Two Orem residents have bought historic Macks Inn at Island Park and plan to open the resort year-round.
Chad Bauer, who has a family cabin on Big Springs Road, and Rick Evans, who attended a family reunion at the resort last summer, finalized the deal recently.The sale includes 15 acres of land, a 22-unit motel, 16 condominiums, 35 cabins, a laundromat, 69-slot motor home park and a convention center that seats 100. The men would not say what they paid for the property, but it was listed for $2.5 million.
Macks Inn, off U.S. Highway 20 on the banks of the Henry's Fork of the Snake River, has been a favorite gathering place for families for generations.
"Doc" Mack started the resort in 1909 and built at the present site in 1916, when cars were allowed into nearby Yellowstone National Park for the first time.
Mack loved the area so much he abandoned a career as an optometrist to run the operation.
Since 1976, Macks Inn has been run by Ralph Bastain and his family. In 1989, the lodge burned to the ground, leaving only the fireplace standing. The family put the resort on the market when Bastain died last fall.
"We felt that it was time to sell since all the children had stock and while the children were middle-aged, the grandchildren could use some financial help," said his wife, Flora Bastain.
Evans, who owned and taught at Evans Hairstyling College at Orem, will move to Island Park with his family next week to run the resort, which should open May 15.
The partners plan eventually to rebuild the lodge. In the meantime, they will renovate and remodel the cabins, many of which are in dis-repair.
The Playmill in West Yellowstone, Mont., has leased the convention center and plans to present dinner theater in Island Park from May 24 through Labor Day.
Island Park motel owners and others welcome the planned improvements at Macks Inn and are glad the resort will be open year-round.
"Any time improvements are made in our midst, it is good for all of us," said Roger Cameron, owner of Phillips Lodge.
In recent years, Island Park businesses have worked hard to become a year-round destination and offer more winter recreation opportunities, such as snowmobiling and cross-country skiing.