Beautiful on the outside, not so much on the inside. This will probably be our last stay here. I'm not sure why there's an increase in fees as no improvements have been made over the last few years. I was up early every morning to clean the mouse droppings out of the kitchen. (Before the rest of my party realized) The fridge is still broken. The lower bunkbed upstairs was broken. The futons in the living room are in desperate need of replacing. The rugs are full of fur. I love dogs, but not everyone adheres to the pet policy. Silver-lining...the outhouse was clean. Smelly but, hey it's a pit toilet. This is a beautiful area and this place has so much potential, but with the over-use and lack of maintenance I can no longer recommend it. As an alternate, you can camp nearby (In the designated area, or dispersed sites) Dry creek trail is a favorite along with the waterfall at the end. Lots of good mushroom picking during different times of year. Old Man Pass is a great spot for some X/C skiing in the winter! Backwoods has also just opened their cabins in Carson if you'd like a more Airbnb style experience.

This cabin needs some TLC. The curtains are torn and don't fully cover the windows. The toilet isn't close to the cabin. It wasn't as clean as it could have been when we arrived. It needs a new indoor paint job. The lighting is propane only. Bring a few lanterns. Aside from this.. the place is warm and cozy if you don't mind a little rustic. It's quiet and private. Very close to some incredible hikes and not far from town.

Beautiful cabin and amazing spot, but the cabin was pretty disgusting. Needs a major cleaning, looks like no one had swept/mopped in months, layers of dust and cobwebs and mice poop EVERYWHERE! Hanging a picture of a mouse that someone saw five times is not an extermination plan. We cleaned the copious poop the first night and the next morning it was back again everywhere, on the stove, in the sink, etc. Caught two mice in the trap on the porch, but still more feces everywhere. It's a shame and the forest service should explore some serious extermination before this place is completely lost to the rodents. We had young kiddos, one who is immune compromised and didn't feel good letting them play pretty much anywhere inside. Outside everything is gorgeous. Please take better care of this beautiful cabin!

First off, I was harassed by some locals the first nights I was here earlier in the week. It seemed like they were trying to act like a Sasquatch and scare me. There was also a game/trail/security camera in the woods nearby. That was very strange and made me very uncomfortable. I really love this program with Rex.gov, NFS, BLM, etc. but I am a backcountry lodge caretaker, so I feel it is my duty to point out where they could be improvements. I would very much like to offer my professional services to update this cabin with fresh running water from the nearby creek, and potentially hydro electric power. As far as the issues: the door knob on the cleaning closet was broken off, so I couldn’t open the door. The sock on the upstairs bunk bed room propane light was removed and/or it was damaged and unusable. I took the liberty of lighting the pilot light on the oven. There are also mice in the cabin. Maybe leave some mouse traps up there for guests to use? One more thing; the restroom is designated to cabin guests only? Well, people were definitely stopping by and using it while I was out. Why is there no key for cabin guests to lock it and keep it private during their stay? Is there not a steward or caretaker who comes by between each group staying at the cabin to check on the place and make sure it is ready and presentable for the next guest? With how non-remote this cabin is and the nearby residents I’m surprised that seems not to be so. I assumed the nearest resident just past Iron Mike Well was the cabin caretaker, but I never saw anyone in person. Again, I would like to offer my professional expertise, knowledge and experience to bring to the Government Mineral Springs Guard Station as a caretaker.

We loved the privacy of the cabin, especially its location near the small campground. However, the cabin itself is overrun with mice. They were running over the top of my children as they slept, and scurrying all over the floors. There were mouse droppings everywhere, which of course could carry life-threatening diseases. Many of us chose to sleep at the campground or in our cars because of the mice, using the cabin just to do some of the cooking.