Pre-solicitation notice of a site visit for proposals for a new concession contract to operate lodging, food and beverage, retail, campground, and other related services within Lake Chelan National Recreation Area

The National Park Service (“NPS”) anticipates releasing a prospectus for a new concession contract to provide lodging, food and beverage, retail, campground, and other related services within Lake Chelan National Recreation Area (“Park”) in the first quarter of calendar year 2025. The prospectus will describe the business opportunity and the terms and conditions of the draft Concession Contract No. CC-LACH003-26 (“Draft Contract”). General information about this business opportunity and the Draft Contract are provided below.

The NPS will host a site visit for entities interested in bidding on the opportunity on September 27, 2024 in advance of the release of the solicitation. The site visit provides interested parties an overview of the concession operation and a tour of many of the Concession Facilities (land and real property improvements assigned to the concessioner under the Draft Contract).

Site Visit Registration

Registration is required to attend the site visit. To register, contact Annelise Sirguy, North Cascades National Park Complex Concessions Management Specialist, at (360) 599-0272 or annelise_sirguy@nps.gov, no later than 5:00 pm Pacific Time on September 20, 2024. You must provide your name, contact information, the name of the entity interested in submitting a proposal that you represent, the primary contact for the entity, and the number of people in your party. Due to space constraints, the NPS limits the number of site visit attendees to a total of five (5) people per interested party.

Site visit participants are responsible for obtaining their own lodging, meals, and transportation to the Concession Facilities. The North Cascades Lodge at Stehekin is remotely located on the north end of Lake Chelan, and is solely accessible by passenger ferry, float plane, hiking, or private boat. Participants are encouraged to obtain lodging as soon as possible due to limited availability. Lodging at Stehekin may be available at the concession operation, or through private lodging accommodations (https://stehekin.com/lodging). There is also lodging available in Chelan, WA and the surrounding area.

There are two companies that provide passenger ferry service on Lake Chelan between the ports of Chelan/Field’s Point and Stehekin: Stehekin Ferry (https://stehekinferry.com) and Lake Chelan Boat Company (https://ladyofthelake.com). There are no same day, round trip service options with Stehekin Ferry that allows interested parties to attend the scheduled site visit within the allotted hours. Lake Chelan Boat Company provides options for same day, round trip service, which may allow interested parties to attend the full site visit tour. Additional vessel options are available from both Stehekin Ferry and Lake Chelan Boat Company for those participants that choose to overnight in Stehekin. More information regarding ferry schedules and site visit timing will be provided upon registration to the site visit. Because space on ferries is limited, interested parties are encouraged to register to attend the site visit and book passage in advance.

Attendance at the site visit is encouraged, but not required, to submit a proposal. Typically, the NPS holds a site visit after the release of the prospectus. However, the NPS does not intend to host an additional, post-release site visit because of the seasonality of the operation.

The NPS will not answer questions about this prospectus or business opportunity during registration or the site visit. Interested parties must submit questions in writing after the release of the prospectus to the contact person and by the deadline that will be provided in the prospectus. Interested parties are asked not to interfere with the existing concession operations during the site visit and not to film, record, or photograph concession employees or existing concession operations.

General Information Regarding the Upcoming Solicitation and Draft Concession Contract No. CC-LACH003-26

The Draft Contract will require the concessioner to provide the following visitor services: lodging, food and beverage, retail, campground, and shower and laundry. In addition to the required visitor services, the Draft Contract will authorize, but not require, the Concessioner to provide other related services.

The Business Opportunity will describe estimated investment requirements.

The Draft Contract will require the Concessioner to pay a monthly franchise fee to the NPS. For the purposes of providing the required services, the NPS will assign the Concessioner, via the Draft Contract, the Concession Facilities. The Concessioner will be solely responsible for maintenance, repairs, housekeeping, and groundskeeping for all Concession Facilities, except for certain NPS responsibilities which will be outlined in the Draft Contract and Maintenance Plan upon release of the prospectus.

More Information

For more information about the National Park Service Commercial Services Program, concession contracts, and the laws and policies that govern concessions, the NPS has provided a link to the program's website below.

Links to loding and ferry operations necessary for the site visit are also provided below.