Snow Creek Cabin

WARNING — I am giving general directions to a ‘Secret’ cabin, although everyone we passed on the trail knew about it but had only an idea of where it was located. Snow Creek Cabin was built in 1929 by the NPS in Yosemite as a backcountry cabin where adventurous skiers could hike out to for some skiing. With the advent of ‘uplift’ skiing (read ski lifts) which required no hiking the cabin was not used frequently. Another impact was WWII. So the cabin was closed permanently and subsequently ‘forgotten about and lost’ in the 30’s.
Sometime in early 2000’s a couple of park service employees discovered some old brochures for the cabin and set out to see if they could find it. After some searching they did find the cabin but after approx 65 – 70 years of neglect, weather, and wildlife activity, the cabin required extensive renovation. The cabin reopened in 2006 for public use. This is currently an experiment — not sure what that is but I would think to see how popular the cabin becomes and perhaps to open up through the reservation system much like Pear Lake Hut or even Ostrander.
So to get beyond the history, this ‘Lost’ or ‘Secret’ Cabin is not promoted or advertised by Yosemite. If you call the visitor center or even one of the ranger station they will only give you vague instructions. So you must be prepared to do a little searching cross country as there is no clear indicator of the location. Also, be prepared for one of the toughest hikes you can do out of the Valley. First you need to get to the top of Snow Creek Trail (2.7 miles 2700ft). Then hike to the junction and take a walk through the woods and take another right cross country through the forest for about another ¼ mile. Good Luck!
The cabin is two stories, has a kitchen, two sleeping rooms, one living area with a wood burning stove, and an outhouse. There are a couple of bear boxes available as they do not want you to store your food inside. It was very spooky when we arrived as the interior was very dark but there were lanterns with available propane tanks and there was plenty of wood available for the stove. Could be a great place to spend a few nights in solitude and warmth.
This cabin is only open in the winter with no reservation system so you may encounter other hikers who are staying there as well. Only undertake this if you are in decent physical condition and can hike 7 miles with about 4000 ft elevation climb through snowy conditions. If you don’t think you can make it in one day it’s best to bring along some sort of shelter! Five stars for the difficulty in locating, wilderness setting, and solitude if that is what you need. So difficult I probably will never go back. =o)