Signal Mountain Lodge

A Year in Pictures

2011-11-04T08:53:00.035-06:00

Beginning of a New Year

Early Spring

Spring Arrives

Summer

Summer turns to Fall

Snow begins to fall

Winter Returns

Enjoy the Holidays folks, we will see you next year!

15 More Years!!!

2011-09-17T10:59:00.005-06:00

Signal Mountain Lodge is very very happy to anounce that Forever Resorts has been awarded the NPS concessionare's contract to continue operating this property for another 15 years! We are very thankful to be able to continue this wonderful partnership in this beautiful place. We look forward to serving all of our guests in even better ways as we move in to this next phase in Signal Mountain history. A big thanks goes to everyone who helped get us here! Hip Hip Hooray!

The Wall of Awesome!

2011-08-29T13:18:00.005-06:00

Signal Mountain Lodge is rich in it's quality of staff. We are constantly recieving compliments on their quality of service and their quality of work. We are up to our ears in positive comment cards telling us how wonderful our employees are. So much so in fact we created a wall in our Employee Dining Room to showcase all our recognition, The Wall of Awesome. They make us proud so we wanted to share a few samples with you!

____________________________________________________________________

"Your staff was awesome! We were so hungry. They were fun & helpful. We will come back again! Thanks!"

"I stayed at the Signal Mt Campground just after it opened this season. We are back at Lizard Creek now. I just wanted to underscore how pleasant and accommodating the staff is in every point of contact. Terrific - Keep it Up!"

"The float trip with Peter was absolutely wonderful - He did an outstanding job. Also very much appreciated the housekeeping staff. Eileen at front desk was extremely helpful and gave wonderful advice."

"Thank you for the wonderful pizza. We're from Chicago (home of the best pizza) so this is quite a compliment! Your staff was very friendly and good-humored with our 2 young children. We will highly recommend this place!!"

"We had 3 different meals here on 3 different days and all were fabulous - spinach salad/caesar at lunch, breakfast burrito, and elk medalions with risotto - Yum! Kudos to the chef(s). Also enjoyed boating from here in a rental. The Tetons are glorious! Special commendation to Micah as our server twice - very friendly, personable and professional. We will definitely return. Many Thanks!"

"This only our second day in the park and we have been here to eat twice already. Wonderful pie crust! Trapper sandwich is fantastic!"

"Frankie at the Trapper Restaurant went above & beyond. She was efficient, courteous & attentive. We really appreciated the excellent service & professionalism."

"Everyone at Leek's is extremely friendly and accomodating! Love the British server! The waitresses were very nice! The calzones are HUGE!"

"We loved our server. She was very positive and went the 'extra mile' to meet our requests regarding the menu. Her name is Jordin and she is from Michigan, a lovely young woman with a terrific personality. Signal Mountain is a favorite with us. Thanks so much!"

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Of course we already thought of our staff as Awesome, but we never get sick of hearing it!

Last Call for the Best Pizza in the Valley!

2011-08-20T11:43:00.007-06:00

Leek's Pizzeria is open for just a couple more weeks. It's time to come up and have some of the best pizza, sandwiches, and salads in the valley before they close up for the year on September 5th. All of Leek's pizza dough is made fresh by hand with organic ingredients, and the selection of toppings is unbeatable. There are several beers and wines available and delicious ice cream to top it all off with.

Leek's is located in a beautiful bay at the north end of Jackson Lake that brags some of the most stunning views of the Teton Range. It is especially fun to boat up from the Signal Mountain marina and dock the boat for a spell to have some great food and enjoy the location. The staff are charming and look forward to seeing you! Be sure to come up and chow down before you have to wait all the way until next summer!

View of Mt. Moran from Leek's

Sunset over Leek's Marina

Views of the north end of the Teton Range from Leek's

Pizza Professionals!

Wildflowers of Grand Teton National Park

2011-07-09T10:12:00.014-06:00

The winter was unstoppable this year. The snow piled up continuosly from January to May with many areas of Jackson Hole recieving over 700 inches of snow throughout the season (that's nearly 60 feet!). Although this exceptional amount of snow made for a slow start to our hiking season, it has some neat benefits, one being an abundance of water for the wildflowers of Grand Teton National Park to drink up all summer.

As things thawed throughout May and June and the sagebrush began to push through the snow cover we began to see the first spots of brilliant color announcing that flowers were on their way. It wasn't long before fields of yellow arrowleaf balsamroot, and blue lupine were blanketing sections of the valley floor.

The flowers begin blooming at the lower elevations and climb up the mountainsides chasing the receding snow. Different types of flowers grow at different elevations. Larger more robust species like the arrowleaf balsamroot, lupine, sticky geranium and indian paintbrush thrive in the valley. Moving up through the forests and mid-elevations you may find more intricate flowers such as monkshood, harebell, columbine, steer's head or shooting star. In the upper alpine zone's the flowers are small and close to the ground, look for moss campion, alpine forget-me-not and flox.

The color these flowers provide polk-a-dots and embellishes an already magnificent landscape.

Summer Staff Games 2011

2011-06-20T13:05:00.017-06:00

Every summer in June the SML staff band together by department and form teams to enter into a week of competitive fun. A handful of events are hosted each day throughout the week ranging from a chess tournament to a running relay, and horseshoes to a volleyball tournament, just to name a few. Gold, Silver and Bronze medals are awarded for each event and points are accumulated in conjunction with the medals. After a series of events on the final day, points are tallied and the highly sought prize, The Most Prestigous Trophy, is passed into the possession of the winning-est team during an outdoor cookout and closing ceremony.

All of the teams worked hard this year and it was a very close match throughout the week with many teams still handily in reach of first place by the final day of games. In the end, the enthusiasm and perseverance of the Cleaning Mutant Ninja Turtles paid off and they emerged victorious.

Congratulations to the Cleaning Mutant Ninja Turtles (housekeeping staff) for taking home The Most Prestigious Trophy in this year's SML Summer Staff Games! Hip Hip Hooray!

A big thanks to all who participated and made this year's games so much fun!

The volleyball tournament!

Mt. Moranasaurus getting the crowd riled up

The Phantoms of the Opera warming up for the Talent Show

An entertaining skit for the talent show

A couple of Cleaning Mutant Ninja Turtles

Some excited gold medalists

The victorious team touting their prize

The Marinas And Leek's Pizzeria Are Open, And Summer Time Updates

2011-05-31T15:07:00.010-06:00

The ice has completely disappeared from Jackson Lake and it is nice to once again see the deep blue against the shining white mountains. The sun is out and the wildlife are roaming around the park.

We have our docks in the water and have opened both Signal Marina and Leek's Marina along with Leek's Pizzeria. So come on up and cruise around the lake, or grab some delicious pizza, or both!

Our Marinas will have a few operational limitations over the first week as we get prepped for the rest of the summer. Signal Marina has canoes, kayaks, and a few run-about boats in the water. (The paddle powered boats will have limited usage areas due to cold water conditions). The rest of the fleet will be available as they come out of storage and are prepped by our marina staff.

Leek's Marina will not have gas, potable water or pump out services available on the docks until tentatively the weekend of June 4th. We are busy upgrading our fuel containment systems on the dock and hope to have work completed by then.

The guest docks at Signal Marina and the wrangle dock at Leek's Marina wil be out of the water until the lake level rises.

Seasonal Buoyers will have access to the wrangle boats to mark their buoys both at Signal Marina and Leek's Marina starting May 29th.

We are looking forward to warmer and warmer weather as the week goes on and a full lake for the length of the summer! See you at the lake!

The marina from the lodge

The dock

The marina staff are ready to help

Signal Mountain Lodge is Open, Mother's Day Info

2011-05-05T13:25:00.005-06:00

Howdy Folks,

A little update on what's going on at Signal Mountain Lodge.

FRIDAY, MAY 6TH: Signal Mountain Lodge opens at 11:00am for the 2011 summer season.

Lodging, Gift Stores, Trapper Grill, The Peaks sustainable dining, Deadman's Bar, Campground (limited) and the Convenience Store.

MOTHER'S DAY SPECIAL, MAY 8TH: The Peaks Mother's Day Special will be served for reservations only in the Peaks and Trapper Grill dining rooms from 1pm to 9pm. The Trapper Grill breakfast menu will be served until 11:00am only, in the Trapper Grill. Deadman's Bar will be open from 11:00am until 10:00pm serving the Trapper Grill menu.

The lake still has 3 feet of ice on it. We are crossing our fingers to see some open water soon. Come on up before the crowds do! Make Mother's Day reservations soon.

http://www.signalmountainlodge.com/

Call for Mother's Day reservations or lodging: 307.543.2831

2011 Opening Dates by Department

2011-04-06T14:24:00.019-06:00

Howdy folks, we are one month away from the beginning of another great season! We are all looking forward to the warm weather and summer activities that are just around the corner. As summer approaches we want to keep you in the loop on when each of our departments open. Following are opening dates by department.

Lodging and the Front Desk will open for the season May 6 at Noon

The Convenience Store will be open for the season April 30th at 10:00am

Deadman's Bar will be open for the season May 6th at Noon

The Needles and Timbers Gift Stores will be open for the season May 7th at 8:00am

The Signal Mountain Restaurants will be opening on May 6th for the season. The Trapper Grill opens at 7:00am and the Peaks Dining Room opens at 5:30pm.

The Signal Mountain Marina will be open for the season May 21 at 8:00am

Scenic Float Trips on the Snake River will begin May 14

Guided Fishing Trips on Jackson Lake will begin May 21

Leek's Pizzeria will be open for the season on May 25th at 11:00am

Leek's Marina will be open for the season beginning May 21 at 8:00am

Signal Mountain Campground will be open for the season beginning May 6

Lizard Creek Campground will open for the season beginning June 10

We hope to see you up here enjoying beautiful Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks this summer!

Another Nacho Night Success!

2011-03-07T11:12:00.011-07:00

Signal Mountain Lodge would like to thank everyone who came out and supported Moose Corner Daycare on Friday night and helped us have another succesful Nacho Night. We had a great turnout and sold over 150 nachos this year!

Here are a few pictures of some of the behind the scenes action:

Sam, Danny, Johannah and Toby kickin' out the Nachos

Phyllis and Ben at the topping station

Jay as a busy busser

Doc manning his battle station

Kieran trying to keep up on the dishes

Once we were all done, Matt, Sam, John and Meghan kicked off the clean up, Yum!

And here is to a job well done!

This little guy wanted to crash the party.

Thanks again to everyone for a great Nacho Night!

NACHO NIGHT 2011!

2011-02-15T09:39:00.007-07:00

Its almost that time of year again! That one special time each winter that is the only time outside of the regular summer season to get your fix of SML's world famous Signal Mountain of Nacho's and Margaritas: Nacho Night! Be sure to mark your calendars for Friday, March 4th and come up to SML and help us support Moose Corner Daycare!

What is Nacho Night?

Nacho Night is a community fundraising event that Signal Mountain Lodge has been hosting since 1988. It is a benefit for Moose Corner Day Care, a non-profit community resource for folks living in and around Grand Teton National Park. It is a fun opportunity to come out and meet with your Jackson Hole neighbors over some good food and drink and support a good cause.

Nacho Night will be held in the main registration building at Signal Mountain Lodge on March 4th from 5pm to 8pm. Nachos are served for $13 with all the fixin's, Margaritas are $6 by the glass or $18 by the pitcher, Beer is also available for $4 a glass or $12 a pitcher.

What's different this year?

Due to the awesome turnout at last year's Nacho Night, SML is making a few changes this year that will help us do a better job accomodating everyone. This year we are opening up the entire main floor of the registration building to seating which will double our floor space. We are re-organizing our bar area to streamline our service, and we've ordered a few dozen more pitchers specifically for Nacho Night. Our cashiers will now be located in the entry of the lobby since we will be using both floors of the registration building, and this should help us keep the line a bit more orderly. We expect that these changes will add to everyone's enjoyment of the evening.

When is it?

Friday, March 4th from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

We look forward to a fun night and hope to see you here!

Cold Cold Weather

2011-02-02T11:19:00.003-07:00

As seems to be the norm accross the U.S. over the last week, Signal Mountain Lodge is getting some pretty cold weather. We've had lows around -30 degrees farenheit over the last couple days. Today we took a little mid-morning break to experiment with the extreme cold, following is a video of Jason Ryan, our General Manager, spraying water out of a squirt gun and watching it freeze in mid-air.

We hope everyone is staying warm and having fun wherever you may be!

Forever Resorts Welcomes Scenic Snow Safaris

2011-01-19T08:43:00.005-07:00

Signal Mountain Lodge would like to extend a warm welcome to Scenic Snow Safaris, the newest addition to Forever Resorts in Jackson Hole. We are pleased to have the Scenic Snow Safaris staff become a part of the Forever Resorts family!

Scenic Snow Safaris has been in operation in the Jackson Hole community for around 20 years as Goosewing Ranch Yellowstone Explorer. Although the name and ownership have changed, the staff remains as the same group of friendly guides with years and years of experience.

This Thursday January 20, 2011 Scenic Snow Safaris will be hosting a celebration of the new ownership and name from 5:00 pm - 7:oo pm including a raffle and giveaway prizes from t-shirts to snowmobile and snowcoach tours! Hors d'oeuvres, beer and wine will also be available. The event will be held at Scenic Snow Safaris which is located in the Mad River Wedge at 1255 South Highway 89, come help us celebrate this exciting change!

See the announcements online at:
http://www.jhnewsandguide.com/calendar/event_details.php?event_ID=578
http://www.jacksonholenet.com/events/

Scenic Snow Safaris is in operation from December through March offering guided trips by snowmobile or snowcoach into some of the Greater Yellowstone's most beautiful areas. Snowmobiling into Granite Hot Springs for a mix of winter adventure and relaxation, up the Gros Ventre valley for wildlife viewing, on Togwotee pass for great views and thrilling terrrain, and snowcoach tours into Old Faithful to experience the other worldliness of Yellowstone winter are a few of examples of what Scenic Snow Safaris offers.

An enthusiastic crew of experienced guides and great snow that just keeps coming have ensured Scenic Snow Safaris and Forever Resorts are off to a great start in 2011.

Once again, a big hearty welcome from Signal Mountain Lodge to Scenic Snow Safaris, a new part of the Forever Resorts family!

Happy New Year 2011, Winter Update

2011-01-11T09:14:00.007-07:00

Happy New Year from Signal Mountain Lodge!

We hope everyone had a great holiday season, and are enjoying the winter as much as the Signal Mountain Lodge winter staff are. We've had a lot of early season snow and are taking advantage of it through our various winter hobbies.

The winter season at Signal Mountain Logde is obviously, considerably different than the summer. In the summer, while SML is open and in full swing, we employ up to 162 staff members from all over the country and the world. In April these folks begin to arrive and continue to show up over the next months, with most everyone here by June. Over the summer the staff work, live, and play together, forming strong friendships. As the saying goes, time flies when you're having fun, and before you know it the fall has arrived and staff begin to move on to the next adventure. By November SML has moved into winter season staff mode. Although SML is closed throughout the winter, it keeps a staff of a little over a dozen which fluctuates as some folks take off for a couple of weeks of vacation, and others return from it. Our winter community includes the families of these SML winter staff, and is more like two dozen people. This community is made up of folks from all walks of life and spanning the ages of 3 to 60+.

The folks that work through the winter do a variety of jobs including maintenance, accounting, administration, and just keeping the ridiculous amounts of snow at bay. We also have a team of Front Desk/Reservations staff who take reservations for rooms and activities for the upcoming operating season, and the Human Resources staff who work to hire the staff for that upcoming season.

The Front Desk/Reservations staff are available from 8am - 5pm Monday through Friday.

The Human Resources staff are excited to start getting folks signed up for the summer of their lives! They too are in the office from 8am - 5pm, and welcome any questions about employment.

Once again, Happy New Year from SML, we look forward to another great year!

Sunrise on the snow covered Teton Mountain Range.

Another Great Season

2010-10-27T12:11:00.008-06:00

Signal Mountain Lodge closed up for the winter on October 18th. To make it official, the mountains and valley got a fresh blanket of snow a few days later. Signal Mountain Lodge is thankful for another wonderful year in Grand Teton National Park. Thanks to all of our staff who decided to spend their spring, summer and fall with us. Thanks to all of our guests who decided to spend their vacations in our cabins, campgrounds, marinas, and restaurants. We look forward to doing it all again next year! We will be opening May 6, 2011.

Spring beginning

Transitioning to Summer

Summer Flowers

Late Summer Thundershower
Fall Skies
Snow falls on Jackson Hole

Softball in GTNP

2010-09-14T10:13:00.007-06:00

Signal Mountain Lodge is pleased to once again crown itself Park Champion of this years GTNP softball season. The SML "Whistle Pigs" are tickled to maintain our smack talking priveleges.

The Signal Mountain Lodge "Whistle Pigs" looking good, as always.

Joking aside, we've had an incredibly fun few months of friendly competition with our neighboring concessionaires' and National Park Service's employees. A big thank you to all of the teams who came out and played this season and added yet another item to the long list of reasons why working and living in GTNP is so much fun.

Softball has a long history in Grand Teton National Park. There is strong evidence that it was played as far back as 1983, and no evidence but quite a bit of speculation that it was played during the Hayden expedition and preceeding fur trapping era. Signal Mountain Lodge maintains a portion of a wall in our Employee Dining Room that is dedicated to softball seasons past. Along with photos of our now 4 years running Park Champion team is a framed article from a Jackson Hole News issue dated Wednesday, August 3, 1983. The hysterical article is titled "The hot team in Moran whips some local boys" and is simply about Billy's Angels (the name of the NPS team in 1983) beating up on Bill's Standard/Teton Towing team at what was then called Fromm Memorial Stadium, the ball field in Moran, WY we now creatively refer to as Moran Field. The field is notoriously primitive and the article gives a colorful description that holds true to this day:

"Assuming Mother Nature is a baseball fan, it's safe to say she never would have let this chunk of land come out from under the water if she knew it would become Fromm Memorial Stadium. The infield is loaded with sedimentary rock. Every hop of the ball is a bad hop, even if it happens to go straight. The outfield sinks lower than the infield, and it appeared that balls rolling into left field actually pick up speed. Sagebrush, gopher holes, camouflaged boulders, and whatnot make the outfield an adventuresome place. An outfielder sprinting for a line drive is not risking a sprained ankle. He is risking a broken arm and two crushed ribs."

The historic article displayed in SML's Employee Dining Room.

Although the story behind the title of Fromm Memorial Stadium is not entirely clear a picture in the article shows a sign hanging on the backstop that offers a little insight, it reads: "On the tragic night of Aug 12, 1982 through a hail of screaming baseballs, exploding bats & flying cleats. Pete Fromm almost made it to first base. This is the stuff that heroes are made of."

The field may no longer bear this heroes name but his legacy is carried on a few times a week all summer long on it.

A bench-full of heroes.

Thanks again to all who played!

Fall is Beautiful in GTNP

2010-09-05T09:25:00.005-06:00

Fall is still a few weeks away, but we're starting to see the very first signs. We've had a few dustings of snow over the last month in the upper upper parts of the mountains that white wash the glaciers and snow fields back to their brilliance and make the mountains shine. The wildlife are looking their most impressive in their healthy coats and massive antlers. The bull elk are beginning to bugle challenges to one another and spar for the interest and attention of the cow elk. A bull elk bugle is one of the wildest sounds one may hear, and is not soon forgotten. The aspen and cottonwood leaves are just starting to turn color, hinting at the fiery yellows, oranges, and reds they will soon be. All of these changes add to what is arguably the best time of year for photography in the area. This is also a perfect time for hiking due to the cool mornings and evenings. Don't miss Grand Teton National Park in the fall!

Free Entry in the Parks Weekend August 14th and 15th

2010-08-08T08:53:00.007-06:00

This coming weekend, August 14th and 15th, the National Park Service will be waiving entrance fees into Parks nationwide as part of an iniative to spark interest in folks to take advantage of our nations treasures and to give them an opportunity at a more affordable vacation. In support of this event Signal Mountain Lodge will be giving away reusable grocery bags with a $15 purchase in any of our retail stores. Swing by our Convenience Store for all of your camping and picnic needs, or take a look through our two Gift Shops and they're collections of western art, Native American jewelry, and Grand Teton clothing, to name a few highlights. The weather has been beautiful, warm and sunny with brief afternoon thundershowers that lend interesting light to landscape and refresh the day as they pass. Bring your cameras and hiking boots for the weekend, we hope to see you in Grand Teton National Park!

Thank You to Grand Teton Rescue Teams

2010-07-24T12:57:00.004-06:00

On Wednesday July 21st a powerful storm moved through Grand Teton National Park. The storm brought wind, rain, and a lot of lightning. It came early in the day, around 11:30 am, and caught many climbers on the Grand Teton off guard. 17 people were stranded on the Grand Teton for a number of hours while rescue teams worked courageously to help them off the mountain. Among those 17 climbers were two Signal Mountain Lodge employees Steve and Henry, climbing with two of Steve's family members. They were struck by lightning multiple times during the storm and were unable to climb down due to injuries. Fortunately, the very adept and brave rescue teams of rangers, guides, pilots and medics were able to evacuate them from the mountain safely and get them to the proper care, and for that the Signal community owes them an enormous thank you. We are grateful to have Steve and Henry back at Signal with us.

Staff Olympics

2010-07-05T13:14:00.006-06:00

Signal Mountain Lodge hosted it's fourth annual Staff Olympics during the last week of June this summer. The events lasted five days and ranged from sporty challenges such as the canoe relay to brain busters like the chess tournament. A few events were held each day and culminated in an outdoor BBQ that went on during the celebrated events of the volleyball tournament and the talent show on Friday in our staff housing area.

Signal Mountain Lodge staff was divided into 7 teams of grouped departments. Each team had an impressive showing for each event and the standings were close throughout the five days. In the end the front of the house restaurant staff grouped with the bar under the team name of "Button Up" were crowned as champions. They will have their team name engraved on SML's most highly regarded and pined for prize, The Most Prestigous Trophy, where it will live on in fame(or infamy).

The SML Staff Olympics are just another reason why working and living at Signal are so much fun, a big thank you goes to all who participated!

Staff Spotlight: Mark Schweizer, Float Guide Manager

2010-06-27T12:51:00.008-06:00

Mark Schweizer is one of those very lucky people in the world who looks forward to work each day. Mark is the Float Guide Manager at Signal Mountain Lodge, he takes up to three float trips a day down beautiful stretches of the Snake River in Grand Teton National Park. Mark says his favorite part of each work day is“when I push off from the bank of the river and the current pulls us away.”

Mark hasn’t always lived out west, he grew up in the Chicago area of Illinois, but when he was 10 years old his folks took him on a trip to the Grand Canyon and he started dreaming of living on this side of the country among the mountains. After high school he moved to Flagstaff, AZ to attend school at Northern Arizona University. He graduated with a double major in History and Philosophy and quickly took an outside job at Sylvan Lake State Park in Colorado as a Park Ranger.

Not too long after making the move to Colorado, the opportunity arose to become a river guide in Glen Canyon Arizona, Mark couldn’t pass it up. While guiding in Glen Canyon he met a fellow who had worked in Grand Teton National Park and loved it and Mark became quite interested. At the end of the season he applied to a few lodges in Grand Teton and Signal was lucky enough to snatch him up.

Mark has now been taking Signal Mountain Lodge guests down the Snake River for 6 seasons and he still has a passion for it. Mark explains, “My favorite part of guiding is that the job I do is an activity I would do on my spare time, actually one of my favorite hobbies.” He says this season has been great so far, “The sun has come out and the wildflowers are spectacular. The wildlife has been good: moose, elk, pronghorn, eagles, and pelicans.” Taking a float trip with Mark is a treat. His knowledge goes well beyond the river and one is bound to get a brain-full of Grand Teton geology, biology, history and more.

Swans on the Snake River.

Lizard Creek Campground is Open

2010-06-13T13:54:00.006-06:00

Lizard Creek Campground opened on June 11. Lizard Creek Campground is a 60 site campground located at the north end of Jackson Lake making it a perfect launch pad for exploring Grand Teton National Park and/or Yellowstone National Park, the South Entrance to Yellowstone being about 15 minutes away by car. The opportunities for hiking, fishing, canoeing, kayaking, photography, wildlife watching and just straight staring at the mountains are limitless and unbeatable at this end of the lake. Come pitch your tent at Lizard Creek Campground for a spell.

A Lizard Creek Camper paddling his kayak on Jackson lake.

Free Entrance to National Parks June 5 & 6

2010-06-04T14:21:00.011-06:00

Start packing your hiking boots, binoculars, sunscreen, etc. to take a trip to the park. This Saturday June 5th and Sunday June 6th the National Parks are waiving entrance fees to encourage folks to spend some time exploring our Nation’s Treasures and give them an opportunity to have a more affordable vacation.

Signal Mountain Lodge will be giving away reusable grocery bags over the weekend with a $15 or more purchase in our retail stores in support of this event. Swing by the SML Gift Shop to pick one up to pack your picnic in.

Signal Mountain Marina and Leek's Marina are Open

2010-06-01T12:12:00.015-06:00

Signal Mountain Marina opened on May 26 and has had a fun first week. The docks are in the water, and the boats are ready to go.

It's a great time to rent a boat to explore the lake or do a little fishing. Saturday May 29 was the annual opening day fishing tournament on Jackson Lake which was a big success this year with one person taking in a 30+ pound lake trout. The fish are biting.

Our Leek's Marina and Pizzeria located 11 miles north of SML also opened on the 26th. It's always fun to take a boat up from Signal, wildlife watching around Donoho and Hermitage Points, to Leek's for some delicious pizza and fantastic views.

The Marina Staff are happy to be kicking off another great summer with Signal, and of course to be working on the water. They welcome all to come in and see them and chat about their favorite spots on the lake.

Guest Focus: Steele Clark

2010-05-25T10:12:00.009-06:00

The spring brings the yearly return of many wonderful things to Signal. Besides longer days, greener surroundings, wildlife and their new offspring, Signal welcomes the arrival of returning staff and returning guests. This year the Clark family brought one of each of these to Signal. In late April Steele Clark, the son, returned to work at Signal for his second season, and two weeks later his father, also Steele, returned to the Signal Mountain Campground for his 16th year of spring camping. Every year since 1995, excluding one which he says to have made up for by camping here in the fall as well as the spring last year, the older Steele has been faithfully showing up for a few weeks of camping on or around Signal’s opening day in early May.

Steele Clark with Steele Clark

Camping in early May in Grand Teton National Park can be a gamble. Day time temperatures could be in the 60’s or 70’s with nights getting down into the low 40’s, or they could easily be in the 40’s or lower during the day and well below freezing at night, and snow is always a possibility. To many 80 year olds, as Steele now is (though one would never guess it), a few weeks of this type of camping sounds about as far from fun as one could get, but Steele loves it.

Steele’s love for Signal and the entire Grand Teton/Yellowstone area goes back much further than his 16 years of camping. He has visited the Yellowstone area 27 times. He first came to the area in 1949 to see if he could spend a summer working in Yellowstone. He hitch hiked out from his home state of Ohio and went from lodge to lodge inquiring about employment but had no luck. Despite lack of success in finding a summer job, he was anything but disheartened after seeing the landscape firsthand, and returned in 1951 this time with a job lined up at the Hamilton’s Store (now the General Store) in the Old Faithful area. Steele ended up working three seasons at the Hamilton’s Store and was offered a “winter keeper” position that he would have taken had he not been drafted in to the Army at the same time. Winters in Yellowstone were something quite different in those days. There was no coming out to civilization for a weekend by snowmobile, you were in for the winter and your only contact with society was a mail drop or two made by plane. Steele recounts the promise of these things with excitement and says he would still like to get in to Yellowstone in the winter for a stay at the lodge.

It’d be easy to imagine someone wanting that job would be anti-social or an odd duck, but Steele is quite the opposite, or at least not anti-social. He can be found most nights of the spring in Signal’s Deadman’s Bar chatting with his son, or any of the other returning staff or guests that he has become so familiar to. Steele “discovered” Deadman’s bar in 2004, “Until then I had never really been in it,” Steele explains, “I wasn’t avoiding it, I just ate else where. I came in at five minutes to 10 after a day of exploring and it was the only place staying open so I sat in there. Sean (Brokaw) was the bartender then and I asked him if I could still get any food, being late, even just some chips and he said ‘How about a bowl of soup?’ The bartenders are wonderful, Greg (Bosley) has been my best friend up here, he treats me like I’m 25.”

“The people at Signal, are the big reason,” for Steele when he chooses to come back to Signal each year that he returns to the Grand Teton/Yellowstone area. Steele found Signal while visiting friends who had a time share in Jackson, he told them he was heading up to Yellowstone to camp and they said, “No you don’t want to camp up there, you want to camp here.” He explains, “The NPS ran the campground then and the host was a man named Barry, a very kind man, he was a bit short and husky and with his uniform on he looked just like Smokey the Bear. When I heard the NPS was giving up the campground in 2004 I hoped it would be Signal Mountain Lodge taking over.” Steele continues, “I’m not sure what motivates a person to keep coming back to the area. For me it may be that Yellowstone was my introduction to the west. Why I keep coming to Signal is the people. Don’t change anything.”

Spring 2010 is here!

2010-05-15T12:32:00.011-06:00

We are happy to announce that Signal Mountain Lodge opened on the 7th of May. The Convenience Store, Gift Shops, Trapper Grill, Peaks Restaurant, Deadman's Bar, and Signal Mountain Campground are open along with our beautiful lodging.

We opened with a wonderful Mother's Day weekend with many families spending their special day with us and our views.

It is a neat time of year to be in Grand Teton National Park. The wildlife have been very visible over the last month, making their way in to the park from their winter ranges, or in some cases coming out of their winter slumber. Apart from the moose, elk, and deer we see just about daily, a mother black bear and two new cubs have been spotted several times over the last week in the Signal Mountain area.

The weather is warmer and warmer by the day, reaching in to the 60's this weekend. The last layer of ice on Jackson Lake is rapidly thinning and we expect to have our Signal Mountain Marina open and boats on the water on the 22nd, along with our Leek's Marina and Pizzeria open on the 26th. Lizard Creek Campground, also located on Jackson Lake, will open on June 11th.

We hope to see you in Grand Teton National Park!