Judging by the lack of a trail, I take it the log cabin is either: abandoned; a hideout; or only known about by the Rangers.

This is assuming that the park is wooded, it would be hard for the cabin to be a hideout or a secret if it were in plain view. However, iv visitors COULD just see it and wander over, I'd expect there to be a trail to follow so the foot traffic causes minimum damage to the park grounds.

It is actually more of a nature preservation.

Even more of a reason for a defined path between the facilities buildings: you DEFINITELY want to keep the grounds and habitat undamaged.