Upcoming events at the lodge are listed at the end of this story.

HENLAWSON, W.Va. --  More than a few people were skeptical when the Division of Natural Resources' Parks Section began built a conference center, a restaurant and a 75-room lodge at Chief Logan State Park.

No one is skeptical now.

The conference center stays busy year-round. The restaurant turns a profit. The lodge's occupancy rate ranks among the park system's best. And, with a brand-new recreation center nearly ready to open, park officials believe the situation will only get better.

"This is a good example of the saying, 'If you build it, they will come,'" said Dan Taylor, the facility's general manager. "From May through October, we run close to 100 percent occupancy, and we get a ton of conference business. People are discovering that Chief Logan is more than just a pretty piece of wooded property with some nice trails."

Skeptics abounded when DNR officials announced plans to build the conference center and restaurant along U.S. 119, on the opposite side of the park from the campground, swimming pool, amphitheatre and other attraction.

"A lot of people wondered about that, because there is no easy way to get from this side of the park to the other side. It's a 15-minute drive around the hill. But having the center next to the road turned out to be a really good idea. People can get here quickly and easily."

Almost as soon as the center opened in 2002, it did a brisk business.

"I'm not sure it was profitable to the state because it was operated by a private concessionaire," Taylor said. "But it was certainly doing well enough to justify building the lodge."

Workers finished construction on the lodge in July 2006. Instead of working through a concessionaire, Parks Section officials decided to run it on their own. "We opened early and have been busy ever since," Taylor said.

From May to August, the peak of the tourist and conference season, the lodge stays nearly 100 percent full. This year, its overall occupancy rate of 65 percent ranks well ahead of similar facilities in the park system.

"They say a hotel reaches its occupancy peak in its third year," Taylor said. "This is our third year. No one expected us to ever reach 60 percent occupancy, and we're comfortably ahead of that."

The lodge's presence made the conference center even more attractive to local businesses and civic groups, and to organizations throughout the southern part of the state.

"For example, November is historically our slowest month for conferences. We have at least one scheduled for every day this week, and on three of those days there are at least two," Taylor said.

Lodge guests have also made the restaurant profitable.

"Last year, the restaurant turned a profit of more than $300,000," Taylor said. "The lodge as a whole - restaurant included - turned a $1.8 million profit. We're paying for ourselves and then some."

Taylor cited three reasons for the facility's financial success:

"One, we're a state park," he said. "We get people who are interested in staying at state parks. We get a lot of business from seniors who are involved in our [Very Important Parks Person] program. Two, we have very nice conference facilities, and we're only a 50-minute drive from Charleston.

Upcoming events at the lodge are listed at the end of this story.

HENLAWSON, W.Va. --  More than a few people were skeptical when the Division of Natural Resources' Parks Section began built a conference center, a restaurant and a 75-room lodge at Chief Logan State Park.

No one is skeptical now.

The conference center stays busy year-round. The restaurant turns a profit. The lodge's occupancy rate ranks among the park system's best. And, with a brand-new recreation center nearly ready to open, park officials believe the situation will only get better.

"This is a good example of the saying, 'If you build it, they will come,'" said Dan Taylor, the facility's general manager. "From May through October, we run close to 100 percent occupancy, and we get a ton of conference business. People are discovering that Chief Logan is more than just a pretty piece of wooded property with some nice trails."

Skeptics abounded when DNR officials announced plans to build the conference center and restaurant along U.S. 119, on the opposite side of the park from the campground, swimming pool, amphitheatre and other attraction.

"A lot of people wondered about that, because there is no easy way to get from this side of the park to the other side. It's a 15-minute drive around the hill. But having the center next to the road turned out to be a really good idea. People can get here quickly and easily."

Almost as soon as the center opened in 2002, it did a brisk business.

"I'm not sure it was profitable to the state because it was operated by a private concessionaire," Taylor said. "But it was certainly doing well enough to justify building the lodge."

Workers finished construction on the lodge in July 2006. Instead of working through a concessionaire, Parks Section officials decided to run it on their own. "We opened early and have been busy ever since," Taylor said.

From May to August, the peak of the tourist and conference season, the lodge stays nearly 100 percent full. This year, its overall occupancy rate of 65 percent ranks well ahead of similar facilities in the park system.

"They say a hotel reaches its occupancy peak in its third year," Taylor said. "This is our third year. No one expected us to ever reach 60 percent occupancy, and we're comfortably ahead of that."

The lodge's presence made the conference center even more attractive to local businesses and civic groups, and to organizations throughout the southern part of the state.

"For example, November is historically our slowest month for conferences. We have at least one scheduled for every day this week, and on three of those days there are at least two," Taylor said.

Lodge guests have also made the restaurant profitable.

"Last year, the restaurant turned a profit of more than $300,000," Taylor said. "The lodge as a whole - restaurant included - turned a $1.8 million profit. We're paying for ourselves and then some."

Taylor cited three reasons for the facility's financial success:

"One, we're a state park," he said. "We get people who are interested in staying at state parks. We get a lot of business from seniors who are involved in our [Very Important Parks Person] program. Two, we have very nice conference facilities, and we're only a 50-minute drive from Charleston.

"We're attracting a lot of regional and statewide conferences. And three, we have the coal industry all around us. They have business meetings here, and they have company Christmas parties here."

The lodge has also become a popular gathering spot for weddings, for family and high-school reunions, and for all-terrain vehicle enthusiasts headed for the nearby Hatfield-McCoy trail complex.

Come January, guests will also have access to a sprawling indoor recreation center being built just down the hill from the lodge.

"We're putting the finishing touches on it now," said Tim McCoy, the center's director. "It will have three indoor tennis courts; an eight-lane, 25-yard swimming pool; a running track and a fitness center with cardio machines, weight machines and free weights."

Parks officials also plan to offer memberships to people who live nearby.

"We want this to become more like a community center than a fitness club," McCoy said. "We'd like to see all three of the county's high schools form swim teams, and to come and practice here. We could host everything from aerobics classes to tennis tournaments. We could even hold concerts and parties."

Work is also under way on a courtyard and playground on the lodge grounds themselves. "They've been on the drawing boards for a while, but we've been so busy taking care of our guests we've had to put them off until now," said general manager Taylor.

When they're complete, Taylor expects to get more compliments like the one he received recently from a Pittsburgh-area lawyer.

"He said that when he was told he'd be going to Southern West Virginia to stay at a state park lodge, his heart skipped a beat," Taylor recalled. "He went on to say, 'This wasn't what I expected. I just want you to know I'm very impressed.'"

Reach John McCoy at johnmc...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1231.

Upcoming events at Chief Logan State Park Lodge