Susitna Adventure Lodge seems made for iconic Alaska travel experiences.
New in 2023, the 75-acre Denali Highway property has activities that read like a checklist of Great Land highlights. Summer guests might pan for gold, fish for grayling or explore old mining trails by all-terrain vehicle. They can paddleboard, canoe, hike, watch Arctic birds and spot the occasional bear or moose, too.
The lodge’s winter excursions include ice fishing, snowmobiling, snowshoeing and northern lights viewing.
Regardless of the season, the most popular experience is spending time with the property’s sled dogs. Cart rides, sled trips and hands-on mushing outings are just the start.
“If people are interested, the dogs can come into the lodge and hang out. Some people want a buddy to sleep with at night. We’ve got dogs that can do that,” said Cody Strathe, who operates Susitna Adventure Lodge with his wife, Paige Drobny. “People are surprised by how friendly the dogs are and how they’re incredible working athletes. They’re also basically pets and family.”
North to Alaska
A fisheries biologist by trade, Drobny worked a related summer 2001 job in Glennallen and moved from Colorado to Seward in 2004. Strathe, who studied archaeology, was a summer guide on the Kenai Peninsula before moving from Wisconsin to Seward that same year. The two met there and later relocated to Fairbanks.
They started dog mushing after Strathe built Drobny a sled as a gift. They had two dogs at the time.
“He went to visit his dad after Christmas. I went to the shelter and got three dogs before he came back,” said Drobny, who started taking the team on short runs. “By the end of that first winter, we had 13 dogs.”
Drobny is running her ninth Iditarod this month; Strathe has run the race four times. Before opening Susitna Adventure Lodge, they co-founded Squid Acres Kennel 55 miles to the west, in Cantwell. Mushing tours and multiday adventures depart from both locations.
Roadhouse roots
The pair first spotted the lodge property 15 years ago. They didn’t have the budget to buy at the time, but they were dazzled by the setting and the rustic 1950s roadhouse originally built to serve seasonal Denali Highway travelers. Back then, the highway offered the only road access into Denali National Park. (The Parks Highway between Anchorage and Fairbanks wasn’t completed until 1971.) The roadhouse and remote hunting lodge closed in the 1980s and sat vacant for years.
When they saw a 2019 real estate listing for the property, Drobny and Strathe purchased it and started planning.
“We’d built three or four houses and shops before we moved here,” Drobny said. “This property fit all our skills, between the building we could do, the area for dog mushing and the chance to do tours and take people out to enjoy Alaska the way that we have for a long time.”
Experience Alaska like a local
Drobny and Strathe contact guests before check-in to outline interests and activities. That customized approach appeals to travelers ranging from young families to backcountry explorers and vacationers interested in a low-key, one-of-a-kind experience.
“The target audience is the person who wants to get off of the cruise ship, get out of the crowds and see the real Alaska,” Drobny said.
That like-a-local experience starts with arrivals. Depending on the season, travelers might take the Alaska Railroad to Cantwell or Denali and meet lodge representatives. In the winter, when the Denali Highway isn’t regularly plowed, staffers transport guests in a full-size SUV on tracks. Other travelers arrive by plane — ski, float or wheeled — and summer visitors can also drive in.
Susitna Adventure Lodge bundles rooms, meals and guided daily activities into an all-inclusive rate with a three-night minimum.
Guests stay in two newly built three-bedroom, two-bathroom, solar-powered log homes with full kitchen, living and sleeping areas. Bedrooms face north to accommodate aurora viewing, while bathrooms have custom mosaics with lake and mountain scenes. Picture windows, spotting scopes and deck seats present prime views of the Alaska Range and the Clearwater Mountains.
The property welcomes one group at a time, with space for up to 20 people per booking.
The property’s chef tailors menus to guests’ preferences and dietary restrictions. Most dishes feature produce, meat, fish and even flour that is sourced in Alaska.
Susitna Adventure Lodge packages start at $1,200 per person, per night in summer and $2,000 per person, per night in winter. Contact the property at susitnadventurelodge.com for group discount information and other details.