Pine Valley Guard Station

I planned a stay at the cabin 2 mons in advance for Xmas with the family. The day of, we drove 2 hrs to the cabin to only then find out the park was closed for winter with no warning ahead of time. It ruined xmas and the whole day for us. Communication would of been great to know.

Put the wood burning stove back in. The heat source at the location currently is not sufficient. Additionally, when we arrived, most of the outlets would not work to plug in the electric heaters. We assume that previous guests tripped the breaker dude to the excessive amount of electric heaters needed to stay warm without the wood stove. We found it ironic that the wood stove was removed to “preserve the historic building,” when on the other side of the mountain, the browse station is in complete shambles.

Such a beautiful place and a great getaway from the summer heat. We always go down to the lake and fish. Catching no fish still beats a day at work. The lake is busy though, so pick your times carefully and you’ll have a more enjoyable experience.

Can you say “hantavirus”! Mouse poop everywhere (on the mattresses, windowsills, in sink, on counters). Mice in the bench. Brown sticky stuff in fridge with long brown hair stuck to it. Gross shower. Bug cementaries in window sills. Everything was really dirty. We didn’t even stay 30 minutes. It was cleaner outside. Barf-a-roni.

We love the location. The cabin is very hit and miss. The beds are terrible, so we usually bring Cots to sleep on. The biggest issue with the cabin is it is very poorly maintained. The water heater has literally been out for at least two seasons, I don't understand why they don't simply replace it. The place is dirty. Guests are supposed to clean at the end of their stay. Sometimes it's cleanish when you arrive, sometimes you have to clean before you can settle in. But it really needs a deep cleaning. This last trip was an adventure. We were making breakfast when suddenly thousands of ants started coming out of the electrical outlets above the kitchen counter. We drove to St. George to buy raid, and they didn't return for the rest of our trip, but I suspect there is a colony living in the wall. There's also mice, but that's to be expected in the woods. Both of the screen doors are in need of repair. The area is awesome though. And even though it isn't the greatest building, we'll continue to come here and stay in the cabin. It's pretty close to us and the only cabin in the recreation area, so that is with a ⭐.

We love coming to this cabin. Please clean up after yourselves. The previous guests left a pot of macaroni on the counter.

A rustic retreat. The cabin is nice but basic. The scenery is wonderful. It's a bit of a walk to and from the parking area but very doable as long as the weather cooperates. The weather this time of year is very unpredictable. The space heaters were very effective. The mattresses are not very comfortable. Expect some resident mice.

Note was left by past occupant that wood burning stove would fill the house with smoke if lit. Turned on electric heaters that were provided and circuit tripped. No access to panel to reset.

Not well maintained. Hot water heaters both did not work. Wood stove was removed and locked in the wood storage bin outside. The cabin smelled of soot and smoke, I think due to the chimney exhaust being left open.

The good:
SUPER value off season at $35 but pretty sure that low pricing won't be around much longer.

4 room cabin with electricity with bunk bed with queen on bottom & twin on top, futon couch for 2, fridge, microwave, 4 burner electric range with oven. Outlets all over.

3 electric heaters that all work great. Do not max out the temperature or they will shut off due to overheating.

We have Verizon for cell service and were able to get 2 bar 4G LTE at the fee station and the amphitheater but it did come and go.

Water inside and out provided seasonally with toilet and shower. Seasonal sink.

Lots of dishes, pots, pans, glasses.

Blinds over windows for privacy except kitchen.

Large porch with 2 rockers.

Fire pit with 2 metal picnic tables and also elevated huge charcoal grill.

Flagpole if you want to bring a flag.

Motion light over back door to light up the walkway at night to the concrete ADA vault toilet.

If you hear loud bangs it's probably pine cones hitting roof.

The bad:
Part of our reservation and others got canceled due to USFS having to repaint the interior, clean and make repairs due to many people still using the wood stove to burn wood when a sign was there saying do not use. Intense smoke leaking from the stovepipe made everything soot covered. Due to this the wood stove has been removed at least temporary. There was no ax or splitter available due to the stove being gone. Also there was only 1 chair for the drop down table. We think the others were removed to get ready for painting.

This cabin is in a state park with numerous campsites. If you want privacy this is NOT for you. Even when we stayed we had people coming to the cabin as they thought it was open for visitation. There is no sign telling people to stay away as it is a rental unit so we sadly had many visitors.

You can't lock front door from inside. Always bring own lock to lock outside.

There were no journals to read. Maybe somebody can bring a couple for the future.