Visit Upper Twin Lakes and Proenneke's Cabin

A Home in the Wilderness

Step into the home of one of Alaska's foremost wilderness icons, Richard L. Proenneke, who built his cabin by hand using his own clever innovations. Located on the south shore of Upper Twin Lake, Proenneke's wilderness home showcases his remarkable craftsmanship and reflects his unshakeable wilderness ethic. This page provides the information you need to plan your trip.

 

Richard Proenneke's home on Upper Twin Lake is a popular destination for visitors to the park.

NPS Photo / Kent Miller

 

In the distance, a plane lands at Upper Twin Lake for a Proenneke Cabin tour led by onsite backcountry rangers. The cabin is in a remote location, surrounded by breathtaking scenery.

NPS/K. Lewandowski

Getting to Upper Twin

Flying to the Proenneke Cabin
Landing gear: Floats
Dick Proenneke's cabin is located in a roadless wilderness, so unless they are backpacking from other locations in the park, visitors arrive by small planes that land on Upper Twin Lake. There are no suitable beaches or runways for wheeled planes, so visitors traveling in the summer will need a plane that operates on floats. Winter landings can take place on wheels, skis, or wheeled-skis depending on the snow and ice conditions. The flight from Anchorage is just over an hour. The flight from Port Alsworth is typically 30 minutes. Site staff have air to ground radios on the local area frequency 122.9.

Air taxi prices depend on group size, type of airplane, length of flight, and where the flight originates. Contact each air taxi operator directly to determine availability and the cost for your trip.

The linked air taxi operators are permitted to operate within the national park under FAA Part 135 air taxi regulations which require three miles visibility and glide distance to shorelines while crossing open water such as Cook Inlet. There are also guide services permitted to guide in the park who fly aircraft, land outside the park and walk into the park for guiding purposes. Those guides operate under FAA part 91 regulations which have lower safety visibility and glide distance requirements.

Latitude/Longitude
Approximately 60° 38' 54.64"N 153° 48' 47.195''W
Located on Upper Twin's south shore immediately up-lake of the Hope Creek delta, the Proenneke cabin is easy to spot from the air, as it is the only cabin on the lake flying an American flag.

 

Park rangers and volunteers lead tours of the Proenneke Cabin in summer.

NPS/T. Vaughn

Operating Hours and Seasons

The Cabin

Late May - End of August
The Proenneke Cabin is open to the public daily during the summer months from 9 AM to 7 PM.

September
Due to diminishing daylight, the Proenneke Cabin is open to the public daily during September from 9 AM to 6 PM.

Late September - Late May
The Proenneke Cabin is locked during the winter months. You may explore the area year round, but may only enter the cabin in the summer months. The spring opening date of the historic cabin is tentative due to ice melt.

Camping

April 15 - September 30
The Twin Lakes area is one of the busiest camping and backpacking areas in the park. For this reason, between April 15 and September 30 camping within two miles of Upper or Lower Twin Lakes is limited to a total of 21 days and camping at Hope Creek Campsite is limited to a total of 14 days. There are no time restrictions October 1 - April 14.

 

Discover why Proenneke loved the Twin Lakes area by taking a trip into the wilderness.

NPS/K. Lewandowski

Backpacking and Camping

Backpacking
Extend your stay by venturing further into the wilderness surrounding Twin Lakes. There are options for several backpacking trips that begin or end at the cabin. Please follow Leave No Trace ethics when choosing a campsite and be aware of the following regulations.

Camping within two miles of Upper or Lower Twin Lakes is limited to a total of 21 days.

Camping within the National Historic Register boundaries and sleeping in or occupying the cabin, cache, or woodshed is prohibited by law.

Bear resistant food containers (BRCs) are required when camping within half a mile of the shoreline along Upper and Lower Twin Lake or in any location where food cannot be hung at least ten feet above the ground and four feet horizontally from a post, tree trunk, or other object on a line or branch that will not support a bear’s weight. Trees large enough to properly hang food are rare in this area; therefore, we highly recommend that all campers not staying at Hope Creek campsite bring enough BRCs to store all food, garbage, harvested fish, and other scented items. BRCs may be borrowed from the visitor center in Port Alsworth or rented from a variety of outdoor gear shops in Anchorage.

 

Alaska's Different

Backpacking in Alaska

 

Camp at the Hope Creek Campsite
A few hardened tent sites are available for overnight camping on a first come, first served basis across Hope Creek from the Proenneke cabin. The area is intended for sharing with other groups. Camping at the Hope Creek campsite is limited to a total of 14 days. To prevent public health hazards, campers should utilize the "outcan" provided at the site instead of digging cat holes nearby. All food, garbage, harvested fish, and other scented items must be stored in the bear-proof food lockers provided on site. Be prepared for a creek crossing to access the Proenneke cabin from the camping area. As with any river, Hope Creek may not be passable if flooding due to heavy rainfall or at the peak of spring breakup.

Lodging and Guided Camping Trips
Windsong Wilderness Retreat rents a private cabin on the opposite shore of Upper Twin Lake. Several licensed commercial outfitters rent backpacking, kayaking, and other outdoor equipment and/or specialize in guiding day-long and overnight trips to the Twin Lakes area.

Click the link above to see a list of all the companies that are permitted to operate in the park. Contact each company directly to determine the cost for your trip.

 

A ranger works on the exposed cabin roof in 2017. While the park has ongoing work at Upper Twin, protecting a cabin in a remote wilderness takes everyone's help.

NPS/L. Rupp

Protecting a Treasure

Help us protect Dick Proenneke's cabin so that generations of visitors will be able to experience what it has to offer.

Leave everything you find behind. Removal of artifacts from public land is prohibited by law.

Please stay on the trails. The tundra is fragile. Even Dick Proenneke admonished his guests to stay on his trails to protect the vegetation.

Be gentle with the door. The handcrafted door mechanisms are fragile and have been repaired.

Camp at the Hope Creek campsite or on other durable surfaces in the Twin Lakes area so that others may also enjoy the cabin. Camping within the National Historic Register boundaries and sleeping in or occupying the cabin, cache, or woodshed is prohibited by law (36CFR13.126).

Build fires in the fire ring at the Hope Creek campsite or use personal camp cook stove outside. Fires are not allowed in the stove, fireplace, or any other location within cabin or other historic structures.

Eat and prepare food outside. In order to maintain the integrity of the historical items in the cabin and other structures, we ask that you please cook and eat outside. Many visitors enjoy the view from the beach in front of Proenneke's cabin during their lunch break.

Report any damage or suspected violation to the National Park Service at [phone]. Damage to the site including the structures, furnishings, and fixtures is prohibited by law (36CFR2.1).Thank you for your assistance!

 

Staying Safe
There are a few amenities and regulations at the Proenneke site designed for your safety.

• Attend your food. If you have any food with you, you must keep it packed out of site and in your possession at all times or stored in an approved bear-resistant food container. Bear-proof food lockers are located near the Proenneke cabin and at the Hope Creek Campsite for your convenience.
• Secure your fish in an approved bear-resistant container as soon as you catch it.
• A pit toilet is available down a trail behind the Proenneke cabin. Follow the fork to the left. In addition, there is an "outcan" located at the Hope Creek campsite across Hope Creek. To avoid public health hazards, please utilize these facilities when visiting the National Historic Site instead of digging cat holes.
• Rangers and Volunteers are housed nearby late May to late September. Staff have air to ground radios on the local area frequency 122.9.
• State of Alaska Fishing Regulations apply to all anglers in Lake Clark National Park and Preserve.