Alaska Pioneer Outpost Camp

Welcome to our family “Pioneer” outpost. We hope you enjoy the peace and beauty of this wilderness place! The Pioneer outpost is a very unique fly-in Alaska camp on the banks of a scenic remote lake with hiking trails connecting a popular trout and salmon river. We offer 1+ night stays at our fly-in Pioneer outpost as part of our bundled adventure packages. There are two guest cabins on site: “The Pioneer Cabin” and “The Eagle’s Perch.” The Pioneer Cabin is the main gathering place with kitchen, spacious gathering areas, and outdoor seating, fire pit and lakeside dock. The Eagle’s Perch is the main bedroom cabin located about 80 yards from the Pioneer Cabin with epic views of the lake and Mount Yenlo. The Pioneer Cabin is a privately owned, catered vacation rental destination. The Pioneer experience is ideal for adventurous groups of 2-4 people looking to have a place all their own in Alaska to enjoy the peace and solitude of nature. Overnight stays are available. We also fly Wilderness Place Lodge guests to the cabin for day float trips as an add-on to main lodge packages. The Pioneer cabin is of the same style and era as the popular Dick Proenneke cabin located on twin lakes, Alaska featured in the PBS documentary. This era of settlers had the true spirit of adventurous bushmen.

The experience begins with a scenic float plane trip into the cabin on day 1. Relax and enjoy the beauty of this special place! You will be accompanied by your personal guide that will orient you to the area and your cabin upon arrival. Your guide is available as needed to take you fishing on the river, a 400 yard moderate hike from the Pioneer camp. (The trail is a narrow foot trail with uneven terrain. Please be mindful of your limitations when booking an off-grid experience requiring hiking and back-country navigation). Your guide will stay nearby in a separate cabin out of view of the Pioneer cabins so you can enjoy peace and privacy. They are there for your safety and to assist with orientation, fishing tactics, and anything else you may need help with. Your guide is available as you desire, if you desire. Some people prefer more assistance, while others prefer their independence. Plan each day to your discretion. All food and beverages are included. You cook your own meals in the cabin's kitchen, or on the bbq grill. The Pioneer cabin has all the comforts of home including optional electricity and a wood-fired stove. The only exception is plumbing and running water in the cabin, but we do now have a simple outdoor solar shower you can use at your leisure. Swimming in the lake is another great way to rinse and cool off. On the final morning of your stay at the Pioneer Cabin, you will depart on a mellow 5-6 mile guided float trip by raft from the cabin down to Wilderness Place Lodge prior to departing back to Anchorage. You will stop and fish your way down as well, including a stop for riverside lunch.

A Brief Overview: The Pioneer Cabin retreat is located on a small remote lake within walking distance of a world-class trout, grayling and salmon stream in the Sustina Valley. The property is located approximately 70 air miles North and West of Anchorage. The Rockvam and Wendt families purchased this unique wilderness property in spring of 2017. The cabin you are staying in was originally constructed “pre-statehood” in the mid 1950s and is one of the very first homestead cabins to be established in the valley. As you will tell by it’s lake location and proximity to the river, the builder had his pick of prime real estate and was the sole resident of the area for many decades. We have recently discovered there was a small mine claim established on this property. The marshy swale in the hillside behind the cabin is the likely location of the private gold excavation. The cabin logs are hand-scribed from local white spruce trees, milled and fitted on site. As new owners, restoring this relic was a unique and rewarding challenge. Although the walls of the cabin were solid, the foundation needed to be replaced and floor reinforced after the cabin was left uninhabited for the bulk of the past 15 years. The building is now very clean, comfortable, warm, dry… yet not too modern. We did our very best to maintain the “Pioneer feel” to this very cool Alaskan trappers cabin. We hope you enjoy this unique version of “Glamping” in the Alaskan wilderness.

For more information, please download our printable Pioneer Cabin Orientation.