Hatcher Pass Lodge-Alaskan Weekend Getaway

I have always wanted to spend a few nights at a backcountry lodge/hut in Alaska but I always get a bit intimidated planning too far in advance since winter weather is never predictable. I finally found the perfect happy medium: Hatcher Pass Lodge! This is a drive-up “backcountry” lodge made up of several small huts, a sauna house, and a cozy main lodge where meals are served and you are welcome to hang out for hours. The lodge is at the base of an absolute wonderland for backcountry skiing & riding. The lodge sits above treeline, and therefore, there are plenty of routes to take up from the lodge.

My friend and I went up in March of 2025 for my annual birthday weekend trip. I have been doing this annual weekend trip in Alaska for three years now and I feel like every year I keep topping the last. We spent two nights at Hatcher Pass Lodge, getting in on Friday and leaving Monday afternoon. Here is how we spent the most perfect weekend, and a few tweaks I plan to make for next time!

General Hatcher Pass info:

• Meals: Meals are at very specific times BUT are amazing!! It's cozy food like pie and ice cream, pancakes and sausage (my favorite meal we had while there), and loaded baked potatoes. Perfect to warm up after spending a cold day skiing! Oh, and most importantly, there is free coffee all day for lodge guests. We ate almost all our meals in the lodge but if I go back, I would eat breakfast there, 1-2 dinners, and bring sandwich items for lunch.

• Sauna: This is by reservation the night before, but I don’t think the slots ever filled up while we were there. You get an hour of the sauna and cold plunge to yourself, for free!!

• Backcountry skiing: The main activity at the lodge is backcountry skiing, as many routes leave from the lodge/parking lot area.

• Other activities: Don’t worry if you don’t backcountry ski! We didn’t while we were there and there are PLENTY of other activities, such as:

  • cross-country skiing (we secured rentals at REI in Anchorage after landing there)

  • hiking! Probably best in late winter/early spring but many of the summer roads around make great hiking trails up to the old mining town above the lodge and on other nearby cross-country skiing routes

  • sledding (also byo)

  • relaxing! Bring a book, utilize the puzzles and games in the lodge, etc. This is a BEAUTIFUL location to relax with a view and cup of coffee, either in the lodge or in your hut!

Day 1: Arrival

It is best to fly into Anchorage for this trip and rent a car from there. The drive took about 70 minutes and was extremely scenic. You can eat all your meals at the lodge, but they are a little pricey, so I would recommend grabbing a takeout pizza for dinner at Hatcher Pass Pizza in Fishhook (about 20 min before you reach the lodge) and eating at the lodge once you check in! We didn’t do this and really wished we had! The lodge menu is GREAT but is a bit limited so if you are spending several nights there, it also helps you not get tired of the menu.

After dinner, take a walk around the grounds and spend a cozy night in your hut hoping the northern lights make an appearance!

Day 2: Full Day at the Lodge

Running back down from the mining "town" above the lodge.

Although you can bring your own food to the hut (with proper food storage), I HIGHLY recommend eating breakfast at least once in the main lodge. The pancakes and sausage were INCREDIBLE and I couldn’t wait to eat them each morning. After breakfast, we took our rental cross country gear down to a nearby trail and attempted to cross country ski for the first time. Let me just say that we were NOT naturals, but it was still really fun and a great morning spent outside.

We went back to the lodge for lunch, then spent a few hours reading and drinking coffee at the beautiful large window in the lodge common area. After that, we were ready for a walk up to the old mining town above the lodge to make some room for dinner. This is a great little 1-2 mile walk with a nice, slight grade to get your blood pumping.

We had dinner at the lodge and then went to our first sauna reservation! It was fabulous to have the sauna house all to ourselves. Each reservation slot is free and is for an hour for your group. There is a changing room inside so you can dress warm for your walk and change once you get down to the sauna hut. There is a small cold plunge area on the backside of the sauna, which provides the peaceful sounds of a river both while you cold plunge and while you sit in the sauna.

Our unfortunate attempt at cross-country skiing (Lindsey was much better than I was).

Pro Tip: There is not a window in the sauna room itself, so don’t plan to try to watch the sunset or northern lights from the sauna like we did! Watch the sunset and THEN go to the sauna.

Once we were nice and calm and sleepy from the sauna, it was off to bed! We went back to our hut and watched a movie on my laptop while knitting and got to sleep early (our favorite).

Day 3: A Little Outing

After another rave-worthy (or maybe my vacation goggles were on) breakfast at the lodge, we hiked back up to the mining town and ran down to the lodge to get in a little bit of movement for the morning. Afterwards, we warmed up in the main lodge with some coffee.

We started to feel a little stir crazy so we drove down to the town of Palmer for a little outing and to find a latte. We went to the cutest little coffee shop, Vagabond Blues, and ate lunch there as well. We were there for a few hours, me reading and Lindsey doing some homework, before exploring the town a bit. There is a nice little walking trail, a book store, and some cute little shops to poke around in.

In the late afternoon, we went back up to Hatcher Pass and found a puzzle at the main lodge to work on for a bit so we could enjoy the view while keeping warm. We again ate dinner at the lodge, this time getting their famous pie and ice cream for dessert (it was unreal), before having another sauna session.

If you hadn’t guessed already, we had MORE cozy time knitting, reading, and watching a movie back at our hut. This was the night that was predicted to have clear skies and a better chance of the northern lights so after going to bed, we each woke up a few times to check the sky, but unfortunately, no aurora for us!

Day 4: traveling home

We both woke up a little tired of the lodge food and ready for some morning espresso so we packed up early and ran down to Anchorage for breakfast. We both LOVE spending time in Anchorage (I think we have been there together 3-4 times now). Anyways, we went to Dark Horse for a breakfast of pastries and a iced Biscoff lattes (I still dream about this latte 6 months later). Afterwards, we dropped off our rental skis at REI, did some shopping (this REI has a GREAT garage sale section) at REI and a nearby used gear store, The Hoarding Marmot, then went off to the airport to catch our flight home.

All in all, Hatcher Pass Lodge is a fabulous stay for the avid backcountry skier and avid relaxer alike. While we spent this trip heavily relaxing (I had run an 80km trail race the weekend before), I would definitely go back and see the landscape properly on my splitboard!

A note about the hut bathrooms/showers: The huts do not have their own showers, you have to shower in the main lodge. They do have their own toilets, but FYI they are composting toilets so make sure to take care and follow the instructions on their use.

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If you are interested in travel advising or a custom trip itinerary, contact me at lauren.jones3@fora.travel or the submission box at the bottom of this page!