Old Faithful Inn - A Log Lodge Built in One Winter

Photo: Steven Pavlov, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)

A stop on Yellowstone Geyser Country, a free self-guided tour.

Step into the lobby and look up. The ceiling peaks about 92 feet above the floor, laced with gnarled lodgepole pine branches, balconies and stairways that seem to climb into the rafters. Across the room, a stone fireplace about 85 feet tall anchors the space.

Architect Robert Reamer was only 29 when he designed this hotel. Crews built the original section over the winter of 1903 to 1904, using logs cut a few miles away and rhyolite stone from nearby, and it opened in 1904. It is often called the largest log hotel in the world, and the wings on either side were added later.

The building has survived hard tests. The 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake brought down the dining room chimney and shook the Inn partly off its foundations. In 1988 the North Fork Fire raced right up to it before firefighters and a new rooftop sprinkler system saved it. Find a seat, look around and picture guests arriving by stagecoach.

Getting here: From the Old Faithful benches, follow the walkway west about 250 yards to the Inn's big log entrance.

Did you know?: Three presidents have stayed here: Warren Harding in 1923, Calvin Coolidge in 1927 and Franklin Roosevelt in 1937.

Photo op: From the lobby floor, shoot straight up into the log framework with a wide lens; outside, back up across the drive to fit the whole steep shingled roof.

Nearby: Restrooms off the lobby, a dining room, a deli and a gift shop. The Inn closes for winter, so check current dates before you go.

More on Wikipedia: Old Faithful Inn · Robert Reamer · 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake

Old Faithful Inn - A Log Lodge Built in One Winter

Stops on this tour