Guide to Eagle River Nature Center Public Use Cabin & Yurts

Along a historic travel route that dates to the Gold Rush era, these four public use facilities offer people a flat walk to a secluded riverine wilderness only an hour walk from a trailhead that’s an easy drive from town. Managed by the Eagle River Nature Center, the three yurts and one cabin are perfect those who want to hike and explore the Eagle River corridor, known both for its wildlife — bald eagles, brown and black bear, moose — and stunning views of some of the craggiest peaks in the Chugach Range.

Explore The Eagle River Corridor

Each dwelling has plywood bunks, table and chairs, a bear-proof food locker, firewood provided for use in indoor heating stove, splitting maul, bucket, broom, dustpan, snow shovel, and outhouse. Paradise Haven Cabin sleeps 8. River Trail Yurt sleeps 4. Rapids Camp Yurt sleeps maximum of 6. Yukla Yurt sleeps up to 6.

Here is a PDF map showing trails and cabin locations.

Wood for campfires must be gathered in the forest, so taking a camp saw may be helpful. None of the entries are keyed but can be locked on the inside. Dogs are welcome. The trails are non-motorized — hiking, skiing, snowshoeing. No bikes. Stream and river water must be purified.

Show Map

Cabins & Yurts

Want to feel like you’ve ven­tured deep into the moun­tains with­out walk­ing all day? The Rapids Camp Yurt grabs some of the best views in the Eagle Riv­er Val­ley. The yurt and its view­ing deck are perched high, giv­ing their inhab­i­tants a feel­ing they are stand­ing among the peaks around them. In sum­mer, the sound of the riv­er run­ning pro­vides a sooth­ing white noise.

Difficulty: Easy

This rus­tic log cab­in nes­tles into the for­est about 1.5 miles up the Idi­tar­od Trail off on a side trail. It has the feel of an old-time Alaskan trapper’s home. Although perched at the edge of hard-core wilder­ness — deep inside the moun­tains — this cab­in is close to trails main­tained by the Nature Cen­ter itself, giv­ing fam­i­lies with small chil­dren the option of com­bin­ing short hikes with edu­ca­tion. The facil­i­ties can also be used as a  ...more

The Yuk­la Yurt can be used as a first-night stop for peo­ple doing the Cross Pass Cross­ing to Gird­wood. It’s also a great base for explor­ing the val­ley or for tak­ing a hike on the upper half of the Dew Mound Trail. The area will be qui­et: no motor­ized recre­ation allowed. This yurt is the fur­thest from Nature Cen­ter, with a more remote feel than Rapids Camp Yurt.

If you’d like to spend the night lis­ten­ing to the rush of a wild riv­er, vis­it this snug yurt over­look­ing Eagle Riv­er with spec­tac­u­lar views of the sur­round­ing moun­tains. Locat­ed less than two miles form the Nature Cen­ter off the Albert Loop Trail, the yurt sleeps up to four, with two on wood­en bunks and two on the floor. It fea­tures a deck, two chairs and a table, plus a wood stove with fire­wood stacked in a shed. Eagle Riv­er is your water  ...more