Alaska’s Ridgewood Lodge Adventure Package

4 days/3 nights

About the Trip

Relax in Alaska for 4 days and 3 nights at the Ridgewood Wilderness Eco Lodge. Soak up the Alaskan wilderness at this intimate, timber framed lodge on Ishmailof Island adjoining Kachemak Bay State Park, part of the Kenai Peninsula Mountain Range. Enjoy three gourmet meals a day, high speed internet, and highly personal attention with majestic scenery, miles of beaches, and secluded salt water coves right out the front door.

Includes: Inclusive except transfers from the airport to Homer Harbor, water taxi transportation to Alaska’s Ridgewood Lodge and additional activities guest are interested in

Awards:

- Global Food Award, Finalist

Certification:

- Department of Energy Conservation Certification

- Bio-Cycle Certification

About the Organization

The hosts of this secluded getaway are two sourdough Alaskans, Kevin and Lucinda Sidelinger. Kevin, who built the lodge using timbers from the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, created a building that compliments the environment. The Douglas fir, timber-framed bedrooms offer plenty of space as well as large windows and panoramic views of the bay, mountains, and beaches, along with private baths and an undeniably Alaskan flavor. Or indulge your senses watching for whales, porpoises, sea otters, and seals from the decks that surround the lodge. This eco system is quite unlike any other. Enjoy the sounds and the smells of this rich marine environment.

Lucinda can book you into area day tours like a brown bear photography trip, halibut or salmon charter, guided kayaking, heli-hiking, and flight seeing. Other guided activities to enjoy are bird watching, hiking the extensive trail system within the Kachemak Bay State Park, miles of beaches to walk and beach comb, or let your imagination wander, visiting an early last century trapper’s cabin set in amongst massive cotton woods along a clear mountain stream. Don’t forget your trout rod for this may be the opportunity to catch that big rainbow trout. Then return to the Island to relax in the lodge with dramatic high ceilings cut across by rustic timbers, or enjoy the mountains, and the cove from a comfy deck chair, talking to Kevin and Lucinda about their life in Alaska. They can always be encouraged to share their years of pioneering oyster farming on the bay, or trekking across remote wilderness areas in the Great Land with their favorite Llamas. It is the perfect complement to a very Alaskan experience. Join Lucinda as she prepares your meals, or just enjoy the melding of scents wafting from the kitchen.

Green Practices

Designed to be in harmony with the surrounding environment, as an eco lodge Alaska’s Ridgewood utilizes local businesses and all of our guides and employees are Alaskans. We maintain a vegetable garden, and support our local Natural Foods Stores and Farmers Market. We also support our local environmental organizations.

We are situated in a semi remote location, adjacent to the Kachemak Bay State Park but we do not sacrifice luxury or comfort. We have preserved as much native vegetation surrounding our property as possible enhancing and conserving the local ecology. We have reincorporated trees and shrubs that will encourage birds and other wildlife to nest and rest here.

Our facility was designed and planned carefully. All of our appliances are modern and were selected for their energy efficiency. For example our washing machine is a front loader which uses a fraction of the water that a top loader does. And as a note, new sales in California mandate this style of washer. Our toilets are all low water flush, and conserve additional water.

We do not use bleach or other harmful chemicals and all of our soaps and detergents are free of animal fats. The biggest challenge facing a wilderness eco lodge is how to deal with all of the water borne waste, before it is discharged into the environment, in an ecologically friendly way. Your health and safety is important to us, and with this in mind, our system was designed by career professionals, experts in their field of interest and was approved by The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. Developed in 1982 in Australia our system is a compact, aerated waste water treatment system. These systems are in use in Alaska, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and elsewhere. This system biologically treats all waste water from the Lodge on site in a six chamber fully contained system. A clean, clear filtered and odorless effluent is discharged into the drain field, and is easily assimilated into the earth. No porta potties which amount to human waste being stored in your room, no environ toilets which are noisy and consume a lot of electricity or home made septic systems.

Our philosophy also extends to our oyster farm. With the cooperation of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and other local oyster farmers, together we sponsor an annual program designed to certify and guarantee the quality of the water. This is accomplished by taking water samples and tissue samples of wild mollusks five times annually. Our oysters are also tested weekly from May 1st through October, and monthly from November 1st through April. These farms are considered in the environmental community as “the canary in the coal mine”. In summary these oyster farms are a valuable addition to the local eco system.

Learn more about Alaska’s Ridgewood Wilderness Lodge