As locals we've never had a chance to stay at the lodge but the food is absolutely fantastic. Soul satisfying stick to your ribs home cooked perfection. Chris and Craig are so kind and considerate and go above and beyond to make sure you have a great experience. Great little spot to eat outdoors during COVID and takeout as well. We will keep coming back! read more

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Very friendly family ran place small and personal service so be sure to make reservations. Weekly deals for special dishes provided mid week. read more

Great little spot! I had driven by this place for years always thinking that I should stop and check it out sometime but never did. Glad that I checked them out on yelp. Great place to get three quarters of the way to Kirkwood the night before. The bunkbed was perfect for my daughter, our hound and I and the meal at the restaurant was delicious. Food-wise, it was the perfect size servings (not the absurd American sized servings) without the rush to get us out the door. The room was comfortable and private, off a communal central space. Excellent when your focus is on a weekend of the great outdoors or torrential rains change your plans. Chris and Craig were wonderful hosts, cooks and waitstaff - super personable and just wonderful all around people. And the topper was the pot belly pig out back, who my daughter adored. We will be back. read more

Craig and Kris you guys are the best. During this crazy time still putting out outstanding meals! Thanks the the wonderful stroganoff, soup, salad and great pop overs! read more

I was a little worried about the great low price, had booked it sight unseen. Was fine. Very small rustic place - one building for a restaurant/bar, the other smaller bldg is a big cabin. Common room entry with locked doors into 4 bedrooms/baths. Large common room includes fire stove with couch seating, big dining room table, a lots of games. Kitchen - refrigerator/freezer, stovetop, oven, also coffeemaker and coffee. Casual but clean, bathrooms older but clean and included tub/shower. Towels and sheets fresh and clean. A/C appreciated. Lovingly decorated. If you like economy rates and are good with very casual but clean - this is a terrific find. If you prefer gleaming holiday inn type newer furnishings (and don't mind the bigger price) - not the place for you. Also this place doesn't require two night bookings like a lot of the places further east on the road. For check-in, knock loudly at the restaurant even if it is closed - Craig and Chris are in the back. To eat at the restaurant you need to make a reservation before noon. I used expedia to book the place, which apparently does not pass on emails, so when we arrived at 4 it was too late (restaurant not open re no reservations). Be aware cell phone service very spotty, wifi is good. read more

I was looking for a place to sleep for the night on the way to Kirkwood, and Black Station Inn was perfect. Pros: - About 45 minutes to 1 hour south of Kirkwood - Just far enough south that you likely won't run into issues with ice and snow - It's on the way to Kirkwood, so you don't even add time for a detour - It's relatively inexpensive - Access to a shared fridge and kitchen - The place is clean, cozy, and comfortable Cons: - They have a restaurant on site, but it closes early, so you'll probably need to fend for yourself if you are driving up from the bay on a Friday after work - They only have 4 rooms, so it may fill up quickly. Overall, the pros more than outweigh the cons, and we had a fantastic experience. This is way better than driving all the way to South Lake Tahoe on a Friday night, and I will definitely be staying here again! read more

We haven't been here for a while and the NEW owners are awesome ! The place is still cute and quaint ! The FOOD was amazing we had prime rib and scallops TO DIE FOR ! The host Craig and hostess Chris did a wonderful job! I recommend coming here again! read more

Black Station Inn is always a great stop for dinner. I love being able to dine with a local family-run restaurant. Especially while we're in shelter-in-place, their takeout meals have been absolutely wonderful. The photo attached is from the prime rib that I ordered this evening. Thanks for continuing to run a great local business! read more

Black Station Inn - Prime Rib dinner (take out)from Black Station Inn - Bed & Breakfast Near Me - Pioneer, California

OPEN sign was on so we stopped in on this surprisingly great Mom and Pop restaurant. He cooks the dinners, she makes desserts and serves. Super welcoming and friendly. Small operation. Everything was delicious! Would defiantly recommend and will stop in again! read more

Black Station Inn - Bed & Breakfast Near Me - Pioneer, California

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I and my work crew have been staying here for a few weeks now and we absolutely love this place! The inn is adorable, very rustic and homey, and Chris and Craig are gracious hosts. The food at the restaurant is fantastic, as is the service. So happy to have found this little gem in the Amador County foothills. The inn is a cute 4 bedroom cabin, each room has its own bathroom and there is a shared common area with a tv and DVD player with a variety of movies and a bunch of board and cards games. The shared kitchen has a full sized refrigerator, microwave, and stove/oven. There is a front and back porch with chairs and a swing. The scenery is lovely and they also have a precious pot-bellied pig! So happy we to have found this place, it's a great spot! read more

Recently stayed here at The Black Station Inn. The new owners Chirs and Craig have been working hard on the complete re-model. The rooms are cozy and beds are comfortable decor is Cabin In The Woods cute and inviting. Looking forward to coming back when they have the restaurant and bar open. Craig has some great ideas for the menu. There is plenty to do in the area hiking, fishing, and The Black Chasm Cave to name a few. We definitely will be back. Susan and Carlos Temecula, Ca read more

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We had a wonderful stay here. It was a last min trip up to play in the snow. The hosts are great & very accommodating. We had dinner from their restaurant & it was a great home cooked meal with an at home type atmosphere. The beds are clean & comfortable. Thank you Craig & Chris read more

As I type this, I'm sitting in a cute little cabin up in Ashford, WA and sipping on a cup of hot chocolate with Fireball. On our first Thanksgiving weekend together, my now husband and I decided we'd go camping for the weekend. The weather seemed mild but as we approached Pioneer, it started increasingly snowing. We saw Black Station Inn, passed it up, and said we'd turn back around and try to get a room there if conditions kept getting worse. The snow kept coming and we turned around for the best plan B, ever! Chris and Craig had a room for us and we we're the first ones there that evening. Holiday weekend, traveling with our small dog, and we got a room at a surprisingly affordable price (I don't remember the rate at this point). Anywho, we fell in love with Chris and Craig and the amazing place. Since we planned to camp, we had food that we wanted to eat but we almost set it aside because the food looked delicious. We had hot chocolate and decided to take it to the bar with us to see if we can get some Baileys or something to add. They suggested Fireball and even though we were hesitant (sounded weird), we sat there all night, sipping hot chocolate with Fireball (it was surprisingly good) and chatting with them...we even shared some Lockeford sausage that we had! This was 3 years ago when they had recently bought the place and talked about plans to upgrade a handful of things. We've had a busy 3 years and haven't had a chance to make it back but we will definitely be making time in the near future. Such a relaxing and home-y feeling place that I'd recommend to anyone looking for a relaxing weekend! PS We've been drinking Fireball hot chocolate on cold relaxing evenings for the past 3 years now. Thanks for a great memory and tradition, Chris and Craig! read more

Restaurant only -- we haven't stayed over yet. We stopped in for hot chocolate after a day in the snow. To be completely honest the cocoa was so-so at best. But we decided to stick around for dinner -- let's face it there aren't many options on a Friday evening around that part of the 88 (especially when you roll up in damp snow gear). The food was tastier than the cocoa we came for, if not consistent. But the customer service was the big plus. Overwhelmed staff of 2(?), working hard, pouring on the up-country small-town genuine charm. Once again, the big lesson is the importance of customer service -- the dying art. Good service can make up for bad everything else. Bad service can just as quickly ruin the experience even if everything else is good. At Black Station, the service alone will bring us back to try the rest of what they offer... read more

We took a chance here not knowing anything about this place but our stay was fantastic! CRAIG & CHRISTINE were very nice and friendly. Bed was comfy and we slept great after a wonderfully cooked dinner. We were so over the moon about this lucky food and lodging experience. We will return again read more

New Owners have ruined a formerly nice place. Here's how 1. The cabin has 4 bedrooms and a really nice common area accessible from all 4 bedrooms with an old wood stove, kitchen, dining table and games. Many pleasant memories from this place, so we made a reservation in Dec 2012 on our way up to Kirkwood for early season skiing, and recommended to friends. When we arrived, we were shocked to discover that the common room was now occupied by a family and not available to guests, something the new owners neglected to tell us. The 2 available rooms didn't even have a microwave, so the food we brought to cook in the common room kitchen ended up spoiling in the car. To add injury to insult, the family living in the common area has a small baby that woke us screaming at 2am. 2. Unsanitary! This place is a health disaster waiting to happen. a) The family we came with discovered no towels in their bathroom. Thank goodness they noticed as we had the same issue and would not have noticed until we wanted to take a shower in the morning... b) It turns out to have not mattered, because we discovered hair all over the tub, plus a used bar of soap with hair on it in the soap tray. It clearly had not been cleaned since the last guests, making us wonder about the toilet, sink and sheets. We decided not to shower as it was just too disgusting 3. Dishonest. If unsanitary conditions are not enough of a reason to avoid this place, check this out: When our credit card bill came, we discovered an extra $300 charge from Black Station. They had swiped our credit card for a Christmas holiday stay that we never confirmed! Nor did we give them permission to swipe our card. One again, to add injury to insult, when we cancelled the reservation we never booked 10 days before the xmas holiday began, they refused to refund our money!!?? We contacted fraud alert at our Credit Card bank as we realized they have our credit card number and could do this at will. To this day, we have not received our money back for a 10 day prior cancellation from Black Station, so we're just calling it a loss to dishonest management. I am sad to say that, based on this terrible series of experiences, I must warn all fellow Kirkwood bound travelers to avoid this place like the plague... There are much nicer places the same distance from Kirkwood in South Lake Tahoe. Do yourself a favor and avoid the hassle and disturbing experience we had. read more

wonderful spot, owners where very nice. service was good, food was excellent. i was unaware they closed at 7 but was chatting with the couple at the next table until after close and she never rushed us. prices were reasonable for the quality so ill be stopping by again for sure. read more

We choose to stay here for a night before heading up to Kirkwood. Ideal location is staying out of town. Hands down great place to stay and eat! Bob and Rebecca were the perfect hosts, they even kept the kitchen open late for us so we could have a bite to eat when we got in late that night. The prawns and the steak were perfect! My favorite part is the large fireplace in the middle of the restaurant - makes it feel so homey and cosy. We stayed in the inn. There is a common room with a little wood stove, a kitchen, and tv. It was great to relax a little bit here before going to bed. Room was good with a comfy bed. My only complaint is that though our room was nice and toasty, the radiator was a bit loud and woke us up through out the night. We took Bob's recommendation and grabbed breakfast at Cooks station up the road on the way to kirkwood - highly recommend as well. Thanks to Bob and Rebecca for your hospitality!! read more

Great find on Hwy 88. This place offers a restaurant as well as a lodge with four rooms with a common area which includes a small kitchen. Perfect! We were able to have a dinner that was well prepared made with quality ingredients and enjoyed the well stocked bar. Bob was a gracious host whom we enjoyed the opportunity to chat with, as well as locals who stopped by for a drink. The restaurant is only open for dinner. read more

Black Station is truly a gem! You just cannot find quality, family owned businesses like this anymore. Bob and Rebecca work tediously to make sure every customer has a fantastic dining and lodging experience. I've eaten here many times and never left unsatisfied! Bob is a fantastic cook and will meet whatever special requests you make. Rebecca is a wonderful hostess and will pour you a fabulous drink! I just love them! The lodge is gorgeous and homey, it doesn't have the "cold" feeling that a lot of hotels and motels have, it is warm and inviting. The restaurant has a beautiful fire pit in the middle which is so lovely when it's snowing, I've enjoyed many nights curled up and drinking hot totties by the fire. Please give Black Station a chance, you will not regret it! -Tulane read more

We had a BLAST!! Hey everyone Bob is back and the food is amazing and so is the lodge!!! We just stayed there last weekend, Rebecca and Bob are amazing fun people, aiming to satisfy their customers. The Prime rib was soooo yummy, and all the fixings, if you leave there hungry it would be your fault. The lodge was perfect, what a cute place, very comfortable and nice.. Thank you Bob and Rebecca!!!!! what I hear the town is happy to have you back! read more

WOW just was reminded of the black station inn this past weekend,,,,I had a home up there 10 years ago,, had some guests over for the weekend and I had never been in the place So I took my guests there and we are still talking about it till this day,,,,The fellow working there ,,,,, think his name was bob,,,, was the bartender and the cook and we had the best time in there with him and no one else,,the best dinner and drinxs,,,NEED TO GO BACK,,, I HOPE NOTHING HAS CHANGED as for your one bad review,,,sounds like she needs a few drinks and I'm not a relative, read more

We stopped there for dinner and had a great. We forgot a jacket, and only realized a week later that it was likely there. We emailed Craig and 2 days later, our jacket was delivered by mail to our house. Thank you for great service, even after leaving! read more

Excellent service, warm comfy beds, and the best food on the mountain. If you're looking for a place to stay or just stop to eat this is the place read more

We had my sisters birthday dinner here and had such a great time! Craig and Christine are super sweet and even set up balloons for us on the table. The food was amazing and really impressed us. Every dish we ordered was perfection and especially loved the homemade bread and soup! They also have a great little bar and hang out area. Make a reservation to ensure your spot as it's a mom and pop spot and they will sometimes close if it gets too crowded. We will def come back here for dinner, a great find! read more

Long time proprietor Bob is back at Black Station. After a 1 year hiatus he has returned to run his restaurant and lodge. The menu features steak, seafood, a couple of pasta choices. Locals and travelers alike should stop by. read more

What a wonderful dinner we enjoyed at this great little restaurant! The owners, Chris and Craig, are not only delightful but serve some incredibly delicious food! I had the broiled scallops and my husband had the salmon. We were so impressed and so pleased to have discovered this gem! read more

Great food and homemade desserts : wonderful hosts. Cozy fire.

Such a cute and cozy hideaway in the woods! The bar and restaurant is literally steps away from where you stay which is perfect if you don't want to leave to get some food and drinks! Christine and Craig are the sweetest people and I will defiantly be back to stay there again! read more

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Happened to find this place after a day drive through 88. Cutest place and friendliest owners! We were greeted by Craig and Chris and felt right at home. The room was comfy and cozy and the bed felt great after a long day. The home cooked meals were an added plus! And at reasonable price. We would def be back. read more

Wow! Chris & Craig are fantastic hosts! My friend called (super early Thursday morning!) and made reservations for our group of 12 for a bachelorette party dinner for Saturday night. Made the res. with no problem. Chris called her back and asked what the bride's colors were. The tables cloths were her colors of maroon/gray. Tables set up nice in a horseshoe with several vases of pink roses. AND THEY CLOSED DOWN THE RESTAURANT FOR US!! They even had a scratcher game for us to play. ;) Fantastic service from our bartender STAN, and his wife serving us, Colette. SUPER NICE PEOPLE! THANK YOU!! read more

Update - I have loved this place over the years, but now I am sad to say that I must warn Kirkwood people (and everyone else) to steer very clear of this place. They have new owners who have made it a place to avoid. 1. When we booked the room, they didn't tell us that the wonderful common room which made this place great is now occupied by a family so it's not available for public use. Oh, and the family has a small baby that cried loudly at 2am... 2. The bathrooms had not been cleaned when we checked in: there were no towels and there was hair and soap scum in the tub, and hair on the open bar of soap in the soap dish. Needless to say we didn't use it. I slept badly wondering if they changed the bedsheets... 3. Worst of all, they charged us for an additional room we did not authorize the purchase of after we gave them our credit card number for this reservation over the phone. I only discovered it when my credit card bill arrived. I called them to get a refund nearly 2 weeks before the check in date, and they refused on the grounds that "they had to turn other people away". Don't give these folks your credit card number! I had to go through the hassle of working with my credit card fraud dept to get it dealt with. There are much better places about the same distance away from Kirkwood in South Lake Tahoe that are clean, include free wifi, etc. Bottom line: I strongly recommend avoiding this place. read more

We had a group of 4 guys, going to the forest for some off road riding the next day, Black Station was very close to our destination and this was our first time staying here. Half of our group showed up at 9pm, Bob kept the kitchen open for us and served an amazing Prime Rib dinner to our group. He stocked great wine and had everything we could have asked for. The next part of this review is what makes one go back and write about it. We left first thing in the morning to ride, Bob offered to keep the rooms open to us on return so we could shower up before heading home, also made Prime Rib sandwiches for us after the clean up. You just cant find that kind of service these days. Would most definitely come back and recommend to anyone. Thanks Bob! read more

Laughing so hard I can hardly stand it.... Undoubtedly the worst $250 dinner we have ever had... First of all, he spills a glass of red wine all over our 10 year daughter... WE cleaned it up, not him.... We ordered 4 filet mignon and we got 4 1/16th of an inch skirt steaks...Still Laughing!! The "Filets" came with 2 small, uncooked zucchini slices...nothing else Salad came with a DROP of dressing... His serving methods were dependent upon our cooperation...he couldn't walk around the table... Just Plain Terrible!!!! Don't waste your time. We should have known when we walked in at 6:30 pm and walked out at 8:30pm and there were no other customers... Obviously the other reviews have been placed by relatives! read more

I stayed at the Black Station Inn recently (March 2018) when the area received several feet of snow. I couldn't make it over the pass to Kirkwood but Chris and Craig were fantastic! The location was perfect and easy to find/park. They let me hang out in the common area several hours early (since I had nowhere else to go) and made me feel like family. I sat around chatting with them over dinner for several hours that evening and had a great meal and felt even more like family by the end. Would definitely come back (just watch out if its going to be a blizzard and you are trying to get to Kirkwood to ski!) I'm sure its beautiful in summer as well. read more

I was on my way to Carson City this past weekend. First storm of the season and I was not prepared for it. I got turned back towards Jackson and was happy to see the lights to the Black Station Inn on. I was in the parking lot with no cell reception and upset since I had just got stuck in the snow and hit guardrail and was upset. The very nice man came to my car and asked if I was ok. I explained what happened and that I had no reception but someone would be coming to look for me, I asked if I left my car until the morning, if it would be ok or if it would be towed. He explained he was the owner and he would not have me towed but to please come in from the cold and at least call my friend from the land line and warm up. I sat in my car for a minute and decided to go in. I walked in and the owner and another couple were at the bar and greeted me. They were closed but made me feel so welcomed. I called my friend and they spoke to him to explain where I was and assured him I would be ok. After being there for hours, and very well taken care of we rented a room and spent a very nice night in their newly renovated rooms. I would definitely go back again. I have some very good memories of that night, waiting with the owners, their neighbors and another stranded couple. Very thankful for the kindness of these strangers! read more

Fun again since the original owner has returned. Everything has been refreshed -- the inn and the rooms. The food and drink are the best in the area. read more

I read other reviews about how clean the inn was. Maybe it was in 2013, but things have changed; now it's just another old stop on the wayside. I didn't eat there, so I can't comment on that, but the rooms, arranged around a common area and kitchen were nothing to rave about, especially for the price. During my 2 week trip through the Sierra foothills I stayed in a number of hotels, inns in different price ranges. This lodging business was not the most expensive, but it offered the lowest quality and satisfaction for what was charged. In general, it seems that Arnold, Murphys, Pine Grove, Pioneer are still in the let's-get-as-much-as-we-can-from-the-tourists mode and who cares about repeat business. I stayed in new, modern facilities throughout a large swath of the foothills that offered lots of amenities, as well as the funky little places in old parts of towns/villages. This was the least pleasant of them all. That would have been enough, but the thing that struck me the most was the personality of the owner. Or I should say the lack thereof. There was just nothing there; questions I had regarding the restaurant and others were met with monotoned indifference and/or boredom. Needless to say, I won't be returning to the Black Station Inn. read more

We had dinner at this establishment this past Saturday evening. The owners ChrIs and Craig are such nice people, it wasn't real busy so we had some nice one on one time with them, talking about they're move here , pets, and fishing. We had three little kids and three adults , they kept the kids entertained checking on the table along with bringing more drinks. The food was delicious, three of us had rib eyes, and one had the chicken, and corn dogs. Everything was good and a very nice atmosphere for dinning. We had a great time and look forward to our next outing there. read more

Clearly new owners have worked hard to improve this restaurant and cabins. Very personal and attentive dinner service by the wife while hubby cooks. Decent food, full bar, fair prices. Dinner menu includes fried or grilled chicken, steak, salmon, lamb chops, etc. A pleasant surprise not expected in such a rural area. read more