14
AUGUST 18�25, 2021
CULTURE & HERITAGE
CELEBRATING THE HISTORY
OF EASTERN OREGON
Rediscover the Wallowa Lake Lodge
By Katy Nesbitt
Go! Magazine
W
ALLOWA LAKE — The
treasured Wallowa Lake
Lodge has been a favorite desti-
nation for nearly 100 years as a
weekend getaway or an evening
out to dinner.
Madeline Lau was hired as the
lodge’s new manager in Febru-
ary 2020. Within a month she
and her board of directors were
fl ummoxed as to how to run the
historic lodge during a global
pandemic.
“It was tricky,” Lau said. “There
was a huge feeling of uncertainty
those fi rst two months.”
Once regulations were sorted
out, Lau said the board and staff
decided to keep the lodge and
restaurant open, but reduced the
number of diners from a capacity
of 84 to 42.
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Summer Sundays feature yoga on the lawn at Wallowa Lake Lodge.
The pandemic didn’t slow down
tourism much in Wallowa County,
and the lodge was no exception.
Lau said they were busier than
they thought they would be.
“The Wallowas seemed safe to
a lot of people so we had tons and
tons of visitors and it turned out to
be what felt like a normal season,”
she said.
COVID-19 precautions didn’t
interrupt their ability to rent rooms
or serve meals, but it did prompt
moving programs and meals to
the lodge’s deck overlooking the
expansive lawn framed by large
conifers.
“We really tried, this year and
last, to get outside,” Lau said.
“That was a huge reason for the
rebuild and expansion of the
deck.”
For entertainment, lectures
on Thursday nights and music
on Fridays are held on the new
2,000-square-foot deck. Guests
are off ered al fresco cocktails,
beer, wine and food. Lau recom-
mends the lodge’s Scandinavian
charcuterie board for an after-
noon or evening repast.
“The new bar in our lobby has
been well received and we try to
feature liquor, beer and wine from
Oregon or the Pacifi c Northwest,”
Lau said.
The restaurant also sources
local food like Stangel bison steak
and ground beef, raised in Wal-
lowa County, she said.
The lectures and music, as
well as the new menu, draw Wal-
lowa County residents looking
for a night out. Lau said this is
intentional as she, the board and
staff want the lodge to be open,
accessible and welcoming to the
community.
“A lot of people have aff ection
for the lodge,” Lau said. “For a
business to be lasting and appre-
ciated it has to be loved and used
by the community.”
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