Oklahoma Tourism & Recreation Division hosts grand reopening for Quartz Mountain State Park Lodge | Information

LONE WOLF – Officials from the Oklahoma Tourism & Recreation Department will unveil the newly renovated Quartz Mountain State Park Lodge at a grand reopening and ribbon ceremony at the lodge today.

Although the ribbon will be celebrated, the lodge and restaurant won’t be open to diners until July, said Marla Cook, an official with the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation.

“We haven’t even had the lodge for a whole year and we managed to do that, which is just amazing,” said State Park Standards Director Kalise Kriewall. “I mean, that would have been an incredible achievement, even if we hadn’t had a global logistics crisis.”

Quartz Mountain State Park and the lodge, located in southwest Oklahoma near Lone Wolf, returned to the Oklahoma State Park system in the fall of 2020 after falling under the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education since 2001. The Oklahoma Tourism & Recreation Department immediately began work on a $ 10.5 million renovation of the lodge, the department said in a press release.

“We are very happy to have the lodge again,” said Kriewall. “Quartz Mountain is one of Oklahoma’s original seven parks. So when we get it back we’ll all have our original seven parks so we’re just really excited. “

The $ 10.5 million renovation work touched many aspects of the lodge. Its large entrance has been expanded, although the high ceilings, exposed trusses, and towering stone fireplace have been preserved. A gift shop with a glass front window was added. The indoor pool has also been modernized; it includes garage doors that staff can open when the weather is nice.

The courtyard that is behind the lodge has a whole new look, said Kriewall. It now includes a fountain, grassy berms, and other natural landscaping when it was just a patch of grass and volleyball court before. A shallow stream for children to play in runs through the grounds and there is a perforated Corten steel pavilion. There is a new shuffleboard area and fire pits around the courtyard provide meeting places for guests.

The lodge’s guest rooms have been completely renovated with new carpets, beds and other furniture. The two existing suites have been converted into premier suites and eight more suites have been added. All 10 suites have a kitchenette, a fireplace and a separate living area.

A new restaurant, Swadley’s Foggy Bottom Kitchen, will open at the lodge next month. It serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and offers park guests classic home cooking from a menu specially developed for the state parks. The restaurant is open Wednesday through Sunday during the summer season and Tuesday through Saturday the rest of the year.

“This project was an incredible amount of work that was done in a very short time,” said Jerry Winchester, executive director of the Oklahoma Tourism & Recreation Department, in a press release. “We are so proud of the efforts (by the construction and architecture firms) and our staff at Oklahoma State Parks to bring this lodge back to life. We can hardly wait for Oklahomans and visitors from other states to experience the new Quartz Mountain. “

Guests can reserve rooms at the lodge online at TravelOK.com/Parks. Prices range from $ 140 to $ 485 per night.

Quartz Mountain debuted as one of Oklahoma’s original seven state parks in 1935. Much of the infrastructure was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. In the early 1950s, heads of state approved a loan to finance the construction of a lodge in the park, and in 1956 the first 46-room Quartz Mountain State Lodge opened. In 1978 the Oklahoma Arts Institute chose the park as its home. On February 24, 1995, an electric fire severely damaged the lodge. A new lodge was only opened on March 8, 2001. The lodge has been overseen by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education since 2001 before being returned to the jurisdiction of the Oklahoma State Parks System in 2020.