RANCH HOUSE LODGE

Our journey today was approximately 120 miles on the Glenn Highway which was sometimes smooth but sometimes very rough and bumpy. The scenic views of the glaciers were amazing enough that no one was complaining, much. 

The destination was the Ranch House Lodge just outside of the town of Glenallen, Alaska. Back in the early 50’s travelers on the rough, gravel highways had to plan ahead for services. Road houses offered food and secure lodging for the night. 

Ranch House Lodge which was built in the late 1940’s is one of the oldest road houses still in operation. When checking in they were greeted by Karen and Andy who purchased the property 17 year ago. Karen explained the history of the road house and how they spent years researching and restoring it into the beautiful place it is today. The original logs for the lodge were hauled up the highway by dog sled before it was paved. Karen told us how they restored everything and pointed out some pages of the original owners journal that helped them in the restoration. She even pointed out some bullet holes in the original glass windows. We are so lucky to have found this place.

Our sites are right on the river, as you can see from this picture above. It doesn’t get much better than this. They restored the restaurant and bar as well as the lodge and hopefully we have dinner there tomorrow. This other picture is a last look at the glacier on our drive today.