Sometimes you stay at a lodge where the setting is so spectacular and the hosts are so warm and inviting that you want to simply move in and stay. That’s how I felt when I visited the Lodge at Black Rapids in Big Delta, Alaska.

The warm welcome at the Lodge at Black Rapids begins the moment you enter the rustic lobby.

Lodges and roadhouses have a rich history along the Richardson Highway that runs north-south from the interior town of Fairbanks to the fishing village of Valdez on Price William Sound. The highway, which passes through some of the most spectacular scenery in the state, was originally a Native Alaskan footpath and, later, became the route for prospectors heading to northern gold fields. Along The Trail, as it came to be known, enterprising people recognized the need for food and lodging for travelers and opened accommodations. Some were modest tents offering little more than dirty cots and bread and canned food. Others were more opulent log structures serving fresh vegetables and wild meat and game.

In 1902, the lodge at Black Rapids (called the Rapids Hunting Lodge) began as a few tents. Later, it became a two-story log structure with several single story rooms added. By 1922, the roadhouse could accommodate 23 guests and became an important stage stop along the highway. Today, the old Rapids Roadhouse’s log structure is being refurbished and the owners have built a modern new lodge on the hill overlooking the original.

Up in the tower, there’s a cozy library with colorful stained glass windows representing the Aurora Borealis.

The Lodge at Black Rapids sits across from the Delta River, a swift, silty “braided” waterway with plenty of sand and gravel bars. It also overlooks the snow-capped mountains of the Alaska Range and the Black Rapids Glacier that can be seen from several guestrooms, from the dining room, and from the broad outdoor front deck.

The Lodge features six rooms, four on the third floor and two on the lower floor. The building, which Annie Hopper and her husband, Michael, designed and built, is a large square constructed around a central core. Guests enter on the second floor, which contains the reception desk, a two-way fireplace, an open kitchen, the dining room with big view windows, and the deck where guests often gather for drinks. A staircase leads to the second floor with a an intimate guest seating area with a fireplace, two big leather couches, a stunning burl table, and a door leading to a back outdoor deck. Guestrooms are  built o the corners of this floor.

In addition to the natural views, the guest rooms are richly appointed with travertine tile bathrooms with dark faucets and luxury toiletries made with from local beekeepers….

A metal spiral staircase leads to the Aurora room, a cozy library and reading room and, in winter, a place to view the Northern Lights. This perch resembles a square cupola and features a series of ever changing “aurora” stained glass works by a local artist. “That way guests can see the aurora any time,” quips host Annie.

There’s also a stairway leading from the main second floor to two ground floor guest rooms and a large combination movie/game/gathering room for guests. The floors are stone tile and there’s a “bunkhouse” room that features two comfy queen beds dressed with a thinner blanket and a fluffy down quilt. Each bed comes with four pillows and individual reading lights. The room also has an armoire, a chair, and two luggage racks and two windows that swing wide to let in cool breezes from the river below.

The Lodge at Black Rapids is pretty isolated–and it’s the best meal for miles and miles–so guests often eat breakfast and dinner at the lodge.

The bathrooms for the lower rooms are located just outside the door of each room (allowing guests using the TV/game room to use them too). Each room has a privacy key for their respective bath. The baths are shower only and feature travertine tile and nice toiletries.

One of the Lodge’s distinctions is the deep quiet. When I stayed in one of the lower rooms the only was from the rushing Delta River and, rarely, a car on the highway. With comfortable beds and the tranquil setting, I slept deeply, something I rarely do when traveling.

Breakfast is a treat at Black Rapids.

Like any home, the heart of the Lodge at Black Rapids and the place guests gather is the dining area and deck. With advance notice, the hosts will prepare both breakfast and dinner and it’s worth it. For one thing, there are few places to get a good meal on this remote stretch of highway. For another, the food is quite tasty. My dinner included sliced medium-rare beef, couscous, crisp-tender green beans, and sautéed mushrooms, and, for dessert, warm apple crisp with ice cream. Breakfast was hearty—a fried egg, country fries, bacon, a slice of French toast, and a fruit with yogurt and a sprinkling of granola. All meals are pre-fixe.

Restoring the Past, Continuing the Tradition

Michael holds a Ph.D. in psychology and Annie is a clinical social worker who teaches at the university in Anchorage. They own a cabin seven miles down the road and, several years ago when they learned the old roadhouse was going to be sold in foreclosure, Annie says, “I just fell in love with the history of the place.” They scrambled for financing and purchased the five-acre property.

The Lodge’s co-owner, Annie, is dedicated to bringing the old lodge back so visitors can see what Alaskan roadhouses used to be.

Though she’d never been a history buff, Annie became obsessed with the roadhouse’s colorful past. She conducted research, much of which is available for guests to peruse in the lodge’s dining room. It includes stories about Mary Hansen, a former Black Rapids Roadhouse owner and Alaska pioneer. “She as incredible,” says Annie, pulling out black and white photos that show an attractive woman on a sled surrounded by a team of dogs. “She was a miner, a trapper, a dog musher, and a roadhouse owner.”

Annie also vowed to restore and preserve the old building, which was leaning precariously, in eminent danger of collapsing completely. The previous owners had simply walked away from the failing business in 1982, so the first order of business was cleaning out piles of junk, old appliances, and dilapidated furniture.

The old roadhouse sits just below the new, modern lodge.

Annie says, “The building was just melting into the ground.” The restoration has been a difficult and laborious process of “jacking up each side of the building inch by inch” and installing massive piers to hold up the structure so they could pour a new concrete foundation and floor, and replace the bottom first third of the logs.

With a series of matching donations from the state and volunteer labor from friends and family, they’ve stabilized the old log structure, including replacing the leaky roof on the entire building with a period-accurate metal roof. To date, they’ve spent about $300,000, but the work is far from complete.

Annie’s dream is to create a museum in the old roadhouse that tells the story of The Trail and the role roadhouses played in sheltering guests along The Trail. In the meantime, she and Michael are making their own history providing warmth, comfort, and delicious food for guests that make me glad the old Alaska roadhouse tradition is alive and well at the Lodge at Black Rapids. – by Bobbie Hasselbring, RFT Editor