Chelle Lake Cabin
Chelle Lake Cabin is a National Park Service backcountry cabin in the Wrangell-St. Elias backcountry near Mt. Drum, on the east shore of Chelle Lake at about 3,200 ft. It’s a small cabin (24 ft by 36 ft) with four twin-sized wooden bunks that sleep four, plus a woodstove and a kitchen area; there’s also a rustic pit toilet (bring your own toilet paper). The cabin has no running water or plumbing.
Access is by aircraft via an 800' gravel airstrip, with light aircraft taking about 20 minutes from Gulkana to Chelle Lake airstrip; an air taxi can also be arranged. There’s no reservation system—use is first-come, first-served—and the maximum stay is 7 days in a 30-day period. The cabin is surrounded by private land owned by the Ahtna Native Corporation, so crossing onto that land requires a permit; boundaries aren’t clearly marked, so plan to secure permission before hiking or doing extensive exploring. Visitors can gather dead and down wood for firewood, and water is available from Chelle Lake but must be treated and allowed to settle.