Grant Village is a developed area of

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...

, offering lodging, camping and other visitor services. It is located on the southwest side of

Yellowstone Lake Yellowstone Lake is the largest body of water in Yellowstone National Park. The lake is above sea level and covers with of shoreline. While the average depth of the lake is , its greatest depth is at least . Yellowstone Lake is the largest fre ...

, about south of

West Thumb Geyser Basin The geothermal areas of Yellowstone include several geyser basins in Yellowstone National Park as well as other geothermal features such as hot springs, mud pots, and fumaroles. The number of thermal features in Yellowstone is estimated at 10, ...

. Grant Village was developed by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

and concessioners under the

Mission 66 Mission 66 was a United States National Park Service ten-year program that was intended to dramatically expand Park Service visitor services by 1966, in time for the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Park Service. When the National P ...

program, in an effort to relocate land-consuming visitor services and accommodations away from the park's major attractions and sensitive features. Grant Village was planned to allow the removal of development encroaching on the thermal basin at West Thumb. Originally named "Thumb Bay," the development was first proposed in 1955 by Park Service director Conrad L. Wirth to accommodate 2500 visitors with restaurants, gas stations, concessions and a marina. Grant Village lodging YNP1

By 1960 there was a divergence of opinion on the project's design: the primary concessioner, the

Yellowstone Park Company Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...

, wanted a compact layout, while the Park Service's Western Office of Design desired a dispersed arrangement. Financial difficulties left the Yellowstone Park Company unable to exert much influence. Construction of the first phase of Grant Village, named after President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

, was completed in June 1963, comprising a campground, picnic area and boat ramp. A marina was completed by 1965,Culpin, p. 113 with construction of motel-style lodging, service facilities and restaurants continuing into the 1980s. The development remained smaller than originally intended; in 1981 Secretary of the Interior

James G. Watt James Gaius Watt (born January 31, 1938) is a public servant who served as U.S. Secretary of the Interior from 1981 to 1983. He has been described as "anti-environmentalist", and was one of Ronald Reagan's most controversial cabinet appointment ...

responded to pressure from the park gateway town of

West Yellowstone, Montana West Yellowstone is a town in Gallatin County, Montana, United States, adjacent to Yellowstone National Park. The population was 1,272 at the 2020 census. West Yellowstone is served by Yellowstone Airport. It is part of the Bozeman, MT Micropoli ...

, cutting the project's scope.

References

{{Authority control Yellowstone National Park Mission 66 Buildings and structures in Teton County, Wyoming National Park Service visitor services villages

See also

References