2 new public use cabins coming to Denali State Park this year

A pair of new public use cabins will be constructed at the Kesugi Ken campground in Denali State Park this year, state officials said, bringing the total in the park to eight -- three existing cabins at Kesugi Ken constructed in 2016, and three legacy cabins at nearby Byers Lake.

The new Kesugi Ken cabins will be constructed near the existing ones on the Denali view side of the park and adjacent to the tent loop, said Stuart Leidner, superintendent for the state’s Mat-Su region parks. They will be built south of the current Hunter and Tokasha cabins, replacing or shifting two current tent sites.

The tent-only loop currently hosts eight tent sites while about 30 RV sites with hookups sit in a separate loop. The construction will bring total tent sites down to seven starting in 2024, with only six available until construction is complete, Leidner said.

“The cabins will be maybe a little closer” than the current ones, he said. “But they're working the design, and construction architects are working very hard on site lines.”

If work goes according to plan, the cabins should be completed over the summer and open for reservations in time for the 2023-2024 winter use season, he said.

While the new cabins will be similar in size to the Hunter and Tokasha cabins, which sleep up to eight, their overall design will be slightly different. For example, while they will still feature a loft area, they will not include the metal spiral staircase found in the other two, he said.

“We’ve been trying to go away from spiral staircases for safety,” he said. “They get slippery -- we’ve also had people crack themselves open.”

Unlike most of the state’s designated tent and RV camping areas, the popular public use cabins bring in steady income for the state for the year-round. The Hunter and Tokasha cabins cost $90 per night, while the larger Denali cabin, which sleeps up to 12 and can include electricity, runs $100 per night. Cabins at Byers Lake are $80 per night. Campsites in the park range from $20 to $35, depending on amenities and reservation. The RV campsites at Kesugi Ken are the most expensive in the system and the only sites with hook-ups.

Elsewhere in the state cabins run between $35 and $100 a night, depending on size, location and popularity. Campsites range from $15 to $25, according to the state’s fee page.

Outside Denali State Park other campgrounds in the region are expected to open on time with no major closures planned, he said. Unlike years past when state officials warned they would be unlikely to open certain camping areas including Big Lake and Matanuska Lake due to a lack of hosts, Leidner said this year they have been able to find the needed help.

The state will also be doing other upgrades and construction across the Mat-Su region over the summer season, Leidner said. Eight new electronic fee stations will replace the so-called “iron ranger” brow metal fee envelope containers at locations including Big Lake, Rocky Lake, Ermine Hill and the Reed Lakes trailhead. The kiosks utilize cellular signal and solar power to process credit card payments, he said. No cash fees will be accepted.

Construction will also continue on a composting latrine at Reed Lakes. Originally slated for 2022, bad summer weather conditions halted work. The composting latrine will join a pit toilet and series of tent pads already installed in the area.

Trail projects are also slated for the state-owned areas near Matanuska Lake, he said. Those include bush and tree clearing and marking boundaries where the state trails end and trails in the greenbelt area owned by other entities, including the Borough and the University of Fairbanks, begin.

And at Nancy Lake State Recreation area crews will be doing a clean-up overhaul of the Lynx Lake Canoe Trail, which runs through an eight-mile chain of lakes. That work will include clearing portage areas, cleaning up overgrown tent pads and installing several bear-proof food safety boxes, he said.

“Really hitting that pretty hard has been a goal of the park specialists up there for a couple of years,” he said.