Deshka River Lodge a family friendly getaway for locals, too

DESHKA — One river mile up the Deshka River from its confluence with the Big-Su is the Deshka River Lodge, a little slice of Alaska served up with a big dish of hospitality.

The lodge, which is owned by backcountry guide Andy Willis and his wife Billie, has been a staple along the banks of one of Alaska most popular fishing areas. But this year marks the first running the lodge for the Willis family.

Andy Willis said the lodge has been in his family for years, running it from 2001 to 2008. Over the past few years, it had been leased out to other caretakers who wanted to run a lodge.

That ended last year, Billie said, when the caretakers had twins. “That kind of changed their outlook on running a lodge.”

Now Andy and Billie, along with their partner Jeff Pralle, cook Tony Radej and summer employee Shane Pruit are set to rebrand the lodge.

“In the past it was run kind of as an out-of-state place,” Andy said. “We are trying to revamp that. Sure we still cater to out-of-state fishers and hunters, but it is not a closed door to people who just want to stop for a burger or coffee.”

Billie echoes that sentiment. “We’ve been trying to market more toward the locals. In the past, people who fished this river have gone by the property and seen how beautiful it is, but not really known that they could stay here. But they can.”

Deshka River Lodge offers a variety of services. It a great place to just enjoy a wilderness stay. It offers weekend getaway packages, bed and breakfast packages, scenic jet-boat tours and rafting trips. For the visitor who just wants to relax, they also have board games, lawn games and there are a couple fire pits for roasting marshmallows by the fire.

“We want to be real open and friendly and remain service oriented,” said business partner Jeff Pralle. “The direction we’ve gone with the business is to take everything and be family friendly.”

But Pralle said one of the hardest parts has been to get that word out.

“It has been hard to get it out there that the family can come here and mom has a place to be comfortable and the kids have a place to play and they are not camping on the beach in a tent with the bugs eating them alive,” he said.

Marketing a lodge to local people can be hard and the Deshka River Lodge is banking on some of the other unique things they offer.

One offering is Saturday evening steak night.

“We’ve been trying to think out side the box,” Billie said. “The steak night was actually Andy’s idea. He geared that a lot to the local fly-in crowd that keep their boats here. We just really wanted to have something fun that they could bring their wives to.”

The other popular offering is their dockside pizza. You can order a pizza and pull up to the dock and they will deliver it right to your boat. According Lori Sena, who stopped for a pie, it is the best pizza on the Deshka River.

Cook Tony Radej said the pizza has gone over very well. “It’s been really good. The product is good. The crust is a natural rising crust. I make my own sauce. We do a little garlic around the edge”

In today’s economy and the recent fishing closures, the Willis family has learned to adapt. Billie said they can’t rely on fishing to attract guests to the lodge. “It’s a different market. We know the market we want to tap into, it was just a matter of how to do it. I think we cam up with some great ideas.”

If you’re interested in checking out the Deshka River Lodge, call (907) 631-0605 or visit deshkariverlodge.com.

Freelance writer Julie Busch contributed to this article.