Idaho landmark is for sale again

ISLAND PARK, Idaho (AP) — When the clatter of steam engines punched through the silent forest where William "Doc" Mack camped with his horse and buggy, he knew his favorite river would soon draw hundreds to play on its banks.

At first, there were a few tents near the station. Travelers bound for Yellowstone National Park could spend the night or stay to fish with the jovial optometrist-turned-entrepreneur.

But over the years, Mack's Inn evolved from a secluded retreat into a local landmark that worked its way onto official state maps.

Its guests shopped at its general store and ate, drank and danced in the lodge. An old picture of the lodge at Mack's Inn, nearly buried in snow, hangs in the front of Jim Terreo's store next to the resort.

"It was quite a building," Terreo said of the structure that was once the centerpiece of Mack's Inn, and which burned down in 1989.

Sometimes, someone who has been vacationing at the inn since childhood stops by to say "hello," and Terreo will tell them about the glory days at the Mack's Inn Lodge while he sits in a recliner in front of the fishing supplies.

Now, the Snake River slips beneath rumbling traffic on U.S. 20, but under the bridge, children still net minnows hugging the bottom of the clear river.

Just upstream, their families still sit on the porches of cabins and hotels at Mack's Inn and plan their woodland adventures.

With new investment, many residents hope to restore the 87-year-old retreat to its former status as one of the prime gathering places on the way to Yellowstone.

"We haven't been able to put the money back to build a nice lodge," said Rick Evans, one of the current owners of Mack's Inn.

He said that owners recently put the resort up for sale in hopes that a potential buyer will have the resources to renovate existing buildings and replace the lodge.

Once a lofty, open building that was home to a thriving restaurant, bar, dance hall and general store, the lodge was the hub of Island Park for a long time, said Aleana Gunnell.

Now the postmaster at the Mack's Inn post office, Gunnell has lived in Island Park for more than 30 years. She can remember when Mack's Inn was synonymous with Island Park, and she said the Mack's Inn ZIP code was the main source of mail for residents for decades.