CONDON — The sale of Holland Lake Lodge has been a hot-button issue in Western Montana since a major expansion project was proposed for the historic lodge in 2022.
That expansion plan from POWDR was terminated a year later after the project drew controversy from opposition groups, citing potential environmental impacts and a lack of transparency from the U.S. Forest Service.
The USFS announced in October of 2024 that a purchase agreement for Holland Lake Lodge had been reached with new owner Eric Jacobsen.
Watch to hear from new Holland Lake Lodge owner Eric Jacobsen:
In July, Jacobsen was awarded a Special Use Authorization permit to operate the lodge within the existing footprint and facilities.
MTN’s News sat down with Jacobsen to find out what comes next for this beloved lodge.
“We celebrated my parents’ 40th wedding anniversary here, we celebrated my mom’s celebration of life when she passed away in 2012 here, rented the whole thing as our family, a lot of times in-between that, a long history with the lodge,” Jacobsen said.
Jacobsen grew up in Great Falls and would make annual trips to Holland Lake Lodge to go camping with his family.
“Who’s going to buy it if it’s not someone like me? I’ll buy it and do what’s right by the lodge,” added Jacobsen.
Jacobsen now lives part-time in Whitefish and Park City, Utah and is the owner of a private equity firm. He can’t believe he’s now the owner of the historic lodge, which began operation in 1925.
“But I think it’s a big responsibility and I’m looking forward to it, looking forward to the journey.”
Since July, Jacobsen has been busy cleaning and fixing up the historic lodge and six lakeside cabins. The lodge has not taken in guests for the last two summers.
“Missoula County came in, we invited them in, and they did a full inspection of the lodge and they created a laundry list of things that we have to do from fire safety, to getting up to codes, we’ve already rebuilt the kitchen in the lodge this summer, sort of all kinds of things that we have to do in order to frankly be prepared to be open,” said Jacobsen.
Watch previous coverage: Flathead National Forest hosts community meeting regarding Holland Lake Lodge
Jacobsen said he would love to open the lodge in some form this coming spring. He noted he's applied for a septic variance as they wait for the USFS to repair or replace an outdated wastewater treatment system.
“I am hopeful that we could open in the spring, but there’s a lot of moving parts that are beyond my control, but crossing my fingers that we could be open in the spring.”
Jacobsen has named Rebecca Ramsey the new General Manager of Holland Lake Lodge. Ramsey has lived in Montana for 26 years and lives just five miles from the historic lodge.
“We really want to preserve the history and be able to be an example of how can we operate a sustainable business in harmony with nature and as a great neighbor to our community members,” said Ramsey.
Ramsey and Jacobsen have created an advisory board with local stakeholders to help guide Holland Lake Lodge into the future.
“Get some experts that have more knowledge than us and I feel like good leadership is exactly that, where you want to surround yourself with people that are smarter than you are.”
Jacobsen said public engagement is crucial to help preserve Holland Lake Lodge for generations to come.
“Absolutely, right, we’re on national forest land, right? So the public has a big say in it,” said Jacobsen.
Watch previous coverage: Flathead National Forest supervisor discusses Holland Lake Lodge
Under the agreement, Jacobsen must submit a Master Development Plan to the USFS within the next five years which would outline any potential changes to the historic lodge.
Jacobsen said major expansion is off the table.
“It’s really important to me not to change the ethos of this place in whatever we do, this place is magic, it’s really hard to put your finger on exactly why it’s magic, but whatever we do we don’t want to lose the magic,” said Jacobsen.
More information on Holland Lake Lodge can be found here.
