Virginia Lake Cabin

Virginia Lake Cabin is a short floatplane ride from Wrangell, Alaska, making it a popular destination for a remote getaway on a scenic lake. It is 10 miles east of Wrangell on the mainland above Eastern Passage, and the area around the lake provides opportunities for fishing, hunting, paddling and hiking. The site can be accessed by float plane, depending on conditions, or by portaging and paddling watercraft. Anglers can fish for cutthroat trout and Dolly Varden from May to October and sockeye salmon in August and September. A 14-foot skiff with oars is provided at the cabin, but visitors must supply their own flotation devices and ensure the skiff is secured before leaving. Hunting is possible in the area with the proper permits. The 0.9-mile Mill Creek Trail can be reached by paddling across the lake to the outlet; trail users can see evidence of past mining and an old sawmill, and can access fishing in Mill Creek. Alternate access to the cabin from the saltwater at Eastern Passage is by portaging watercraft over this trail; there is no developed trail from the end of Mill Creek Trail at the lake outlet to the cabin. The original cabin (pan-abode style) was built in 1965 and is 12 by 14, but it was modified in the mid-1990s to make it wheelchair accessible and add a 10-by-8 addition. It features a wheelchair-friendly deck that wraps around two sides of the cabin and a walkway between the cabin and the outhouse. The cabin sleeps eight people with three single bunks and two double bunks with trundles, and has a table and benches, broom, both a wood stove and oil stove (No. 1 oil required) for heat, and a campfire ring. Note that the cabin is only wheelchair accessible when the seasonal floatplane dock is in the lake. Water and electricity are not provided; water from the stream behind the cabin must be treated, and bringing your own is recommended. Cooking facilities are not available. Visitors provide their own firewood or No. 1 stove oil, bedding, a cook stove and cookware, lighting and food, and pack out trash and clean the cabin before leaving. The cabin sits on relatively flat land with some large meadows near Porterfield Creek, about a quarter-mile away. The surrounding rainforest is primarily Sitka spruce and western hemlock with some cedar, steep mountains surround portions of the lake, and a sandy beach is located in front of the cabin. This area is home to brown and black bears, and moose also make their home here.