Oregon’s Wolf Creek Inn

Back in the 1880s, a favorite among the few rest stops for travelers along the Applegate Trail in southern Oregon was the Wolf Creek Inn.

This rustic little hotel 19 miles north of Grants Pass became a popular layover for stagecoach passengers looking for a hearty meal and a clean room for the night. By the 1920s and '30s, the inn was welcoming the likes of Clark Gable and Carole Lombard.

Now, as part of Oregon's state parks system, the inn is back to looking much as it did when it served as a celebrity retreat. One of the oldest continuously operating hotels in the Northwest, it has nine cozy rooms (no televisions or telephones), an inviting front parlor with a brick fireplace, a ballroom, and a sunny outdoor deck.

The inn's restaurant, which is open for lunch and dinner, takes a no-nonsense approach to Northwest cuisine. "There's nothing pretentious about our place," says Dean Kasner, who juggles the roles of executive chef, innkeeper, and park manager. "We like simple yet elegant country fare." The menu changes monthly according to what's in season, but it always includes plenty of fresh seafood. Among the restaurant's signature dishes are baby back ribs with candy-apple barbecue sauce and crab-and-brie-stuffed halibut wrapped in phyllo.

(541) 866-2474, www.thewolfcreekinn.com [3].

Photography by Susan Seubert

This article was first published in November 2005. Some facts may have aged gracelessly. Please call ahead to verify information.