Frommer's Review
Among the best of Alaska's remote lodges, Winter Lake earned its fame -- like other top lodges -- thanks to a remarkable couple living there year-round, Carl and Kristen Dixon. Carl is a classic Alaskan outdoorsman: hearty, cheerful, and most at home when working or traveling on the land. Kristen is a meticulous innkeeper and a master chef and cookbook author, trained at Le Cordon Bleu, who turns out cuisine, using local ingredients, that is comparable to the best urban restaurants. The lodge faces a lake surrounded by mountains northwest of Anchorage and has the Iditarod Trail running through its grounds, near the Finger Lake checkpoint. A dog team is kept for guest instruction, and winter visitors also go snowmobiling and cross-country skiing. In the summer, they enjoy the lake, float a river, hike trails from the lodge, or use the helicopter that is kept on site for glacier or mountain top excursions or remote fishing. Yoga and cooking classes are offered every day. The accommodations are in five comfortable but authentic cabins -- despite log construction and rustic furniture, they have oil heat and private bathrooms with showers and composting toilets. That's all part of the appealing contradictions of the place: remote, yet with fresh flowers everyday; offering Wi-Fi, but not when all the power is turned off at night. Visitors get to the lodge by air from Anchorage with Rust's Flying Service; the fare is included in the lodge rates listed below, which vary according to how long you stay. I've given just two examples; use of the helicopter is extra.
Facilities:
Restaurant (family style, included in rate); some guided activities; massage, yoga, and cooking classes included in rate; hot tub; sauna
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without
notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before
planning your trip.
