Mi 136.5 Denali Highway, Cantwell, AK 99729 (MLS# 22-14074)

Supplements: Just west of the Parks & Denali Hwy Int., this lodge sits at the original entrance of Denali Park. The foothills of Denali Mountain begin just across the RR tracks to the NW. Walking in the front door, you are immediately greated by a classic rustic roadhouse bar, complete with a dining area and pellet stove. At the back of the room, a small stag ... (Read more) Just west of the Parks & Denali Hwy Int., this lodge sits at the original entrance of Denali Park. The foothills of Denali Mountain begin just across the RR tracks to the NW. Walking in the front door, you are immediately greated by a classic rustic roadhouse bar, complete with a dining area and pellet stove. At the back of the room, a small stage & dancefloor. To the back right a comm. kitchen, & laundry facility. Currently only renting half of the potential amount of rooms in the building. On the far right side, Six rooms rent out from April-November, at almost 90% Occupancy. The far left side has two new remodeled bathrooms, and awaits the buyer to choose and build a room layout in the Spring. Outside to the right, a large covered stage hosts an annual Bluegrass Festival every July, bringing in musicians and fans from across the state. The potential of having live music in this space on a regular basis would be an incredible potential, as there is room for a few hundred around the stage. Just to the right of the stage, a small creek intersects the Alaskan Rail Road tracks. Across this creek is another large lightly wooded area that has incredible expansion potential. Originally the site of The Carlson Lodge from 1920-1949, this lodge was built in the 1960's, purchased and remodeled by the seller in 1990, and has been family operated for the past 32 years. Just across a small creek are scattered clearings from the original site of the Carlson Lodge, and a few dugout foundations from homes of the local indigenous Athabascan Native Americans. By adding a small footbridge across this creek, and building some small cabins or yurts in this area could bring the added numbers for the Alaska Railroad to resume their "Flagstop Service". A modern railroad service building right next door is ready for this service to be restored. The original Flagstop here is actually what formed the small town of Cantwell, when the nearby Valdez mine was active in the 1940's. All of the rooms are hydronically heated by Toekick Heaters in each room, sourced from a large boiler in the basement. Two heating sources currently service the "Longhorn Saloon and Cafe", two Toyo wall stoves and a drip stove. A very deep basement (the entire sqft. of the main lodge) has a downward sloping ramp accesses a huge door to allow for an enormous amount of storage. Although neither is currently in use, a decorative dripstove (in the bar), and in the basement a 2005 Heatmore coal Stoker-stove allow more options for heating. The septic system was replaced 1990 and the leechfield replaced just last year. In 1993-94 the saloon & cafe were added, as well as the metal roof. The right side of lodge houses the six rooms with common men's and womens' separate showers and restrooms. These rent for $160 - $300 (sometimes year round). The left hand side recently had two restrooms added, as well as a small unfinished kitchen and bar. For highest and best use, this area should likely be converted to add more rooms.The Aurora Borealis - Northern Lights are visible here from August until April. Winter Tourism could flourish here, as Alaskan Tourism companies charter trips from around the world using motorcoaches filled with those seeking to see the Aurora for their first time. The right buyer for this property should give me a call to combine my thoughts, with their own vision of owning an incredible piece of Alaskan history.Note: The link to this article has details of the airport that is currently being planned and approved for construction near Clear, Alaska. This will be a major game changer for tourism in the Denali area.