Winstanley Lake Cabin
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 30 of the next 30 nights read 14:57 UTC
- Sites
- 1All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 12 notices
In the agency’s own words
Winstanley Lake Cabin is located on the mainland on the shore of its namesake lake approximately 33 air miles northeast of Ketchikan. The cabin offers recreational and wildlife viewing opportunities and makes an excellent base for experiencing this corner of Alaska. The cabin is remote and accessible only by float plane or boat, depending on conditions. Access by boat involves a 2.5 mile hike from saltwater plus a 2.25 mile row to the cabin. Visitors are responsible for their own travel arrangements and safety, and must bring several of their own amenities. Keep reading
Recreation
A 14-foot aluminum skiff with oars is provided for rowing around the lake, but visitors must provide their own life jackets. Visitors can row to the historic Winstanley Lake Shelter at the end of the lake, which was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the early 1930s. Anglers can fish for cutthroat trout and kokanee salmon in the lake. Hunting is possible for Sitka black-tailed deer, mountain goat, black bear and brown bear with the proper permits.
Facilities
The 12x14-ft. ( pan-abode style ) log cabin accommodates 6 people with 2 single and 2 double bunks. Other amenities include a table and benches, a cooking counter, food storage, broom, and wood stove. An outhouse is located nearby. Bring your own firewood as it cannot be guaranteed. Drinking water and electricity are not available. Visitors must bring their own water supply, but water is also available from the lake and should be treated before drinking or cooking with it (water safety ). Visitors should also bring sleeping bags, sleeping pads, cooking gear, lanterns or flashlights, food, toilet paper, garbage bags, a fire extinguisher and fire starter. Rain gear and boots are recommended. Visitors are expected to pack out their trash, gear and food and clean the cabin before leaving. Click here for more cabin details and maps.
Natural Features
The cabin is located within the Misty Fiords National Monument Wilderness. It is backed by a forest of large old-growth spruce, hemlock and cedar and offers views of the placid lake with its forested shoreline and surrounding mountains. The Misty Fiords Monument Wilderness supports a diverse variety of wildlife. Mountain goats, bears, deer, moose and bald eagles make their home here ( bear safety ). Many species of birds may be seen in or around the lake.
What the agency tells you
This facility is located in an extremely remote and wild area; before making a reservation, become aware of bear, water, and weather safety (including cold)
Recreating in Alaska can present both obvious and hidden dangers; please be aware of your surroundings and be prepared for extended stays due to occasionally poor weather
Drinking water is not available at this cabin
Everything else this campground posts · 9
Please pack out all trash and food and clean cabin before departure
Use of this cabin by a commercial operator, such as an outfitter or guide, is not allowed
This is the Winstanley Lake Cabin, not the cabin on Winstanley Island
This cabin is in a designated Wilderness area, and access by helicopter is illegal
Same day reservations allowed for this cabin
The person holding the reservation for this cabin must be at least 18 years of age and must be a member of the party using the cabin
There are no discounts for Golden Age/Access Passports for Alaska cabin rentals
Learn more about the Tongass National Forest
Don't Move Firewood: Prevent the spread of tree-killing pests by purchasing firewood near your destination and burning it on-site. For more information visit dontmovefirewood.org.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 1 · 1 cabin
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- None listed
Facilities
- Toilets
- Yes, the record doesn't say what kind
- “An outhouse is located nearby.”
- Drinking water
- None, bring your own
- “…are not available. Visitors must bring their own water supply, but water is also available from the lake…”
- Firewood
- Mentioned
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, Beach
- Boating
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Historic site
- Hunting
- Wildlife viewing
1 of 1 sites open on Sat, Oct 17read 14:57 UTC
Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.
OpenBooked
Watch for a cancellation
Full? Watch it.
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
Tell me when the season opens
Watch for the season to open
One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 15
What you actually pay
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 5
recreation.gov availability, read 14:57 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
1 sites · the site map
All 1 sites
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 1 of the 1 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
Measured shade is NLCD Tree Canopy Cover 2024 (USDA Forest Service / MRLC) read at the site’s own coordinate, 27% canopy or more, and only for the sites the agency gave no Shade value. It never changes the agency’s own shaded count beside it.
| AREA WINSTANLEY LAKE CABIN | M14 | cabin nonelectric | 261 ft | $45 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Winstanley Island CabinMisty Fjords National Monument · 3.8 mi
Checats Lake CabinMisty Fjords National Monument · 4.1 mi
Wilson Narrows CabinMisty Fjords National Monument · 9.9 mi
Ella Narrows CabinMisty Fjords National Monument · 12 mi
Bakewell Lake CabinMisty Fjords National Monument · 13 mi
Wilson View CabinMisty Fjords National Monument · 14 miThe cabin is located on Winstanley Lake approximately 33 air miles northeast of Ketchikan on the mainland, east of Winstanley Island. The cabin is accessible by float plane or by trail from saltwater (skiff provided at end of trail; please return it to the trail after use). Access by boat involves a 2.5 mile (4 km) hike from salt water plus a 2.25 mile (3.6 km) row to the cabin. Refer to USGS Ketchikan B-3.
In fall, winter, and early spring, the cabin may be inaccessible due to frozen lake surface (float planes cannot land). Please contact the Ketchikan-Misty Fjords Ranger District for information prior to making reservations during these periods. This cabin is in a designated Wilderness area, and access by helicopter is illegal.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Saxman, AK
Typical weather
Typical October night 43°F, day 52°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 32°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Augusts are colder than the August line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
who answers for it
Who answers for this land
Winstanley Lake Cabin is in Alaska’s at-large congressional district. Its representative, Nick Begich (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →