Hotels on the Firehole River (Yellowstone, 1880-1891) and the Origins of Concessioner Policy in National Parks - PART ONE
By Lee H. Whittlesey
Making the “Grand Tour” of Yellowstone National Park before the railroad arrived near its north entrance in 1883 was a far rougher experience than the commonly used term implies, and even during those first railroad years of the 1880s the park trip remained a challenge. Poor roads, bad food and rustic lodgings that were more like the roadside inns of the eighteenth century than like true hotels made park travel difficult if not downright annoying for much of a tourist’s time there. A look back at newspaper articles and diaries reveals mixed reactions to the accommodations in “Wonderland”: crude facilities were either a part of the delights of experiencing the wilderness firsthand, or they were a trying aspect to be endured.
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