One room with a queen and a full bed, a full kitchen, and a backyard with a firepit, a picnic table and a charcoal grill. In 1858 Scandinavian prospectors settled Kongsberg below Ebbetts Pass, named for Norway's silver town; the camp became Silver Mountain City, Alpine County's first seat, and in 1872 log drives were coming down Silver Creek and Markleeville Creek to feed the Comstock. This cabin keeps the creek's name.
The Scandinavians came first, in 1858, and named their camp Kongsberg after
the silver town back in Norway. A rich strike in 1863 set off the rush, the
camp was renamed Silver Mountain, and in 1864 it became the first county seat
of brand-new Alpine County — a town of some 3,000 people with a post office,
two newspapers, express and telegraph offices, and several hotels.
The creeks carried the county's timber. In 1872 separate wood drives came
out of Markleeville Creek and Silver Creek — a Markleeville paper noted
"This week Cleveland's drive passed through town" — joining the great spring
drives that sent Alpine County's timber down the East Fork toward the
Comstock mills. In September 1868 a single drive of about 18,000 cords came
down "from the neighborhood of Silver Mountain," then the largest ever
brought down the Carson.
Silver Mountain City emptied after the 1878 Bodie strike and burned in 1882.
What's left up Highway 4 today: the granite jail ruins, the Chalmers Mansion,
and an 1862 brick smelter chimney standing alone in the sagebrush.
The whole log-drive story is in The River of Logs, in The Story.
The essentials- On the East Fork
- Dogs welcome
- Open year-round
- Full kitchen — full fridge, stove and oven, microwave, coffee pot, toaster, pots, pans and utensils · fan for summer, propane heat for winter · backyard and a small front porch with chairs · firepit, picnic table and charcoal grill · room for an extra tent ($10 for the stay)
Stated plainly- Zero cell reception
- Free Wi-Fi at the resort
Dog fee — $30 for the visit, declared at booking, priced in the receiptCheck‑in 2pm · Check‑out 11amNo limit on how many dogs, or how bigSleeps 4 · one room · 2 beds (1 queen, 1 full) · 1 bathThe plain terms.
Deposit & balance — tonight’s deposit is half the lodging, plus Alpine County’s tax on that half; the balance is charged automatically about a week before arrival, to the same card.
Dogs — $30 for the whole visit, declared at booking. Dogs camp free at the riverside sites.
Times — check-in from 2pm, check-out by 11am. Campsites and RV slots turn over at noon.
Cancellation — Cancelling: a $25 cancellation fee applies to any cancelled reservation, and the rest of what you paid goes back to the card it came from — or keep the whole of it as an open credit toward a future stay, with no fee. Either way, call (530) 694-2229 and talk to us — we are a family resort and we would rather hear from you than not.
