Crandall Creek Cabin

A historic cabin known as Bennett Creek Cabin stood over a mile from this site, but it was recently replaced with the current Crandall Creek Cabin, a traditional log structure. The cabin offers rustic accommodations with limited amenities, so guests should be prepared to bring most of the supplies and gear they need for a comfortable stay. Access is via a semi-primitive dirt road, and four-wheel drive is suggested on that road from June 16 to Dec. 1. Guests who arrive after Dec. 1 must reach the cabin by hiking, snowshoeing, skiing or snowmobiling seven miles from the end of the plowed road. No off-road vehicles or motorcycles are allowed beyond the Shields River Loop gate from Dec. 2 to June 15. Guests are responsible for their own travel arrangements and safety. Activities in the area include hiking, mountain biking, birding, hunting and horseback riding, and during the summer months ATVs and motorcycles may be used on the main roads if street legal. Winter activities include snowshoeing, snowmobiling and cross-country skiing. Excellent fishing is available in the nearby creeks, and hunting is a popular pastime each fall. The cabin sleeps up to six people on three bunk beds with mattresses. A table with benches, a wood stove for heat, a propane lantern and a propane two-burner cookstove are provided, along with a table to set up the camp stove, a mop and bucket for cleaning, and an axe and splitting maul. Both the cabin and the adjacent vault toilet are wheelchair accessible, and there is a campfire ring and picnic table outside. No water, electricity or propane canisters are provided: guests need to bring their own water supply, propane canisters or battery-operated lanterns or flashlights, plus bedding, matches, toilet paper, a first aid kit, cookware, dishes, utensils, and newspaper for starting the woodstove. Firewood is available during winter months as long as supplies last, but is not available from June 1 through September 30 — bring firewood or gather it from the forest during the summer, and never burn the provided firewood for outdoor fires, as it is extremely difficult to replace. A stock corral is provided for four animals, and must be cleaned before leaving if used; feed must be Certified Weed Seed Free, out-of-state horses must have a current Coggins test, and water for horses can be obtained from a creek nearby. Crandall Creek Cabin is tucked beneath the foothills of the Crazy Mountains at an elevation of approximately 6,400 feet, near several creeks and the Shields River. The front porch offers a majestic view of Target Rock and spectacular star gazing on a clear night. The area is home to bears, elk, deer and moose, among other wildlife, and birders may spot a variety of birds.