With this issue of Ptarmigan Tracks, we share the news that North Face Lodge will cease its current operation as a guest lodge at the end of the 2020 season. Going forward we will focus our energies on Camp Denali, striving to fulfill its longstanding legacy and recommitting to its sustainability.
North Face Lodge sits on private land that was homesteaded in 1957 by park superintendent, Grant Pearson, upon his retirement. Grant hand-selected the location for its views, its crystalline spring water, and its proximity to grayling fishing in Moose Creek. Little surprise that he gravitated to the area - he had recommended the site of Camp Denali to its founders six years prior. Of less concern to him, but not lost on speculators who would follow, were the road access and the eminently buildable, level, well-drained and frost-free ground below.
The property changed hands following Grant's tenure, and a rough precursor of today's lodge was erected under the second owners. A dozen years on, in 1986, the property abruptly came up for sale, drawing the attention of several would-be developers. Among them, the park concessioner, Outdoor World, had plans on the drawing board for the addition of hundreds of guest rooms, posing a clear and immediate threat to the character of the area and to park use limits.
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