American River Guard Station

Dappled sunlight filters through the trees and splashes across the roof of the American River Guard Station. The cabin, located in the heart of the central Cascades recreation area off the scenic Mather Memorial Parkway, offers visitors a step back in time in a beautiful, natural setting.

The Depression-era rustic cabin is one and a half stories tall. Recently refurbished and freshly painted, it has a small kitchen, a living/sleeping area, and a bedroom, as well as a full-sized sleeping loft and storage room. The comfortable cabin is furnished with many amenities: a small refrigerator, electric range, a dining table and chairs for four people (with hidden leaf to expand for eight people), a queen-size sleeper sofa in the living room, a full-size bed and mattress in the bedroom, two twin-size beds in the upstairs loft, a wood stove, light fixtures and a living room electric baseboard heater.

The kitchen is equipped with a coffee maker, pots, dishes and glassware. A picnic table and fire ring are located near the cabin. The original two-seater outhouse has recently been restored. The cabin contains a variety of cleaning supplies (broom, dustpan, mop and bucket, sponges, cleansers). 

• There is no water at the cabin; visitors must bring plenty for drinking, cooking and washing.
• Pets are welcome to the cabin
• All food and garbage must be removed to help deter rodents. Visitors must "pack it out and home".

Additional camping for larger groups is available at the nearby American Forks Campground during summer.

History 

The American River Guard Station was built in 1941 as a summer residence and work site for fire patrol and recreation management personnel. A rear addition to house, including a bathroom and water heater, laundry and sink room, was added at a later time. The guard station was still occupied by Naches Ranger District personnel in the summers through the 1960s, but its principal use in these later years was as a bunkhouse rather than a workstation. Typically, two or three seasonal employees lived here in the summer and commuted roughly twelve miles east every morning to the Ranger Station. In 1999 the cabin was found eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Restoration of the cabin began in 2004.