Throughout the summer of 2020, I slowly but surely explored a number of Alaska State Park cabins, especially those in the northern region of the state. This particular adventure took us to Quartz Lake!
Originally I had hoped to have a nice long weekend out and about, but then life happened. Work things, friends having a BBQ that we just had to stop by at…you know how it goes! Best laid plans, right? So our long weekend turned into a quick overnight getaway. Thankfully since this trip started from Fairbanks, it was only about an hour and a half drive once we finally got on the road!
When we made it out to Quartz Lake, we started unloading our gear and all of the glamping goodies. I had planned to backpack most of the gear in and brough kayaks, but opted instead to rent a boat when we discovered Quartz Lake Boat Rental (https://www.quartzlakeboatrental.com/) upon arrival. Their shop and dock are nestled in at the head of the trail you take to get to the Glatfelder Cabin.
Just a heads up- the cabin isn’t visible from the water, so it’s a little tricky to figure out where you’re headed if you haven’t been before! There is a tiny landing area right below the cabin, but it’s unmarked and someone had pitched a tent to camp there, so we were hesitant to intrude until we realized it was the spot we needed. My advice: send someone on foot (in bright colors!) to wave down your boat counterpart.
Once we had settled in a bit we headed back out onto the water! Quartz Lake is stocked with Rainbow Trout and we were thankful to enjoy a beautiful sunset from the boat as we were fishing. We had a great evening and caught quite a few nice sized Rainbows.
The next morning after breakfast we headed out for a little more time on the water. More rainbows and lots of lilypads- I absolutely love their little yellow blooms. Even though the trip was a little shorter than I had originally hoped for and we didn’t do quite as much exploring as we would have liked, it was a great time. The people who had been tent camping near the cabin mentioned a hike nearby that I’d like to check out, and the couple that owns the boat rental also own a lodge that we’d love to visit. I am excited to check out Quartz Lake again in the future, hopefully in the winter for some skiing and ice fishing!
