Roadtrippin’: Sleep in an Alaska log cabin

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - With the intention of checking “sleeping in a log cabin” off their bucket list, the Alaska’s News Source Roadtrippin’ crew headed to a place just outside of Fairbanks proper — Taste of Alaska Lodge.

Owner Kory Eberhardt meets them for a walk around of the property, which was originally homesteaded by his grandfather in 1948.

“We were originally 160 acres, then they bought on 120 more, my parents,” Eberhardt explained. “To keep the lodge separate from my grandfather’s original homestead.”

The property now has several buildings including the original homestead, Eberhardt’s childhood home, three log cabins and the main lodge.

To be clear, the lodge is less of a “log cabin” and more of a “log structure.”

“All these logs cut right from the property, all peeled by my dad and grandfather,” Eberhardt said.

In fact, every building on the property is made of local trees. They even have a small sawmill to turn the trees into lumber.

While the structure might have been built by Eberhardt’s father and grandfather, the inside was decorated by his mother, Debbie.

“Debbie is the collector,” Eberhardt said. “I always call her the hoarder with a place to put it. I think that’s a compliment.”

The walls are lined with collected bottles and found treasures.

“This is one of her goals,” Eberhardt said. “She loves collectibles, loves things that bring back memories, and have story, so we’re all about little stories here.”

One thing you won’t find in the lodge are family photos. That was a deliberate choice by Eberhardt’s parents.

“They wanted people to feel memories of their own home or grandma’s home,” he said.

Though rooted in history, Eberhardt and his family still looking to the future and teaching the next generation.

“I have a nephew, my older sister’s son,” Eberhardt said. “Him and my dad just started peeling logs above the lodge and he’s going to build a little cabin.”

Many of their guests visit during the winter to view the northern lights, and Eberhardt plans to finish a new log cabin this summer that will be used as a welcome warming hut for the adventurous aurora watcher.

“I always tell people if the lights are out, even if it’s 40 below, you’ve got to be outside to truly experience them, hear the crunch of the snow, feel the cold breath and know you’re working for it,” Eberhardt said.

Within the lodge and the other cabins, there are 12 rooms total and each as a special aurora alert. If the aurora is out, and someone is awake to see it, Eberhardt can trigger the alert in all the rooms with the touch of a button and a spoken word.

“I’m up most popular aurora nights and from there I can yell into my phone or my watch and notify guests here, all at once, so if we have a sold out house, all 12 rooms get a notification,” Eberhardt said.

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