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Nestled in a grove of towering old-growth conifer trees, the Government Mineral Springs Guard Station is a delightful setting for guests seeking relaxation and recreation in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.
The Government Mineral Springs area has been a draw to recreation enthusiasts since the early 1900's. In 1910, S.D. Fox and the Star Brewing Company of Portland began construction of a hotel near Trapper Creek, which eventually became known as Government Mineral Springs. The popular resort boasted bath houses, Iron Mike Bubbling Springs, a dance pavilion, store, ice cream parlor, goldfish ponds and flower gardens. Early advertisements for the resort claimed the mineral water spas were capable of curing physical ailments. In 1935, the hotel burned to the ground.
Camping remained popular at the site, and in 1937, the Civilian Conservation Corps significantly expanded and developed the public campground and built the guard station, which was used for Forest Service administration of the campground and other local recreational use. Today, the cabin provides a unique lodging opportunity.
Guests should be aware that during the winter season, the cabin is only accessible via a half-mile trek on skis, snowshoes or snowmobiles from the parking area.
There is no motor vehicle access from the road that leads to the cabin when snow is present on the road. Parking at the snow park is required, and requires a snow park pass. This pass can be purchased at local vendors.
Many recreational opportunities are within close proximity of the Guard Station, including fishing, hiking, biking, mushroom and huckleberry picking, hunting, skiing and snowshoeing.
Nearby fishing opportunities include spring chinook fishing on the Wind River and lake fishing for brown and brook trout in Soda Peaks Lake, in Trapper Creek Wilderness.
A short drive from the cabin is the Falls Creek Falls Trail, a 3.5-mile round-trip hike for the whole family. Accessible year round, the trail follows a forested creek before crossing a suspension bridge, then traverses a side slope which offers views of the creek and interesting rock formations. At the end of the trail is lower Falls Creek Falls, a three-tiered waterfall which drops nearly 250 feet into a pool below the viewpoint.
The two-story cabin can accommodate up to nine guests. The lower floor has a large kitchen with a propane stove, dining room and living room with a table and chairs, fireplace and two futon couches that fold out into double beds. Two upstairs bedrooms can accommodate five guests, with two single beds in one bedroom, and one bunk-bed that sleeps three in a second bedroom. Propane heat, lights and a cooking stove are provided along with wood for the fireplace. Pots, pans, dishes and cooking utensils are provided. A vault toilet is located on site.
There is no potable water at the cabin, and guests are encouraged to bring plenty for drinking, cooking and washing. A stream within 300 feet of the guard station may be used as a water source; however, the water must be treated or boiled before drinking. Melted snow can be used for washing, but is not safe for drinking.
Although the cabin has several amenities, guests do need to provide their own sleeping bags, linens, towels, dish soap, matches, first aid kit, toilet paper and garbage bags. Bringing an additional light source in case of emergencies is also advised.
Trapper Creek Wilderness is within walking distance of the guard station, boasting 6,050 acres of diverse habitat. Cascading streams and waterfalls are plentiful throughout the steep slopes at the lower elevations, while huckleberry fields occur higher near Observation Peak.
Wildlife abounds in the area. Animals commonly seen include black tail deer, Roosevelt elk and black bear. The more elusive cougar, bobcat and pine marten are seen occasionally. Spotted owls, barred owls, pileated woodpeckers and goshawks inhabit the forest treetops.
The guard station is located between Mt. St Helens National Volcanic Monument and the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, convenient for day trips.
From Portland take Interstate 84 east, take Cascade Locks Exit 44 and cross the Bridge of the Gods (toll bridge) to Highway 14 in Washington State. Turn east (right) on Highway 14 and drive 5 miles to the Carson junction with the Wind River Highway. Follow the Wind River Highway through Carson and northwest approximately 14 miles to the Carson National Fish Hatchery. Continue northwest for 1 mile on Forest Road 3065 to the entrance for Government Mineral Springs recreation site. From approximately April 15 to November 1, the cabin is usually accessible by vehicle. During the winter season, the cabin is a half-mile trek by skis, snowshoes or snowmobiles from the parking area. Sno-Park permits are required from December 1 through April 1 for each vehicle. Washington Sno-Park passes are required for Washington State vehicles.
There was constructiom going on at houses by the campsite. Very loud. Not sure why there are houses out there either. You can see the houses from the campsite.
Photos do not give this cabin justice. Such a cozy, accommodating cabin. Enjoyed my stay thoroughly!
As of November 2022
If the cabin had a wish list it would be:
1) matches(ie gas lamps)
2) sponges (new)
3) batteries (AA/AAA)
4) entry mat
5)foot trash can
6) pens
7) all purpose cleaning spray
8) kettle!
9)coffee percolator
Government Mineral Springs Guard Station
February 2023
The fireplace is propane. When we called the ranger station they told us it was wood burning, I can confirm that it is definitely propane. There’s still wood stocked at the cabin, but there’s literally no place to burn wood.
Getting There
Driving there is pretty straightforward, it’s at the end of the road. Make sure you follow the instructions on where to park and get your sno park permit. The gravel road is closed and impassable in winter and you’ll need to walk ½ mile to the cabin. The walk is fairly easy as it’s on a snow covered road and is fairly flat, however you should bring skis or snowshoes. We could see footprints where somebody had attempted to walk and many of their steps plunged down into the snow 12 inches or more. You could also use a snowmobile to get to and from the cabin with your stuff. We used an expedition sled with snowshoes and it worked just fine. Finding the cabin is easy, it’s right on the gravel road.
The paths around the cabin, to the stream to get water, from the road to the cabin and from the cabin to the latrine can get quite icy so bring yak traks to help with traction. We forgot ours but used a ski pole to help with traction. There’s a good snow shovel so we reinforced and created snow stairs to help with getting around the outside of the cabin.
Getting in
Once you get the key out of the lock box use it to open the front door to the living room. The dining room door doesn’t unlock or open at all that we could figure out. Turn the key in the lock clockwise kind of hard, then hold it over while you push down on the door latch to unlock and open the door at the same time. The front door cannot be left unlocked, it will lock when it closes so either immediately go to the back door and unlock it, or leave the key outside where you can get it if you lock yourself out. The back door can be left unlocked so you don’t need to worry about locking yourself out at night when you go to use the latrine.
There is only one key so for the love of God don’t lose it.
Propane
The cabin will smell like propane because the cabin uses propane for lights, fireplace, refrigerator, and stove. It won’t hurt you.
The fireplace is easy to start, just to the right is a thermostat, turn it up to turn on the fireplace. If the pilot light has gone out there are instructions on how to relight it in the fireplace manual. The propane fireplace is new, maybe a year old…? It has the fake log insert so it’s actually very pretty. The only thing that is missing is the pop and crackle of a wood fire, but it’s nice to not have to fiddle around with keeping a fire lit and the mess the wood creates. There’s a box beside the fireplace which still has wood stocked in it, but there’s no use for the wood since you cannot burn it in the fireplace any more.
The lights are easy to light, there’s two in the living room, one in the dining room, one in the kitchen and one by the back door. There are instructions on how to light them by the one in the kitchen. The propane lamps are somewhat dim but create a nice warm glow that’s sufficient to illuminate the room, but you’ll want to bring your own light source that you can move around to where you need it.
The heater in the dining room does not appear to work. My husband is an electrical engineer and took a good look at it and the instructions and was unable to get the pilot light lit. There were written comments about excessive propane smell from it in the past, so after trying to get it started we gave up and switched off the propane to it.. Until the forest service fixes or replaces it, I suggest not using it as it just seems to leak propane into the cabin without creating any heat.
There was a bic lighter and matches on the mantel, but it’s not a bad idea to bring your own. The pilot light in the oven in the kitchen wouldn’t stay lit, so we had to relight it every time. Between the kitchen oven and the fireplace we were able to make the cabin toasty warm.
Bring water! Big sunny kitchen but the lack of running water is an adjustment. The spigot at Mineral Springs camp was dry. The cabin has plenty of seating and 2 big tables, plus a picnic table. It was fairly tidy and cozy with a nice historic Forest Service vibe.
We were originally excited to reserve two nights at what seemed to be an awesome cabin getaway however we were disappointed to say the least. This place was a nightmare. It was filthy, covered in dust and smelled of rodent feces and urination. Not kidding you, there was a massive rodent, not a mouse, living in the floor boards between the first and second floor. This beast of a rodent kept us up all night with loud thuds and scratches as it continually ran, jumped and scratched back and forth across the ceiling. The futons downstairs were so thick with dust that we couldn't breath while trying to sleep and the mattresses upstairs were covered in what looked to be urine stains. I kid you not, we litterally packed our belongings and left as soon as the sun came up and decided to just call it a loss on the second night which was paid for. This place was beyond disgusting and not the wonderful wooden cabin getway we hoped for. Do better USFS.
