Ducey's Bass Lake Lodge
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bass Lake, CA
| Ducey's Lodge | |
|---|---|
 Ducey's on the Lake | |
  Ducey's on the Lake Location within California  Ducey's on the Lake Ducey's on the Lake (the United States) | |
| General information | |
| Location | 39255 Marina Drive Bass Lake, CA |
| Coordinates | 37°19′8.32″N 119°33′25.35″W / 37.3189778°N 119.5570417°W |
| Opening | 1941 |
| Website | |
| basslake.com | |
Ducey's Bass Lake Lodge, originally Freeman's Bass Lake Lodge, is a historic establishment on the northern shore of Bass Lake. Built by Buddy Freeman in 1941, the lodge initially featured a bar, restaurant, and rental cabins. It changed ownership several times before becoming part of The Pines Resort in 1975.
The lodge gained national recognition as a filming location for the 1987 movie The Great Outdoors. A year later, a kitchen fire destroyed the building. Undeterred, The Pines Resort rebuilt the lodge, opening a new facility in 1991, a mile east of the original site.
Freeman's Bass Lake Lodge was established in 1941 by Buddy Freeman on the north shore of Bass Lake, about a mile west of the Pines Village. The property included a bar, restaurant, and rental cabins. In 1947 it was sold to Jeff Jeffords, Karl Briz, and A.C. Zingle.[1]
Maurice and Marie Ducey purchased the lodge in 1950, expanded it with a general store and campgrounds, and developed collections of Native American artifacts, firearms, antiques, and taxidermy.[2] In 1952 the lodge served as the filming headquarters for Hiawatha.[3] The Duceys renamed the business Ducey's Bass Lake Lodge and operated it until retiring in 1968. The lodge then passed to Al Westman and in 1969 to Dr. Robert and Gloria Rickard.[4] In 1975 the property was incorporated into The Pines Resort.
The lodge appeared in the 1987 film The Great Outdoors, which used Bass Lake as the setting and modeled a studio-built cabin after Ducey's rental cabins.[5][6][7]
On June 2, 1988, a kitchen fire destroyed the lodge. Multiple additions and attic spaces hindered firefighting efforts, and only the stone chimneys and porch remained after the four-hour blaze.[8]