In search of a small corporate retreat that isn’t the same-old-same-old? Within the Wild’s adventure lodges Winterlake Lodge and Tutka Bay Lodge, both in remote Southcentral Alaska, can deliver, if you have a thrill-seeking group and a generous budget. Outdoor adventure activities, for both summer and winter, include backcountry biking on untouched mountain ranges, along the beach, and on glacier and high alpine tundra for, the resort promises, “every level of riding imaginable from a leisurely tundra cruise to white knuckle gravity-fueled runs. Once in lifetime locations include fat tire biking down the Iditarod trail and heli-biking on the region’s active volcanic islands.” Helicopter hiking, glacier trekking, and sled dog summer camp are other “bucket list adrenaline-inducing adventures.”
There are also activities that will prove unforgettable without raising your heart rate quite so high. Consider the Tutka Bay Cooking School, which is built within a historic crabbing boat along a private cove at the edge of Kachemak Bay State Park, and accessible only by boat or floatplane. Against the backdrop of the Alaskan wilderness, students learn how to make Alaskan-inspired dishes from award-winning chefs – mother-daughter chef duo Kirsten and Mandy Dixon – using ingredients foraged in the surrounding backcountry and grown in a seaside garden. Other relaxing activities include yoga classes, spa treatments, bird watching and canoeing around Winterlake. For more information, visit withinthewild.com
