a separate room divided by a doorway and curtain (no door). There was also a cot that could be used. We didn't use the wood fireplace since it was summer but it did look cozy. The windows had screens which helped with heat during the day. It might be too hot towards the end of July/Beginning of August without a fan, but beginning of July was great. The outdoor space was lovely, perfect little beach by the stream for us to hang out and let the kids play in the steam. Decent fishing for the area. Lots of trees and shade while there was also a big open field to play in. There was a picnic table and fireplace outside. There was also a nice shaded area for an additional tent on the side. We brought our own camping chairs, sleeping bags, food, drinking water (and water to clean dishes), etc. we brought our own trash bags you but it would have been helpful to have somewhere to place the trash bags like an empty can or at least hook. They had extra toilet paper for the shared out house in case it ran out which it did at the very end of a holiday weekend. It was overall a great time and beautiful location.

Me and my family went camping here in July 2026 and it was fun I was able to see the Milky way. Me and my family rode on 4 wheelers to old Ephraims grave and it was a awesome experience