FOREVER RESORTS OF ARIZONA WILL MANAGE CEDAR PASS LODGE IN BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK

A Badlands tradition continued on Friday, May 24, when the Cedar Pass Lodge opened for the 2002 summer season. The Lodge is under new management as of this season. Forever Resorts, LLC of Scottsdale, Arizona was selected to serve as the concessioner at Badlands National Park for a three year contract (2002 through 2004). The Lodge will be open daily through October 31 with its full service restaurant, gift shop, and cabins available. Reservations are now being accepted at (605) 433 - 5460. Since opening, the cabins at Cedar Pass Lodge have operated at nearly 100% capacity. Manager Phil Parker expects that trend to continue through the summer. "We're really looking forward to offering high quality customer services here at Cedar Pass this summer. I hope to start seeing folks from the local communities back in the restaurant for evening meals and Sunday dinner again real soon." The restaurant and gift shop at Cedar Pass Lodge are currently open from 7 a.m. until 8:30 p.m. Hours will extend on June 8. The Lodge employs approximately sixty local residents.

Cedar Pass Lodge first opened for business in 1928, predating the establishment of Badlands National Monument by eleven years. Mr. Ben Millard, a local businessman and close friend of Senator Peter Norbeck, started with a dance hall that brought people from a hundred mile radius to listen to bands like Lawrence Welk and His Hotsy Totsy Boys. He added a dining room and a counter for curios and several small tourist cabins. Ben Millard passed away in 1956 - and he died at Cedar Pass Lodge. Millard has the honor of being the first "interpreter" in the Badlands - a title he earned by giving nightly geology talks to Lodge guests. In 1957, he was afforded another honor by the National Park Service. The high ridge rising above the Cedar Pass area where the Lodge and park headquarters are situated was named Millard Ridge to honor Ben. The National Park Service now owns Cedar Pass Lodge but it is operated through a concession contract that is awarded on a competitive basis.

Lodge Manager Phil Parker comes to the position with a strong background in both the hospitality industry and the National Park Service. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Madison School of Business, Parker managed the food service for Oregon State University for several years before beginning a career with the National Park Service in concessions management at Yosemite National Park. He served as the Pacific Northwest Region Concession Management Specialist for 15 years before retiring in the late 1990s.

To learn more about Badlands National Park and its summer activities, visit the park virtually at http://www.nps.gov/badl or contact (605) 433 - 5245 and request a copy of the 2002 Prairie Preamble, the park's activity guide. To learn more about the history of the park and Cedar Pass Lodge, read A Revelation Called the Badlands: Building a National Park by Jay Shuler. This book is available from Badlands Natural History Association, the park's non-profit partner in education. To learn more about Badlands Natural History Association, contact (605) 433 - 5489.