Canyon Lodge Redevelopment in Yellowstone National Park on Track After Winter Hiatus
For Immediate Release
Photos Available
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, May 27, 2015 – A mild winter has allowed construction crews to quickly pick up where they left off last fall on Yellowstone National Park’s Canyon Lodge & Cabins redevelopment project. And by August, eager guests will be enjoying overnight stays in the first three of five lodge buildings that will ultimately be constructed.
As part of its concessions contract with the National Park Service (NPS), lodge operator Xanterra Parks & Resorts has removed the majority of some 400 Frontier cabins and is replacing them with five lodges featuring modular and sustainable construction. The lodges will be multi-story structures featuring stone and wood that blend into the surrounding area. The first three lodges will open in August, and the remaining two open the following summer.
Progress can be seen online through a web cam and a time lapse video.
For many years Canyon Lodge & Cabins has featured more than 400 cabins and two lodge buildings, making it the largest single accommodation complex in the park. Most of the area’s cabins were constructed in the 1950s and 1960s when NPS undertook its massive “Mission 66” development program to expand facilities and services in parks across the country in anticipation of NPS’s 50th anniversary in 1966. The cabins served visitors well for the past five decades and greatly outlasted their intended life spans.
The new Canyon lodging redevelopment project will feature lodging built to last for many decades while reducing environmental impact. The total cost of the plan is estimated at around $70 million. In addition to the lodges, the project will eventually feature paths that will make the area more biker- and hiker-friendly.
The new lodges will feature common meeting areas and a total of 409 guest rooms. Because the village receives large amounts of snow each winter, much of the building construction has been performed off site – 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.
Xanterra is also planning a redesign of Canyon Lodge dining facilities to expand its emphasis on local and sustainable offerings and quick-service meals which will allow visitors to spend more time experiencing the park.
Martel Construction of Bozeman, Mont. is the general contractor for this job. Barker Rinker Seacat Architecture of Denver is the architect. The modular components that ultimately become the lodges were built by Guerdon Enterprises, LLC of Boise Idaho.
Reservations for Canyon Lodge & Cabins as well as for eight other lodges in the park can be made by visiting www.YellowstoneNationalParkLodges.com or calling 1-307-344-7311 or toll free 1-866-GEYSERLAND (1-866-439-7375).