Sutton lodge vacation spot for locals, tourists

SUTTON — If you’re looking for a quick getaway that feels hundreds of miles from home, Sheep Mountain Lodge might be the place to stay.

Owned by Zack and Anjanette Steer for the past 15 years, Sheep Mountain Lodge has existed for 75 years at its current location, about 65 miles east of Palmer. The original lodge burned down in 1961, but it’s safe to say a lot of improvements have been made since then.

What is now the kitchen for the lodge restaurant, for example, used to be the entire lodge. Now it has a banquet room that can seat 40 to 45 people, plus two more, door-less rooms for dining (one next to the bar).

“Like most Alaskan buildings it's a series of additions,” Zack Steer said, of the restaurant and check-in building.

And where there once was “a crappy old bunkhouse,” he said, is now a “guest house” with three rooms, each stocked with two queen beds, a table and chairs, a dresser, a microwave, a coffeemaker, a small refrigerator, and a deck with a view. Shared showers and toilets are available for these guests in a separate building about 50 feet away. These facilities run about $100 per night with tax.

“If you wanna stay in a real log cabin,” Steer said, for about $70 more, try the “classic” cabins on for size. The classic cabins come equipped with a queen bed, table and chairs, a deck with chairs, a small refrigerator, a microwave and a coffeemaker. Each cabin has its own private bathroom.

That may sound like a lot of modern amenities for “a real log cabin,” but the authenticity comes from the material used to build them.

“All the logs are locally harvested, they were cut right across the river,” Steer said, looking across the highway toward Matanuska Glacier.

And the cabins aren’t made from a kit, either, he said.

“Each one’s a little bit different,” he said.

Then there are the “premier” cabins, which sit a bit higher on the hill than the classic cabins and include a full kitchen.

Around the lodge

Sheep Mountain is also situated just a few miles from well-established outdoor recreational facilities, such as Glacier View Adventures, Nova River Runners and MICA Guides, which offer zip line tours, river rafting and glacier treks, respectively. Flightseeing with Meekin’s Air Service is also an option, Steer said.

When the lodge was open in the winter — most recently in 2013 — visitors could also go skiing or snowshoeing right out the back door, or snowmachining out the front. In the mid-1980s, the owners at time skied biathlon, Steer said, and expanded “a rough network of mining trails” into cross-country ski trails.

Although the Steers have since made a home in Palmer to school their two children more in the heart of the Valley during the winters, they’re “always trying to improve the trails and maintain ’em,” Zack Steer said.

The lodge was once the starting point for the Oosik Classic ski race, now based in Talkeetna, as well as the Sheep Mountain 200 sled dog race. Both Anjanette and Zack Steer competed and finished that race — and the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race — but with poor snow coverage in recent years, the Sheep Mountain race has been cancelled. However, signs of its glory days can still be seen on the lodge’s walls, and during a season with decent snow, the area is still a good place for mushing.

In the fall, Sheep Mountain is also a hotspot for berry picking, Steer said. And although the area is closed to sheep and goat hunting, moose and rabbit hunters often visit the lodge during that time of year. The lodge also is near some Tier 1 caribou hunts, he said.

And in the spring, birdwatchers stop and rest at the lodge while enjoying the annual Hawkwatch.

Or, all summer long, visitors can just sit on a porch — or in the gazebo, with Russell the stuffed moose — and enjoy the views from Sheep Mountain Lodge.

“It’s gorgeous, it’s quiet … it hasn’t been tourist-ified,” Steer said. “This isn’t like Glitter Gulch — this is the real deal.”

Sheep Mountain Lodge accommodations are open through Sept. 26 this fall. The restaurant will be open through Sept. 12. For more information, visit sheepmountain.com.

Contact Caitlin Skvorc at 352-2266 or caitlin.skvorc@frontiersman.com.