Winter Staycation: Plan a Getaway at Sheep Mountain Lodge

It’s out of the way enough to feel like a vacation -- but not far enough to require loads of extra planning or even a trip out of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. With their cabins tucked against Sheep Mountain about 10 miles up the Glenn Highway from the Matanuska Glacier State Recreation Area, the masterminds behind Sheep Mountain Lodge are aiming to create a perfect destination for two kinds of visitors: locals looking to have some fun, and those looking for a quiet but scenic place to hunker down.

“On the weekend we’re really looking after the people looking to get out of town and go have some fun,” said owner Mark Fleenor. “For midweek, we’re looking for those people who are looking to get out of town and do some work. It’s nice and quiet -- you can walk on the trails.”

While Valley residents might primarily think of dropping into Sheep Mountain Lodge in the winter for an overnight pause on their way out of town for snowmachining, the year-round recreation area also offers 10 miles of groomed cross country trails. And although the lodge dining room is not open to the public in the winter, they do offer breakfast (try a cinnamon roll) and dinner or desert (don’t skip the cookies or pie) as room service.

For weekend visitors, Fleenor said, the lodge has a ski lounge with a warming fire, couches, board games and hot coffee, tea and cocoa. Over weekdays that lounge is closed as Fleenor instead turns his attention toward attracting visitors who just want a quiet place to think and work, taking advantage of their hot tub and steady wifi.

Fleenor, an experienced pilot whose previous work included flying a helicopter in Afghanistan, plans to continue offering helo tours over the winter in his new this year helicopter. For guests without snowmachines of their own, the lodge also has snowmachine tours. And Fleenor said he’s been working to scout by air possible routes to the Matanuska Glacier, with the goal of developing a glacier-destination snowmachine experience.

“That’s never been done, but I have the ability to check things out from the air and find ways to get places,” he said.

Helicopter tours start at $149 per-person with a two-person minimum; multi-hour snowmachine tours are $199 per-person; cabins, which are pet friendly, come equipped with a variety of kitchen amenities depending on size, and start at about $150 per-night.