Lake Hotel is the oldest hotel in the Park today. The Yellowstone Park Association was the hotel concessionaire when its construction began in 1889. Once called the “Colonial Hotel” it replaced a little used tent camp near the present river outlet. Guests were first housed here in 1891. The original building was rather plain, with gables in the front roof that extended only slightly beyond the face of the structure. By 1895, rates at Lake Hotel were $4.00 per day, including meals.
Lake Hotel remained a small establishment (80 guest rooms) until 1903. Additions in the next two years raised the number of rooms to 210. The front gables were also extended and the pillars added to produce the porticoes which established its Southern colonial styling.
From 1892 – 1907, visitors could arrive by steamboat, boarding at West Thumb and docking in front of the hotel. A stop was made at Dot Island in order that tourists could look at buffalo and elk that were kept in pens there.
The porte-cochere projecting over the hotel driveway was added in 1919-1920. The east wing of the hotel was completed in 1925, adding 113 rooms and 59 baths. The tile mantled fireplace in the lobby was built at that time. An old wing of the hotel was torn down in 1939. Currently there are 158 guest rooms in the hotel and some 75,000 visitors stay here each summer season.
A 1905 Park guidebook states “Guests at Lake Hotel found a serenity absent everywhere in Wonderland… Whether one walked the lakeshore or merely sat and watched the backdrop of wooded hills and rugged peaks, the mood was one of restfulness. What a blessing after four days of stagecoach travel – of sun, wind, dust and mosquitoes!” So it was in 1904… and somewhat similar today.
Btw, I FINALLY saw bears today.
Not one, but three.
A female and her two cubs.
Nice. :)
