The Location
SUPERBLY SITUATED above treeline at 3,000 feet in the Talkeetna Mountains, Hatcher Pass Lodge offers overnight guests and day visitors alike the full spectrum of outdoor experience in Alaska.
A private cabin in a gentle glacier-sculpted valley becomes your springboard to a world of exploration amid stunning mountain vistas. Here you can hike to alpine lakes and high tundra meadows to smell wildflowers and pick berries. Hear marmots and ground squirrels announce your presence as eagles and falcons soar above the granite ridges.
Hiking from Hatcher Pass Lodge to the remains of the mill at Independence Mine, Box Lake, and Skyscraper Mountain add to the attraction of this awe inspiring area.
Historic Gold Country
In 1906, Robert L. Hatcher staked and filed the first hard rock gold claim opening one of the richest chapters in Alaska mining history lasting until 1953 when Independence Mine was finally closed. The Hatcher Pass Lodge is situated on a private inholding within the 761-acre Independence Mine State Historical Park.
During a backcountry ski trip while in the army, Karl “Hap” Wurlitzer dreamed of opening a ski mountain in the Talkeetnas. Hap researched and eventually filed to homestead 10 acres at Hatcher Pass in 1963, to begin his dream to create an Alaska adventure lodge, serving the local community as well as travelers from across the world. Hap, along with some army friends started building in 1967 and have been adding to it ever since.
While Hap passed away in 2020, Hap’s vision to be a premier remote adventure lodge, serving locals and visitors alike, continues.
In the late 1970’s, the Independence Mine State Historical Park was established, where today, guides lead walking tours among its romantic old buildings.
Because of its advantageous location – 60 road miles north of Anchorage, four hours from the Alaska Range and Denali National Park, above the heart of the Matanuska – Susitna Valley – Hatcher Pass is a convenient base for visiting some of the most renowned attractions in Southcentral Alaska
The Lodge & Restaurant
Stay near the lodge and soak up the tranquility of some of the most beautiful mountain scenery in the world; it’s just outside the big picture windows. Read a book. Play chess. Relax and enjoy the lodge’s famous easy going hospitality. Don’t forget the steaming sauna is over the creek, just down the path from the lodge.
Hatcher Pass Lodge serves lunch and dinner – A hearty menu featuring fondue, smoked halibut and homemade soups. Breakfast is also available to cabin guests with a continental menu featuring hot cakes, warm maple syrup, omelets and more. On the drink menu at the bar, you will find a unique selection of gourmet beers, wine and hot specialty drinks including Hot Buttered Rum and The Hatcher Pass Steamer.
The Cabins
Hatcher Pass Lodge cabins have incredible 5-star views and adventures, but please be advised that this is a rustic Alaskan lodge! All cabins are Alaskan style dry cabins and all are not the same. Loft access requires climbing ladders. Please pick a cabin that suits your needs.