Lodge: An Indoorsy Tour of America’s National Parks

Striking photos and personal, experiential stories lure park rookies and obsessives alike to the rustic charm of America’s National Park lodges.

Max Humphrey shines a light on 10 rustic National Park lodges in all their airy, timeworn splendor. No historic photos here; the images of the architecture and interiors are as they look today, highlighting these storied places in a fresh, alluring way. Sure, the lobbies are the main stage, but Humphrey touches on grand dining rooms, guest rooms, and rustic canteens alike. He writes about the buildings themselves in terms of the historical goings-on at the time, why they were built, and the players involved, highlighting notable architectural moments and period-specific furnishings. A smattering of pop culture history adds extra bursts of levity throughout.

Lodges and national parks included:

- The Ahwahnee, Yosemite National Park, California
- Crater Lake Lodge, Crater Lake National Park, Oregon
- Curry Village, Yosemite National Park, California
- El Tovar, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
- Lake McDonald lodge, Glacier National Park, Montana
- Lake Quinault Lodge, Olympic National Park, Washington
- The Oasis, Death Valley NP, California
- Old Faithful Inn, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
- Paradise Inn, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
- Zion Lodge, Zion National Park, Utah

Max Humphrey spent 10 years in Los Angeles designing homes all over the US. In 2016, he moved to Portland to launch his own design firm. He has been featured in Architectural Digest, Domino, Dwell, The Wall Street Journal, and as one of Apartment Therapy’s design changemakers. Max was also featured as a Next Wave designer in House Beautiful and has been named one of Country Living’s 100 most creative people. He is the author of Modern Americana (Gibbs Smith, Spring 2021). He lives in Portland, Oregon.

Kathryn O’Shea-Evans lived in three national parks during her college summers before she became a design and travel journalist for The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, and coauthor of design monographs for Abrams, Monacelli, and Rizzoli New York, including Mark D. Sikes’s More Beautiful. She lives in Denver, Colorado.