Room rates are impacted by lodge maintenance expenses that can be sizeable , especially for historic lodges . Yosemite National Park ’ s Wawona Hotel is nearly 150 years old , while Yellowstone ’ s Old Faithful Inn and Grand Canyon ’ s El Tovar Hotel are each approaching 120 years of age . Historic structures tend to require high maintenance combined with occasional major expenditures for repair of foundations , plumbing , electrical wiring and more . Retaining the historic nature of facilities in isolated locations ups the cost even more . Consider the National Park Service ( NPS ) spent more than $ 30 million over 11 years for restoration work on Old Faithful Inn . Tens of millions of dollars were spent on foundation and renovation work at Paradise
Inn in Mount Rainier National Park . Lodges undergoing major work are often closed for months or even years resulting in months of zero revenue . While the National Park Service is responsible for much of the major maintenance , a portion of the expense is recovered from required fees paid to the NPS by lodge operators .
Strong public demand for national park guest rooms also plays a part in lodging prices . Many lodges are able to fill most of their guest rooms even at premium prices . National park visitation grew by 37 % between 2020 and 2023 , with popular parks experiencing even larger increases . Yellowstone visitation increased nearly 42 % during the last decade with no meaningful increase in the number of the
Cabin at Jenny Lake Lodge in Grand Teton National Park , Wyoming Photo by Kay Scott
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