Everything was great!

Good overall. However, no fire starter or kindling when we arrived at 1:30pm, so getting fire started was tricky. Temp about 50 degrees inside so not sure someone had stayed the night before. Solar lights were not working and D cell lanterns didn't throw much light in the basement to make kindling. Once fire started, cabin warmed quickly. Would advise to bring your own fire starter. We used the Propane lights which worked fine. New stove worked okay. Did not need to light burners with a match which was a big improvement from last year. We did get the broiler to work, but not the oven. Outhouse was pretty smelly, but not too unexpected for early March. IMHO, because the price has increased from $8 to $83 per night this season, the cleanliness of the cabin overall has gone down, e.g. sweeping, filling snow water, wiping tables, filling wood box, chopping kindling, etc. WORD Of WARNING- be prepared to dig your car out- make sure you have at least one shovel in your car. Our car was plowed in during the night, even tho we were parked on the "correct" side and there were only 2 cars in the parking lot. It took almost an hour for the 3 of us to dig it out; the worst problem was that the snow had been packed up against the side of the car, and was packed tightly into the wheels. Not a fun ending to our trip. But the weather cooperated, and was beautiful and sunny.

grooming happens on Thursday mornings

Excellent, as always.

Awesome cabin, disappointed to see that the fee has gone up to $90/night when it used to be free in the winter. Sad to see private corporations like rec.gov taking over the federal land use.

Never disappointed. Great escape

Such a fun experience! I recommend taking a screenshot or printing your reservation confirmation beforehand – when we showed up another group claimed to also have the cabin booked that night.

The absolute best, great experience! Looking forward to next year!

The good: The BEST USFS cabin we ever rented. Opened in 2001! Basement with wood, supplies & ski patrol rescue equipment. Main floor is the kitchen, wood stove, dining tables & sitting areas are. The top floor is the bedroom. You can drive to the cabin except in skiing season. Go through the gate in the woods on the west end of the Chief Joe XC ski trailhead parking area. That road is called Broadway. You can also go via 43 to Gibbons Pass Road & take the first right which Broadway connects. If you need cell service we have Verizon & about .4 miles north of the cabin on Broadway we got 4 Bar LTE service. The kitchen has a lot of cooking supplies, a double sink that drains, a 4 burner propane stove although the oven does not work. 2 huge dining tables for about 8+ people each & the kitchen has a bar with 3 seats as well. In addition there are numerous padded seats since it is a warming hut. The bedroom upstairs has 2 padded queen size beds & 4 individual pads along the wall so "officially" 8 people can stay. Solar lights on each floor although but only 1 bulb upstairs with propane lantern backup. At least 3 battery powered lanterns are provided. A few games & puzzles + skis on the walls & beams for decoration. Huge porches on 2 sides. Lots of wood. Fire pit with numerous benches. The bad: Mouse or something in the wall on the right porch so long waste is running down the exterior wall. Very limited availability. Only allowed to rent 1 night a year & much of the calendar is blocked. Not really private. While we had no visitors, there were numerous locals cutting firewood. The CD Trail is nearby & you may get visitors many times in season. The ski club may be by to do work. When open as a warming hut for skiers, they have full access to the main floor. You can't control who & what kind of people will be in the cabin during this time. You are also expected to shovel snow and maintain the cabin as you are the "host" in the winter. Was $35 now $75 night.

This was a great cabin to stay in!! We hiked in the 8/10 of a mile, because there were no instructions to drive their via online. However, upon getting there some skii club volunteers let us know how to access it with a vehicle which was very nice. The cabin was well stocked, the wood stove kept us verrry warm, and the view and surrounding area is beautiful