Facilities available for use by researchers, classes, and other authorized user include overnight housing.  Laboratory and classroom space are available in the Environmental Science Center. Access to all facilities is via the main reserve road, a narrow and winding single-lane gravel road with soft shoulders and limited turn-outs. It is passable for most standard vehicles. Speed should be kept at or below 13 mph.  Four wheel drive is not necessary, but vehicles with low clearance should proceed with extra caution to avoid the occasional high spot or fallen rock. One of the more common driving mishaps is to hit rocks or roots protruding from the wall of the narrow road on the uphill side across from the steep drop-off to the river.  Trucks with cab-over campers, or vans with camper conversions or high and wide roof racks are not advised.

Visitors who wish to use reserve facilities should contact the reserve steward well in advance to schedule space. Please deliver compost to Reserve Manager, keep smelly garbage well wrapped or covered and rinse odors from all recycled bottles and cans to prevent visits by black bears.  Clean kitchens are also critical for controlling mice.

Environmental Science Center

Thanks to the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund and the Packard Foundation, we were able to build a laboratory and classroom complex in 2000.  At the entrance to the reserve on its south side, the Environmental Science Center consists of a laboratory with a chemical hood, a sample preparation laboratory with a sink, a screened lath house, a computer room, a microscope room, a class room that seats 30-40, and the reserve office. There is a small kitchen to serve the class room. Phone and internet service are available.

Housing

Thanks to the National Science Foundation’s Field Station and Marine Labs program, the Wildlife Conservation Board and Proposition 84, and several private gifts, we have new (2015-2016) housing on the south side of the reserve.  Just across the road from the Environmental Science Center, there are two stand-alone modern apartments with full kitchens and accessible bathrooms and an 8-person bunk house.  Three miles to the north, well inside the reserve and off the electrical grid, there is more housing:  Wilderness Lodge, Fox Creek Lodge and 5 associated rustic cabins), and communal cooking and dining facilities and solar showers in bathrooms.  Guests provide their own towels and bedding or sleeping bags. All three kitchens have a gas range and a refrigerator, and a variety of pots, pans, utensils, and dining service that will accommodate most cooking needs. There are also living rooms, recycling bins, and a laundry porch. Guests are responsible for thoroughly cleaning their building and the laboratory space they used before they leave. Cleaning supplies are provided.

Wilderness Lodge

Wilderness Lodge is a small 3 bedroom house located in the heart of the reserve, 2.8 miles in from the gate. It has wood heat (wood provided), a small gas refrigerator, a gas range, full bath, and solar electricity (somewhat limited depending on the season and your electrical needs). Wireless internet is available. There is no land line phone but cell phone hot spots exist–their reliability varies with provider. The kitchen has a stove, refrigerator, sink, and variety of utensils that suit most cooking needs. The bedrooms each have one double bed, a small desk and dresser, and a closet. Guests provide their own bedding or sleeping bag, pillow cover, bath towels. Guests are responsible for cleaning the building before they leave. Cleaning supplies are provided. A flashlight is strongly advised for moving about outdoors at night.


Fox Creek Lodge and cabins

The cabins are rustic, but the barbecued pizza Blake is cooking on the fire ring is to die for.
The cabins are rustic, but the barbecued pizza Blake is cooking on the fire ring is to die for.

Fox Creek Lodge is the reserve group facility, and it doubles as individual researcher housing during the summer field season. It is immediately adjacent to Wilderness Lodge in the heart of the reserve near the confluence of Fox Creek and the S. Fork Eel River. The facility can accommodate 35 people and consists of a dining hall, five small bunk cabins, and a shower/bath building. Four

picnic tables and a fire circle are nearby. Only the dining hall has heat (wood stove, wood provided). All buildings are supplied with solar electricity. Power is somewhat limited depending on the season and on power needs, so check with the reserve manager if you have questions about electrical service. Wireless internet is available. There is no land line phone but cell phone hot spots exist — reliability varies with provider.

The Fox Creek Lodge dining hall has two small ranges totaling 8 burners and two ovens. There are three gas refrigerators, a large sink, and a variety of pots, pans, utensils and dining service for most cooking needs. There are three insulated coffee carafes with filter cones.

Class on front porch of Fox Creek pavillion; cabins are just to the left of this picture
Class on front porch of Fox Creek pavillion; cabins are just to the left of this picture

Compost is collected by the reserve steward, recycling containers are provided, but you are requested to take your garbage with you. Please rinse odors from all bottles and cans to prevent visits by black bears.  The bunk cabins have plain wood bunks and no pads, and are not heated. They have one light each. The shower/bath building has a men’s and women’s toilet and sink, the shower is shared. Flashlights are strongly advised for moving between the buildings at night (a mountain lion’s deer kill was stuffed into the bushes on the western side of this bathroom). Groups are responsible for cleaning the facility before leaving the reserve. Cleaning supplies are provided.