By:
Submission
This is a guard station is only available for rent November through mid-May. Access maybe limited to snowmobilers, cross-country skiers, and snowshoers.
30 miles South of Evanston, WY on Highway 150, then 26 miles from the junction at Highway 150 and North Slope Road. This guard station has one day bed, two bunk beds with a double bed under on bunk. Propane stove and light and a wood burning stove. Snow machine access.
This was our first experience up this canyon and staying at a guard station so we didn't know what to expect. This canyon is lower so the temperatures aren't as cool as you may be imagining a canyon to be. It is heavily used as an off road vehicle canyon so if you're going for some peace and quiet, be aware that you will see and hear many vehicles going up and down. The guard station is farther up and will require you drive up a maintained dirt road so it will be bumpy and dusty but we drove a minivan and was just fine.
If you reserve this, there will be a warning that there are rattlesnakes in the area. I called and was told that there isn't a huge problem at that site but that they are in the canyon so that alleviated my concerns; we just had our kids wear closed toe shoes whenever possible and kept them in the main area.
The guard station site itself is nice enough. Some of the grass you see in the picture are actually pokey type weeds so you won't be wanting to run around barefoot. The bathroom on site appears to be a public, meaning there will be people stopping by and using the restroom but it was clean and not smelly. The fire pit is semi-shaded but I'd highly recommend a little pop up or tarp or something to go over the picnic table because it's not shaded most of the day. There were some large logs when we were there you could sit on but I'm not totally sure if that's what they're meant for or if they are more for firewood so bring camp chairs.
Behind the property is a nice little stream, small enough to not worry about the kids playing in it but big enough to play in and cool yourself off. That was a major plus for our group and the kids loved the privacy because nobody else was there.
The fire pit is great and has a garbage can for ash and shovel as well. I noticed some great smaller wood for kindling kind of piled up nearby one of the out buildings on the property but I can't say if there's wood always there or not. It was also the kind of wood pile that attracts rattlesnakes so I wouldn't be sending kids over to gather some of it up. The wood that was available when we went (not sure if it's always there or not) was very large and we brought an ax but it was so wide, we were grateful that inside the cabin, there was a saw and that tool that helps break up the large logs. I hope it always comes with the place but I can see how that might disappear.
The house itself is very rustic so be prepared for that. Not sure if it was the time of year but there were a lot of box elder type bugs in the house. Not like they were swarming but also rustic. We were able to sleep more in the house than listed because there was a super basic roll out cot you can use if you bring an air mattress or thick pad. We also brought a cot of our own that there was room for.
We didn't use the fridge or oven but the fridge was running and cool so you can use that. There were a lot of pots, pan, plates, and serving spoons but with no running water, we kept things more simple. Also, lots of paper products I'm guessing people left behind.
Overall, my kids LOVED it! Those that love old buildings will love it for the history and chance to live like they used to. My descriptions are accurate for our experience going mid July and pretty detailed so if it feels like your thing and the rustic feel doesn't bother you, it will be a good fit for you.
Great place to stay if you don't quite want to camp in a tent but still want to be off grid. Its a charming small cabin built during the CCC days. It has propane but no electricity. There's a propane range and a propane fridge inside to use and a concrete fire ring in the back. There's also a small river in the back so be careful with small kids. We took our two girls there ages 3 and 10 months as our first "camping" experience and it was great.
Great cabin, horrible campers in the area. Wasn’t private, and the campers (local or not) made it so I or my family will never camp in the area again. People broke into our cabin, lurked around the area constantly and just overall made us feel completely unsafe staying here. Would not recommended to anyone
This was a really good find. The canyon is beautiful. Very unique rock formations and, with all the rain, everything was lush and green. The stream in the back of the property has fish and there was a small family of ducks. Yay ducklings! The cabin is large enough to sleep six plus a pack-n-play for a baby. There is gas available. Please familiarize yourself on how to use it properly. The folks who stayed ahead of us left the gas on and fortunately there was a smell so we could air the place out before lighting anything. The shared bathroom was better than bringing our own or using the camper. The driveway area was large enough for our 24' camper, truck, and three vehicles. Nice to have them behind a gate. There is a single large picnic table and decent fire ring are in the back. There is also an old clothes line which came in handy.
How do you feel about camping in mouse poop that could give you hantavirus? My husband and I, our friends, and our babies went on a XC ski cabin trip up to Blacksmith Fork Guard Station mid-February 2024. Since it is a guard station our expectations were low but this was FAR below our expectations especially for $79 a night. (See update at the bottom).
Upon arriving, we realized there was so much mouse poop on every horizontal surface we saw. On the counters, table, floor, window seals, counters in the kitchen, on the mattresses, under the mattresses, dresser, fridge, oven range, in kitchen drawers and more. It wasn’t just a small infestation. It was a big one. That wasn’t it, the cleanliness of the place was extremely poor. The fridge and freezer had mold in it.
Before our trip, I called the ranger to ask about the cabin and get more details. We were expecting to use some of the things the ranger said we could use but because of the poor maintenance of the cabin we were not able to. I was told there were propane lights we could use there and instructions on how to use them, upon arrival we read the instructions which said to install a mantle for the light. There was only one mantle in the cabin so we could only have one room lit. Since we had never used propane lights before we did not know they needed mantles and were not informed to bring any if they aren’t provided. I was told there were dishes to use there but they had mouse poop on them (they had butter knives but I don’t think they had spoons/forks). Don’t plan on using their dishes for eating if you go. I was told there would be instructions on how to use everything with propane but there wasn’t any info on how to use the propane fridge. (Which was fine because it was so nasty we just kept our food in the snow outside). I was told the beds are sanitized between guests. I’m not sure how they sanitize them… they did not look clean. They had pet hair, mouse poop, and lots of yellow stains on them. On one mattress, it looked like a human (or dog) had peed on it. In previous pictures it looked like there was a plastic waterproof cover on the mattresses but there was not when we went. There was one unset mouse trap under the kitchen sink, but no other measures to keep the mice out. We understand there are mice in mountain cabins but this was excessive. We had containers to keep our food in and that keep it safe, thankfully. The next morning, there was even more mouse poop in areas we had cleaned up the night before. The mice also got into a closed bag of popcorn left on the counter. It was a challenge to not be able to put the babies down on the ground to move around. It was also hard to keep them clean and away from the mouse poop. I would never have gone especially with our baby if I'd known the state of the cabin.
The good: it was fun to be outside. It snowed so we had fresh snow to play in and get out of the cabin. The furnace kept the place warm (almost too warm in the main room and not quite warm enough in the side bedroom unfortunately) and there was plenty of firewood so we did not have to haul in our own.
If you decide to face the mouse poop, read up on how to properly take care of it (i.e. not sweeping) to avoid getting Hantavirus. We cleaned up and left the cabin better than we found it but it needs a LOT more help. I’m sure mice have taken over already since we left. Please be aware before going. There hasn’t been a review in a while and not many winter reviews so hopefully this will help someone. I took pictures of a lot of it and will include them in my review.
Update: I called the ranger station after getting back and informed them of the issues we had there. They were grateful to know what was going on and said they would get someone up there to fix those issues with the cabin. They said they need to know about that and were grateful I called. The ranger I talked with was very patient and listened to my concerns and addressed them well over the phone call.
