Your Host
Iniakuk Lake Wilderness Lodge was started by Bernd and Patricia Gaedeke as they felled cabin logs of local white and black spruce on their honeymoon in 1974. Each log was wrestled down the mountainside by hand, floated 2 miles across the lake, then dragged uphill to where the lodge now stands. There were no horses or electric winches available for the process, but the main log structure was completed the end of that summer.
In those first few years our clients awoke with sawdust in their hair and baked goods were kneaded on a stump outside. There was no electricity and our idea of running water was the nearby inlet.
Times have changed. We now have 24-hour electricity thanks to a state-of-the-art solar power installation. During the summer we have hot and cold running water and cozy bedrooms with views of 5-mile Iniakuk Lake. In the winter we draw water through a hole in the lake ice, crank up the wood stove, bring in portable toilets, stoke the sauna, and heat a separate bathhouse for hot showers.
Your guide is John Gaedeke, the second-generation to guide in the Brooks Range. John was raised at Iniakuk Lake and enjoys continuing the traditions of conservation with an attention to the environment that his family started over 40 years ago.
Enjoying the wilderness is a way of life for John and the staff at Iniakuk Lake Lodge. They take pride in the vast landscape, cozy cabins, happy sled dogs, and the Alaska they call home. Their commitment to your comfort, enjoyment and safety while in the Far North is obvious from the moment you arrive.
Come for a winter dogsledding and aurora viewing trip in February, March and April or during the summer season June through September and you will see their reputation as a premier wilderness destination in Alaska since 1974 is well deserved.
Amenities
We cater specifically to each client – this means individual attention from your personal guide for the duration of your stay. We believe it takes Alaskans to show you Alaska and for over 40 years we have specialized in intimate groups, individual attention and warm hospitality. Our all-inclusive fly-out tours begin and end in Fairbanks so we can take care of the details. We offer fantastic wildlife viewing, fishing, canoeing, birding, hiking, float trips, legendary meals and private cabins inside Gates of the Arctic National Park.
INDIVIDUAL ATTENTION
Have an Entire Lodge to Yourself
From the moment your plane touches down at Iniakuk Lake you will notice a change in the pace of life. The mountains of the Brooks Range will tower around you while the clean waters of Iniakuk Lake lap at your feet.
You will have the entire lodge to yourself during your stay and nothing will come between you and the surrounding panoramic views.
This also means the schedule is entirely yours. We can stay up to see the midnight sun in July while we hike a ridge or float in a canoe. We can bundle up at 2am in March as the aurora dances across the night sky, or we can harness the huskies for a sled ride by the light of a full moon.
There is no other wilderness like the Brooks Range in the world. So much wild country without roads or people will simply stun your senses. The power and beauty of such a raw landscape is restorative and transforming and we are proud of the way in which our tours, lodging and amenities integrate with the surroundings.
ROUGH IT IN COMFORT
Hand Crafted Alaskan Luxury
Iniakuk Lake Wilderness Lodge is 100% owner operated. We built it, we own it, we maintain it, and we love it. When you come to the Brooks Range you are leaving roads, tour buses, box stores and rush hour behind.
Logistically it is similar to landing on the moon. Nothing is close by or convenient, so we have to think of everything, and we have.
Enjoy hot and cold running water, 24 hour electricity and satellite internet. The cabins are warm, clean and cozy. Each one has been chainsawed from local timber and put together by hand. We dig our own wells, pump our own water and maintain a small solar grid of power in the middle of nowhere.
We are familiar with every bolt, splinter, window and bedpost, because we built it ourselves and are proud to share it with you. Every corner has a story and you are welcome to ask us about anything as you rough it in comfort, 60 miles (100km) north of the Arctic Circle.
HOME COOKED MEALS
Local Ingredients & Freshly Baked Bread
Wake up in the morning to sourdough blueberry pancakes and hot coffee by the wood stove, while the aroma of fresh baked bread drifts in from the open kitchen. Iniakuk Lake Wilderness Lodge has a well-deserved reputation for serving delicious meals that will start your day off right and continue through dinner. We often pack lunches for day flights and hikes in the summer, or heat up a big pot of stew by an open fire along the trail in the winter when we take a break from mushing dogs.
We send out a questionnaire with each booking covering any dietary restrictions, concerns or dislikes you may have well in advance. Everything coming out of our kitchen is fresh. Our meals are served family style, in a dining area with an expansive view of the surrounding peaks and Iniakuk Lake. The open kitchen and communal mealtimes mean we get to talk, tell stories, recap the days’ adventures, and learn about the country in a relaxed environment.
This is luxury in the Far North, and with endless mountains in all directions, it’s important that your food is every bit as good as the view.
NATIONAL PARK INHOLDINGS
Local Access to Protected Lands
Iniakuk Lake Wilderness Lodge began in the Brooks Range as Alatna Guide Service. Back then we were just a few wall tents on flat ground in the late 1960’s and early 70’s. As the business grew we surveyed a few acres, built a few cabins, the main lodge in 1974, and then, in 1980, Gates of the Arctic National Park was established.
As prior inholders we retain the rights to our land and cabins now inside the National Park as well as our ability to watch caribou from the porch of our Caribou Cabin at the headwaters of the Alatna River. If the weather turns, we can duck inside and sit by the wood stove, out of the elements but still able to watch the animals go by, well north of the Arctic Circle on top of the Continental Divide
We can also run expedition style dog sled trips in March to reach our Arrigetch Peaks Wilderness Cabin, another inholding, about 30 miles north of Iniakuk Lodge. The cabin is a great destination for float trips in the summer along the meandering Class I Alatna River. Large picture windows and a wood stove once again provide comfort on the inside, while enjoying the wild outside.
Adventure Options
Winter or Summer, experience customized,
all-inclusive, luxury in the Far North..
Summer in the Brooks Range means the sun never sets.
The early morning mist on Iniakuk Lake looks best from the seat of a canoe. Explore a few coves and inlets before breakfast or head out later in the day and enjoy a shoreline lunch. We have both aluminum and fiberglass canoes available any time for your paddling pleasure and are happy to provide lessons as well.
Clients staying in the two bedroom Guest Suite on Iniakuk Lake are about 3 paddle strokes from the main lodge and must commute across the inlet to breakfast or call over for a ferry ride.
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Depending on your itinerary, you can spend your days cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and dog sledding, and your nights chasing the Northern Lights, or you may choose to sit by the wood fire and enjoy the incredible peace and quiet of winter wilderness. Each trip is customized and after more than 40 years in the Brooks Range, we know what it takes to have a good time.
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Your trip starts in Fairbanks and we take care of everything and bring you back to Fairbanks. Actually, if you want to start somewhere else we can take care of that too. Your flights, meals, guides, fishing licenses, boats, gear, dog team, food- all included. The only things that are not included are specialty clothing items, (we will send you a list) and alcoholic beverages (but you are welcome to bring your own, no corkage fees). You let us know about your likes, dislikes and dietary restrictions, and we take care of the rest..
Our Partners
We work with some great local Alaskan businesses. Those listed here provide us with air charters, dog teams, custom boats, photography, hand made dog sleds and remote logistics.
