Hunters, recreational users and people who just want to enjoy the quiet and lake view should be able to reserve the new U.S. Forest Service cabin at Little Lakes, near the Long Lake trailhead in the middle of Wrangell Island, by this fall.

Construction started in May — a little later than planned, due to heavy snow at the site — and the Forest Service is looking forward to completion by the end of September, Tory Houser, Wrangell District ranger, said last week.

The Áax’w Sáani Cabin — Tlingit for Little Lakes — is the first new public-use cabin built in the district in almost 20 years. The last one was the Middle Ridge Cabin in 2009.

The 16-by-16-foot, pitched-roof two-story yellow cedar cabin will be outfitted with bunks, a woodstove and an expansive covered deck, she said.

The Forest Service will keep the woodstove stocked. “Wood heat is warmer and drier” than burning oil, Houser said, adding, “most people find it a little easier to use.”

Ketchikan-based Coastal Tree Work has the construction contract, with company owner Clark Simpson at the site.

“The project emphasizes using local labor, materials and businesses to support local economies and long-term sustainability,” Houser said.

The cabin site, about 28 miles from downtown Wrangell just off a Forest Service road near the Long Lake Trailhead, has been the Wrangell District’s top priority since it was named in 2023 among potential new cabins in the Tongass National Forest after a yearlong public process.

The cabin is accessible by car or truck in the summer and is hidden from the road by a small hill.

“The foundation is all poured and leveled up,” Houser said of the contractor’s progress on the job as of last week. Floor joists are in place and the walls will be next.

A 300-foot path to connect the cabin to the Long Lake Trail also is complete, she said.

The Áax’w Sáani Cabin is built into the slope, with the back of the cabin at ground level and the front elevated, facing the lake. “You can stand up under the porch,” Houser said.

“I think hunters will use it pretty heavily in the fall,” she said, adding, “we’re hoping it will get four-season use.”

As the opening gets closer, the cabin soon will be listed for reservations at recreation.gov, the website for federal public-use cabins and facilities.

The rental rate has not been set, but the district ranger expects it will be around $45 to $55 a night.

The new facility is part of the Alaska Cabins Project.

“The National Forest Foundation is the Forest Service’s operational partner for the Alaska Cabins Project and is responsible for managing the contracting and administrative support needed to complete cabin construction and repair work efficiently, in coordination with the agency,” Houser said.

The foundation contracted to rebuild the Anan Bay Cabin after it was taken out by a fallen tree in a February 2023 storm. The new cabin opened in August 2024, at a cost of about $525,000, a mix of federal money and foundation funding.

The Forest Service had a budget of $14.4 million for cabin projects in the Tongass and Chugach national forests, using funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law of 2021.