Welcome to the Lodge at Black Rapids
Owners, Annie & Mike Hopper along with their children Huckleberry and Katie Marie, began the resurrection of the 7300 square foot timber framed new Lodge at Black Rapids and restoration of the 100 year old roadhouse in 2001 simultaneously. Now the new lodge opens this summer, 2008, and the roadhouse is stabilized against further decay. Our stories are told throughout our web site and have only been made possible due to the support and help of many family members, friends, volunteers, and workers! None of it would be possible without the support and backing of our local Mt. McKinley Bank!
- Reservations
- About the New Lodge
- Scenic Photos
Opening Season: May 20081-877-825-9413 (phone & fax) Use our contact form How to get to the Lodge at Black Rapids (adobe .pdf) Introductory Rates |
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The new Lodge at Black Rapids, is road and air accessible, and located at 227.4 mile on the Richardson Highway, 128 miles south of Fairbanks (2.5 hour drive) on Alaska Highway 2. It is just 38 miles south of Delta Junction. This lodge is approximately a 5 hours drive north east of Anchorage and or/ 40 miles north of Paxson. The Richardson Highway stretches from Fairbanks to Valdez and is one the most pristine and unspoiled scenic highways in the world.
The owners are committed to creating a new tradition of affordable hospitality at the gateway of this most accessible, wild mountain wilderness!
The site where the New Lodge at Black Rapids was built is fondly referred to as “Black Rapids” by Alaskan locals. The area was made famous in 1936 by the Galloping Black Rapids Glacier located west across the Delta River. The glacier once threatened to overtake the historic roadhouse which is located on the road below the new lodge, advancing over 200 feet per day.
Restoration efforts began on the 100 year old “Rapids Roadhouse” and begun its vigil for the next hundred years! The efforts to save this roadhouse and preserve her historical legacy were realized by the Hoppers as was the importance of the history housed all along this historical corridor. The Rapids Roadhouse or commonly known as the Black Rapids Lodge or Black Rapids Hunting Lodge, is over 100 years old and is one of the last remaining original roadhouses on the Valdez to Fairbanks trail.
*A great read about the area and its history can be found in, Alaska’s Wolf Man, The 1915-55 Wilderness Adventures of Frank Glaser, is written by Jim Rearden, and highlights the life of a previous owner, Frank Glaser, while also telling colorful stories about the hunter’s life and characters of the entire area.
Photos © James Barker