YAKUTAT BAY LODGE

About me:

Thousands of visitors come to Yakutat, Alaska every year to experience it's natural beauty and world class fishing. Many times the difference between a great memory and disapointment are seperated only by the quality of the accommodations provided. ___________________________________________________________ All the comforts of home with a view of the bay providing some of the most spectacular sunsets ever witnessed. We have five different units available. Two of those units accommodate 6 people comfortably. A second unit accommodates 5 people, a third unit accommodates 4 people while a fourth sleeps two. Two of the larger units are connected with a door providing the possibility of a massive unit accommodating up to 9 people with 5 bedrooms, two kitchens and 3 1/2 baths. Our rate schedule is based on the unit rather than per person. ___________________________________________________________ All guests have full use of the main lodge war room a large lounging area with large screen satellite T.V., Video/DVD player with a complete library of local and Alaskan video's. Freezer space to hold your catch is provided as is a spacious fish packing station. We do ask that you clean your catch at the river or harbor and use the fish packing station to portion and box your fish only. ___________________________________________________________ We also provide a laundry service. For a minimal fee our staff will do your laundry for you while you are out fishing or enjoying the area. ___________________________________________________________ We are in the accommodation business and leave the boat and vehicle renting to the experts. We will provide all the contacts you will need to secure a vehicle, boat, river guide, charter operator, air taxi, and fishing licenses. We have found that if the guest makes these arrangements themselves there is less chance of a mistake being made. ___________________________________________________________ Something you may not know about YAKUTAT ALASKA it's not just the fishing that brings people here we also pride our selfs on the SURFING and the party people it bringsTHE WAVES AREN'T BIG, but they're long and glassy, and the women have them all to themselves. They trade off on slow lefts that break, one after another, off a sandy beach strewn with cobble and seaweed. Beyond the surf, the September ocean is smooth. ___________________________________________________________ This spot wasn't easy to reach; it took a full day of travel from Los Angeles on three separate flights, then this morning a local boatman shuttled us across the bay in a skiff. We carried the boards over the jungled isthmus of a tiny island to this beach, where the tail end of a swell is rolling in from across the Pacific. ___________________________________________________________ But those trees lining the beach aren't palms—they're Sitka spruce. Out past the breakers, a salmon troller chugs by, and across the bay, wrapped in the clouds, stands North America's third-highest peak, 18,008-foot Mount St. Elias. We're a lot closer to the North Pole than the equator, which explains why six-time world-champion surfer Layne Beachley, perhaps for the first time in her 16-year career, came looking for waves this morning in an ankle-length parka. ___________________________________________________________ Plunked down on the Gulf of Alaska 300 miles southeast of Anchorage, the fishing village of Yakutat (pop. 700) can't be reached by road and gets ferry service just twice a month. __________________________________________________________ Ultimately, Layne Beachley's reasons for making the long, chilly trek are about the same as anyone's: "I just had to see it," she says.