The six yurt-style shelters currently being used in the park have become popular, and park employees anticipate the additional temporary cabins easily will be filled.
“We saw there was a need for three more at least,” said Jack Sinclair, park superintendent. “Our public use cabin system has been very popular.”
Locations for the additional temporary cabins carefully have been planned so other users, such as campers, are not displaced, Sinclair said.
“We’ll put these in areas that don’t have established uses,” he said.
The three additional cabins will be erected at sites along the northern shore of the park.
The yurt-style cabin currently in use in the park is built on wooden platforms and removed each winter.
“It doesn’t put a permanent footprint in the park,” he said. “There’s plenty of room for these kind of things to be fit in there.”
The cabins are maintained and put up by a private contractor. With the addition of the cabins, a new contract will be awarded for all nine of the cabin sites, including the six already in use. The new contract could continue to erect yurt-style cabins, but alternative temporary cabin ideas also will be considered.
“It could be a yurt, or it could be something we haven’t thought of,” Sinclair said. “We haven’t made a determination on that, that’s the only structure that works.” However, the proposed cabins must be ecologically sound. And if after the three additional cabins are erected they are found to be ecologically sound and facilitate the use of the park well, the addition of even more cabins may be considered.
Sinclair said unlike permanent cabins, the temporary cabins have a small ecological footprint. And should the park ever decide to no longer use a temporary cabin site, it easily can be returned to its natural state.
The cabins are set up by May 15 each year and removed by Sept. 30 to avoid damage by snow and other environmental factors.
The cabins are available for reservation for $65 per night.
The Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation will accept proposals for the construction of the nine temporary rental cabins until 3 p.m. April 7. Proposals may be sent to P.O. Box 1247 Soldotna, AK 99669. For more information visit www.alaskastateparks.org or call Sinclair at 262-5581.
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