$3 million renovation to Glacier Park lodge underway

GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, Mont. – A $3 million renovation to the historic Lake McDonald Lodge at Glacier National Park is underway, marking the first overhaul of the building in nearly 30 years.

Xanterra Parks and Resorts is paying for the upgrades and maintenance to the 102-year-old Swiss chalet-inspired structure, The Daily Inter Lake reported.

“The buildings themselves are sort of historic icons of Glacier, and I think it’s important that we upkeep these beautiful, historic properties so future generations can have the opportunity to experience Glacier in a similar way that their ancestors did 100 years ago,” said Marc Ducharme, the general manager for Xanterra Parks and Resorts’ concessionaire operations in the park.

Renovation began in December and is expected to be completed in May. It is the largest renovation Xanterra has overseen in the park since taking over the concession contract from Glacier Park Inc. in 2014.

Xanterra officials say public areas of the lodge are not set to change much, with most of the work focused on the 82 guest rooms and 13 adjacent cabins.

“The public spaces don’t look much different,” Ducharme said. “The rooms we kept time-period-accurate, but the historical accuracy was more difficult because of the lack of historic photographs.”

Xanterra renovated the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn near Many Glacier and the Village Inn at Apgar last year. As part of its 16-year concessionaire contract with the park, Xanterra is obligated to renovate several of the park’s hotels and lodges, including the Many Glacier Hotel, on which about $3 million of work is scheduled to begin next year.