Construction finished ahead of schedule? That's what happened at Canyon in Yellowstone National Park, where two of three lodge buildings have opened three weeks ahead of schedule.
Yellowstone's Canyon Lodge & Cabins redevelopment project will ultimately result in five new lodges featuring a total of 409 guest rooms. As part of its concessions contract with the National Park Service, lodge operator Xanterra Parks & Resorts removed the majority of some 400 Frontier cabins last year and is replacing them with lodges featuring modular and sustainable construction.
The first two lodges opened for guests Aug. 1 while a third will open Aug. 22. The two remaining lodges are under construction and will open next summer.
"There is still plenty of work left to perform, but I want to officially congratulate our crews and suppliers for their dedication and hard work that made the early opening possible," said Jim McCaleb, general manager of Yellowstone National Park Lodges. "We expect some happy guests who will unexpectedly get to stay inside the park this summer."
Members of the Swanson family – parents Gary and Nancy and sons Kevin and Ryan – from Brielle, N.J., were the first guests to check in.
“We walked in here and it was just, wow! Rustic chic,” said Nancy Swanson.
Because of the relatively short building season due to long winters characterized by heavy snow, much of the building was constructed off site using modular techniques – with paint, carpet, tile, lighting and bathroom fixtures already in place – with final assembly and finishing taking place onsite. The lodges will complement the Cascade Lodge, which opened in 1993 and Dunraven Lodge which was completed in 1998.
Comments
The newer lodges are beautiful and very modern but it is sad that the Frontier cabins have almost all been removed. I worked at Canyon for 7 summers and more than once young families with children remarked that it was so great that the Frontier prices enabled them to stay in the park. Unfortunately those prices are a thing of the past. My family stayed in them and they were simple but comfortable.