Lake Wilderness Lodge

Mount Rainier rises across the water while a mid-century lodge holds the shoreline of Lake Wilderness. Built in 1950 by the Seattle architectural firm Young & Richardson, Carlston & Detlie, the lodge earned an American Institute of Architects honor and a Washington State Design Award in 1952 for the way it steps into its sloped, lakefront site. The building traces back further still: an early-1900s homestead farm that the Jacobsen family opened to hunters and anglers grew into a trio of resorts through the 1920s, and by 1939 the expanded Gaffney's Grove drew as many as 9,000 visitors a day for baseball, tennis, a skating rink, and swimming beaches. King County designated the lodge a landmark in 1997 for its postwar Northwest architecture, and it took its current name in 2003. Today the lodge hosts up to 220 guests across its main floor, mezzanine, and lower level, with a warming kitchen, two changing rooms, a courtyard balcony, a covered patio, and a lawn included in the rental. A 12-by-12 dance floor, a sound system with Bluetooth and HDMI inputs, and wireless microphones come with the space. Renters bring their own caterer or self-cater, since the kitchen is licensed for warming and cold prep only. Weddings, receptions, banquets, and corporate gatherings all fill the calendar here, on grounds that have drawn crowds to this lakeshore since long before the lodge itself was built.