Talk about a room with a view!
I recently had a chance to spend a night in Kendrick Cabin, a former U.S. Forest Service Fire Guard Station from the 1960s, located on the forest I work on.
My friend Jenni — who booked my stay at Fernow Cabin last summer — makes it a point to try to book a night or two in a Forest Service cabin every summer. And I can’t blame her one bit. The cabins are so, so cool!
I spent Tuesday night at Kendrick Cabin, which is located just northwest of Flagstaff.
As much as I loved Fernow Cabin, I think I loved Kendrick even more. It had a bigger living area which, sadly (?), we didn’t get much of a chance to use since it was so gorgeous outside.
We arrived at about 4 p.m., unloaded our cars and set up our chairs outside to enjoy the sunny 80 degree weather.
Kendrick Cabin can sleep 10. There’s one ground-floor bedroom with a double bed, a lofted bedroom area with four twin-size beds and two fold-out futons in the main living area.
Ryan and I claimed the room with the double bed.
While the beds are provided, you do have to provide your own bedding. We all brought sleeping bags and pillows.
Aside from bedding, the cabin was so well stocked. There were pots, pans, dishes and cooking utensils, as well as firewood, an entire cabinet of games and cleaning supplies.
While there aren’t facilities in the cabin itself, there are both vault toilets and a bathhouse really close to the cabin. The bathhouse has running water, including a flush toilet, sink and shower.
The cabin also has two decks.
We spent most of our time on the north-facing deck, which was equipped with two picnic tables, a fire pit, a grill and a horseshoe pitch.
We made tacos for dinner and spent our night talking around the campfire and looking up at the stars, which were so incredible from the cabin! Photos couldn’t do the view justice.
We also, of course, made s’mores.
Ryan was on R&R between fire assignments (he took a roll with his former Hotshot crew, Blue Ridge, and plans to take a second roll with them once they’re ordered) so he crashed girls night.
It was also Ochi’s first ever overnight trip! He did great.
Ryan had to leave a little early the next morning, but the four of us girls made some coffee and stayed until close to our 11 a.m. check-out window.
We made breakfast (the cabin isn’t equipped with outlets, but it does have solar-powered lighting and refrigeration, as well as a gas stove) in the kitchen and hung out in the sun.
It was such a great night! We’ll definitely book again.
We loved how accessible this cabin is from Flagstaff. It was about a 25-minute drive from town, which was so convenient. The Forest Service cabins always book up so far in advance, and Jenni was a little worried about getting a weeknight, but since it was so close to town, it was easy enough to fit it into my work week.
It was a perfect mid-week getaway.
If you’re interested in staying in Kendrick Cabin, you can book a night on rec.gov!
