Your pops is worth more than a flashy watch or a gift certificate to the bourbon-of-the-month club. This Father’s Day, if you genuinely care about your dad, if he really loves fishing, and if money is no object (we’re talking $25,000 discretionary income to blow), why not take dear ol’ pa on a once-in-a-lifetime, father-son fishing trip to one of the most remote wilderness lodges in Alaska?
Tikchik Narrows Lodge is no ordinary fishing getaway. Perched on a tiny rock outcropping that straddles two lakes in Bristol Bay, the lodge is remote even by Alaskan standards. From above, it appears to vanish amid the surrounding 1.5-million-acre Wood-Tikchik State Park – a wilderness system with more than 13 significant lakes stacked one above the other. To the west, the edge of the lakes touch stunning fjords in the Kilbuck Mountains. It’s a place only accessible by float plane, and the nearest road system is more than 300 miles away. This is an area of Alaska few outsiders ever see – a wild, rugged destination in which to truly disappear.
Guests stay in one of seven rustic, but well-appointed cabins. All offer private entrances and porches with stunning views of the lakeshore and towering Kilbuck Mountains. The goal, of course, is to spend as little time in one’s room as possible, though. Most days are spent on exclusive, fly-out fishing excursions to untouched lakes without another human being in sight for more than 100 miles. The lodge also provides boat tours to the snowfields of Mirror Bay, kayaking in a nearby wilderness lake, wildlife viewing trips to Brooks Falls, and flightseeing tours of the impossibly vast tundra in every direction. The lodge’s private guides facilitate every aspect of every day, including meals, gear, transportation, and their own outdoor expertise.
Obviously, this level of secluded luxury doesn’t come cheap. Per-person rates at Tikchik Narrows Lodge run USD $8,900 per week (based on double occupancy) which includes all meals, accommodations, fully guided, fly-out fishing tours, and all essential gear (tackle, waders, and boots). The only thing you need to figure out is how to get you and your pops there.
If dad is the hardcore adventurous sort, check out these three badass, bucket-list-worthy Father’s Day vacations.
