A dark green Toyota pickup with a roof tent parked in tall dry grass as mist closes in.

Forest Service cabin or lookout

Red Bay Lake Cabin

Forest Service cabin or lookout in Tongass National Forest, Prince of Wales-Hyder County, Alaska. 164 feet. 14.7 miles from Whale Pass.

Managed by
Forest Service Tongass National Forest
Elevation
164 ft USGS elevation model, at the mapped point
Sites
1 1 cabin non-electric
Hookups
None listed
Reservations
Recreation.gov

Overview

Red Bay Lake Cabin offers visitors a unique Alaskan lodging experience on Prince of Wales Island. Situated on the northern part of the island, the remote site provides a scenic setting for recreation and relaxation in the Tongass National Forest.

Access to the site is by float plane or a vehicle/hiking/boating combination. Visitors are responsible for their own travel arrangements and safety, and must bring several of their own amenities.

Recreation

Fishing opportunities are abundant in the area surrounding the cabin. The fish most noted include coho, pink, chum, and sockeye salmon, steelhead, cutthroat, and Dolly Varden. The cabin is also an excellent location for sport fishing in the Red Bay Creek drainage.

The cabin provides an aluminum skiff with oars available at the cabin, and guests may choose to bring a long shaft motor for boat use. Guests are responsible for bringing and using their own personal floatation devices.

Red Bay Lake Trail extends from the trailhead on Forest Road #20 to a row boat at the north end of Red Bay Lake, providing visitors an access option other than aircraft. For visitors hiking into Red Bay Lake Cabin, this 3/4 mile trail accesses the row boat that is used to reach the cabin. Rowing across the lake takes approximately 1 hour. The scenic trail is mostly boardwalk and winds between large cedar trees and crossing over a stream.

Facilities

The cabin is a 15 x 17-foot, two-story, log cabin ( pan-abode style ) furnished with a sleeping loft and wooden bunkbeds (without mattresses) that sleep up to eight guests. The cabin is equipped with a table, benches, a wood stove for heat and an outdoor toilet. Other amenities include a cooking counter, shelves, counter space, fire extinguisher, axe, splitting maul and a broom.

The cabin does not have running water or electricity. Guests must bring their own food, water, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, cook stove, stove fuel, fire starter, cooking gear/utensils, light source (lantern), toilet paper, first aid kit and garbage bags.

Firewood may be available, but the supply cannot be guaranteed. Guests are asked to be conservative with wood and use their cook stoves for cooking. Water is available from nearby creeks and lakes, but must be filtered, boiled or chemically treated before drinking. Click here for more cabin details.

Natural Features

The cabin sits on the forested shore of Red Bay Lake. The lake is lined with old-growth spruce, hemlock and cedar trees, with a dense understory of brush and rocky outcroppings. Visible from the cabin, the vertical wall of Red Bay Mountain rises 3,000 feet in elevation along with neighboring limestone peaks.

Wildlife in the area abounds, including loons, eagles, Sitka black-tailed deer and black bears. ( Learn more about bear safety in the Tongass National Forest. )

The description, directions and fees are the Forest Service’s own words, from its record on Recreation.gov.

What people do here

  • boating
  • camping
  • fishing
  • hiking
  • hunting
  • wildlife viewing

The land around Red Bay Lake Cabin

The ringed pin is this cabin or lookout; the others are its nearest neighbours. Switch on forest roads or BLM routes to see the way in.

Interactive map. Drag to pan, scroll or pinch to zoom, and select any point to see which agency manages the land. Arrow keys pan and the plus and minus keys zoom when the map has focus. A list of every state with its share of federal land is on the Explore page.

Map layers

Layers
Base map
Legend

Federal land, by managing agency

  • Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
  • US Forest Service (USFS)
  • National Park Service (NPS)
  • US Fish and Wildlife (USFW)
  • Bureau of Reclamation (USBR)
  • Department Of Defense (DOD)
  • Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
  • Other Federal
  • State
  • Local
  • Alaska Native Lands (Patented or Interim Conveyed)
  • Alaska Native Allotment

Federal campgrounds, by agency

  • Forest Service
  • Bureau of Land Management
  • National Park Service
  • Army Corps of Engineers
  • Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife and others

State and local land (USGS PAD-US)

  • State land
  • County and city land
  • Regional agency or district
  • Land trust or conservancy

Gaps with no tint inside public land are private parcels, often old mining claims and homesteads. They are not open to the public.

Dashed clay lines on the base map are unpaved tracks from OpenStreetMap. They show what exists on the ground, not what is legal to drive.

Select any point to see who manages the land.

Boundaries are approximate and land status changes. This map is a planning aid, not a survey or a statement of access. Confirm routes, closures and camping rules with the managing office.

Source: Recreation Information Database (Recreation.gov), record updated February 25, 2026. Elevation from the USGS 3D Elevation Program. Seasons, fees, water and fire rules change; the managing office has the final word.