Winter Caretaking Couple - Timber Frame Lodge Under the Aurora (Housing + Meals + Vehicle + Tips)

The Lodge at Black Rapids is an eight-room wilderness lodge at Mile 227.4 of the Richardson Highway in Interior Alaska, forty miles from the nearest lodging in either direction. We're a small independent property — a 2009 timber-frame lodge with a dining room open to guests and highway travelers, built beside the original 1902 Black Rapids Roadhouse, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Family-owned, open all 365 days, run by a resident crew rather than a corporate staff.

We sit at the foot of the Eastern Alaska Range with the Black Rapids Glacier across the river and a private airstrip out front. In winter we run aurora travel and high-end packages: guests fly a long way and pay well to see the northern lights from a genuinely dark sky. We are directly under the auroral oval. Winter is the season we love most — the lights here aren't a maybe; they're the Lodge specialty.

We're hiring two people to run the winter with us, October through mid-April.

Remote, not cut off

We're not a fly-in lodge. We're on a paved, state-maintained highway that's plowed all winter. Delta Junction is 45 minutes up the road, Fairbanks is two hours. The main lodge is modern timber-frame construction (2009) with reliable heat, hot and cold running water, on-site laundry, and Starlink. Ownership handles the supply runs. This is real wilderness with real infrastructure under it.

The Two Roles

1) Lodge Chef

Our Lodge Chef is responsible for preparing consistent, quality meals for our overnight guests in a small, remote lodge setting. Our dining style is welcoming and approachable rather than formal restaurant service, with a rotating dinner menu and breakfast served each morning.

What You'll do:

Prepare and serve dinner from our rotating menu, including a first course and entrée, as well as breakfast for lodge guests. You'll manage kitchen prep, keep food and cold storage organized, maintain a clean kitchen that meets health department standards, and help us stay ahead on grocery and protein needs.

Because we're located about two hours from Fairbanks, planning and organization are important. You'll help build our weekly fresh-food shopping list and monthly protein order, while lodge staff handles transportation and purchasing.

During busier periods, everyone at the lodge works together. There may occasionally be opportunities to assist with other lodge tasks, such as room turnovers or general guest operations, when needed.

What we're looking for:

We're looking for someone who is comfortable working independently in the kitchen and can manage meal preparation from prep through service. You should be able to follow established recipes and menus, prepare proteins properly, bake basic breads and breakfast items, and consistently serve quality meals.

You should also be comfortable keeping an organized kitchen, planning ahead for inventory needs, minimizing food waste, and working within the realities of a remote location.

An Alaska Food Worker Card is required, or you must be willing to obtain one shortly after arrival.

Bring your ideas:

While we have an established rotating menu, we welcome creativity. We love having cooks bring new ideas, seasonal dishes, specials, and ways to make the most of ingredients we have available. If something works well for our guests and our kitchen, we're happy to make it part of what we offer.

2) Front of House & Caretaker

This role combines guest hospitality with the day-to-day care of our remote lodge. You'll be one of the primary faces our guests interact with while also helping make sure the property stays warm, safe, and running smoothly throughout the Alaska winter.

What You'll Do: 

On the guest side, you'll help with check-ins and checkouts, dining room and bar service, answering guest questions, taking payments, keeping the fire going, and helping create the warm, personal atmosphere we're known for. During aurora season, that can also mean keeping an eye on the sky and giving guests a wake-up call when the northern lights appear.

On the property side, you'll perform routine checks of lodge systems, assist with snow removal and plowing, monitor heating, water, generators, wood stoves, and the sauna, and help identify maintenance needs before they become bigger problems.

The quieter early-winter months also give us time to tackle seasonal projects, winterization, general repairs, and property improvements.

What We're Looking For: 

Hospitality experience is helpful, particularly if you're comfortable interacting with guests, serving food and beverages, processing payments, and handling basic front-desk responsibilities.

We're also looking for someone who is mechanically inclined and comfortable around buildings and equipment. Experience with generators, heating systems, plumbing, snowplows, wood stoves, or general property maintenance is a big plus.

You don't need to know our lodge systems when you arrive — we'll teach you how our property operates. More important is being observant, willing to learn, comfortable troubleshooting basic issues, and knowing when something requires additional help.

You Won't be Alone out here: 

While this position and our Lodge Chef make up the core onsite team, you're not expected to handle every busy period yourselves.

During larger events, busy weekends, or nights with a full dining room, we bring in additional local staff from Delta Junction. During our busiest aurora season, we also add several J-1 international team members, creating a larger crew to help with housekeeping, guest service, dining, and general lodge operations.

Who Does well here: 

Remote lodge life isn't for everyone — but for the right people, that's part of what makes it special.

This is a great fit for people who are independent, resourceful, enjoy their own company and each other's, and don't need constant activity to be happy. Some weeks can be very quiet, while others are busy and social. Being able to appreciate both is important.

The Rhythm of Winter: 

October–December | Quiet Season
These are generally our slower months, with some nights having only a handful of guests or none at all. It's a chance to learn the lodge, work on seasonal projects, settle into remote life, and experience some incredible northern lights.

January | Deep Winter
Cold, clear, and unmistakably Interior Alaska. Guest activity begins to increase as we move toward our peak winter season.

February–March | Aurora Season
Our busiest stretch of winter. Occupancy increases, activities are running regularly, and additional seasonal staff join the team to support lodge operations.

April | Winding Down
The days get dramatically longer, temperatures begin to warm, and winter operations gradually come to a close.

The shape of the winter

October to December — the quiet months. Often one or two rooms a night, sometimes none. Short days, real dark by mid-afternoon, and a building that's yours more often than not. This is when you learn the plant, work the project list, and settle in before February and March fill the Lodge. It's also the best aurora viewing of the season, with nobody around to share it with.

January. Cold, clear, and the lights are at their best.

February and March — aurora season. The busy stretch, and the reason we staff up rather than lean harder on you.

April. It winds down. Longer days, breakup weather, and the season closes out.

What we Provide: 

Daily Pay
Base pay is $150 per person, per day, with opportunities to earn up to $225 per day for premium package nights or days with additional responsibilities.

Tips
Tips are shared among eligible staff from dining and guest services and can provide meaningful additional income, particularly during our busier winter and aurora season. Because we are a small lodge, our team has a lot of direct interaction with guests, and providing warm, personal service is an important part of what we do.

Premium Packages & Events
Some guest stays involve more than our standard lodge service, including private events, multi-course meals, and our all-inclusive winter packages. When these require additional work or responsibilities beyond a typical day, additional compensation may be provided on top of the regular day rate.

Additional Guiding Opportunities
Depending on your experience and skills, there may also be opportunities to earn additional income through guest activities and guiding. These can include aurora outings, snowshoeing, skiing, photography, hiking, or other experiences we offer.

Most guiding opportunities pay $100 or more per trip, in addition to your regular lodge pay when applicable. We love working with team members who bring unique outdoor skills or experience and, when it makes sense, finding ways to incorporate those skills into what we offer our guests.

Guiding opportunities are based on guest demand, experience, scheduling, and the requirements of each activity.

Hours

We generally schedule our core lodge staff for approximately 40 hours per week over five days. Some days will be lighter and others busier depending on occupancy, events, and guest activities. During our busiest periods, we bring in additional staff rather than expecting our core team to carry the increased workload alone.

The rhythm of the workday varies by position. For the Lodge Chef, hours are often split between a morning breakfast shift and an evening dinner shift, leaving a longer break during the middle of the day. Front-of-house and caretaker hours will vary depending on guest needs, arrivals and departures, and property responsibilities.

During our peak February–March aurora season, additional J-1 international staff join the team to help with housekeeping, dining, guest service, and general lodge operations.

Days Off

Our goal is two days off each week. Scheduling may shift occasionally around occupancy, events, weather, or operational needs, but maintaining a sustainable schedule for our team is important to us.

Housing and Whats Included

One of the biggest benefits of spending a winter with us is that many of the normal expenses that come with seasonal work are already taken care of.

Housing and meals are provided at no cost, allowing you to keep more of what you earn.

You'll have a private, standalone dry cabin on the lodge property with heat and Wi-Fi - your own space away from the main lodge rather than dorm-style employee housing. Bathroom and kitchen facilities are available in the main lodge.

You'll also have access to:

• Meals provided while living onsite

• Onsite laundry

• A shared vehicle for transportation and days off

• Access to lodging in Fairbanks when available for occasional trips to town

• Access to a family cabin approximately seven miles from the lodge for an occasional change of scenery

Living onsite also means no daily commute and very few day-to-day transportation expenses.

Your $150 daily base rate is in addition to these benefits, with opportunities for additional earnings through tips, premium package work, and qualifying guiding opportunities.

For someone looking to experience a true Interior Alaska winter while keeping living expenses low, this can be a unique opportunity to work, explore, and put some money aside along the way.