Established in 1960 as a motel for miners and men working on the Trinity Dam, the lodge has grown over the years and now boasts 15 rooms. It is situated on eight acres along the Trinity River near the mouth of Indian Creek, just off Highway 299 and about eight miles east of Weaverville. In the summer of 2009, a rumor began circulating that a real estate developer was interested in buying the lodge, bulldozing it and building high-end homes. That prospect turned out to be a little more than Letton could bear, so with the blessing of his wife, Elena, he stepped in and bought Indian Creek Lodge. “It’s a beautiful riverfront property, and the river is a unique blessing to this area. I’m a fisherman and I’ve always thought that this should be a real destination for fishermen as well as vacationers,” Letton says. The problem, Letton says, was the lodge too often suffered from absentee ownership and was never maintained well enough to be viable. The most recent owners had the lodge for two years and put in a lot of hard work, but they had the misfortune of owning it during the summer of 2008 when smoke from a large wildfire blanketed much of Trinity County for months. “It took a lot of imagination to see where we wanted to go,” Letton says, but the direction is now clear: “Our vision is a financially self-sustaining business that’s a real asset to the community. Part of this project is to keep tourist dollars in the county. A lot of people fish this river and don’t spend squat in this county. We want a business that attracts people to visit here, stay here and spend their money here.” To make that vision a reality, the Lettons have made some serious investments of time, effort and money. They’ve updated furnishings and appliances, added Wi-Fi Internet access, painted and landscaped. The hard work is frequently reflected in guests’ comments posted at online travel sites like Yelp.com and Tripadvisor.com. One example: “It was awesome. CLEAN, nice… really nice. The people there could not have treated us better. They are by far the greatest hosts I have come across in a long time. I would say go stay… you will not be sorry.” “The positive comments have been very reassuring,” Letton says. They also are reminiscent of the remarks made by another guest who visited Indian Creek Lodge in 1962. On stationery from his Rising River Ranch, the crooner (and avid fisherman) Bing Crosby wrote the proprietors to say he had a wonderful time “and can’t wait to bring Katherine.” While happy to please all guests, Letton says one of his goals is to make the lodge a must-visit destination for fishermen, and steelhead anglers in particular. “I see this as a hub, a steelhead headquarters. We’re in the heart of some of the best drifts for steelhead in the Lower 48.” Toward that goal, the lodge hosts monthly meetings of the Trinity River Guides Association and Letton is coordinating fly casting schools in connection with The Fly Shop in Redding and educational groups like Becoming an Outdoor-Woman. In the near future, since a fully outfitted commercial kitchen is already in place, Letton plans to open a small café at the lodge. When meals are not being served, Letton envisions the dining room becoming a gathering spot for anglers to tie flies, drink coffee, swap stories and stretch the truth. Because that’s what fishermen do. •
www.iclodge.net indiancreeklodge@wildblue.net (530) 623-6294 Rates: From $70 to $150
Photos Courtesy of Bret and Matt Christensen
November 2010 Enjoy 60