BIG BEND – The National Park Service is giving the public a first look at the future of the Chisos Mountains Lodge in Big Bend National Park.
The Chisos Mountains Lodge is the only hotel within the national park and it’s in need of some major rehabilitation.
Recommended Videos
Chisos Mountains Lodge was built in 1964 and has undergone several renovations since it was built but there have been structural issues with the building in more recent years.
“Park officials have known there were some issues with the facility, due to obvious cracking in the walls,” according to NationalParksTraveler.org.
An engineering study done in 2018 revealed that shifting in the lodge is likely due to “a combination of settlement of poorly compacted fills and expansion of the native clay soils.”
The structural issues, which are not a cause for concern for safety of current guests, have led the National Parks Service to contract an architectural resources group to help overhaul the building.
Officials with the NPS shared site and floorplans for a revamped Chisos Mountains Lodge on April 21, along with a number of artist renderings that show what a potential replacement of the lodge might look like.
There is not currently a set start date for the construction of a new building or renovation of the existing lodge.
Big Bend National Park is located roughly 7 hours outside downtown San Antonio in west Texas.
It’s one of only two national parks in Texas — the other is Guadalupe Mountains National Park.