The hospitality management company Aramark has managed facilities at the National Park since 2018. In his letter to National Parks Service Director Charles F “Chuck” Sams III on Friday, Wyden said he was “alarmed by the serious failure of the concessionaire to fulfill its responsibility” at the park.
Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden said Aramark, the company managing hospitality at Crater Lake, failed to fulfill its responsibilities.
Courtesy of the National Park Service
His letter identifies at least three diesel spills in 2023, unsatisfactory public health inspections in the lodge restaurant and a lack of security to protect employee safety.
“The latter of these is especially troubling given reports that serious assaults and other criminal activity has occurred in the dorms and no acceptable security measures have been implemented to increase security and privacy in dorms, bathrooms and showers,” Wyden wrote.
Addie Massery was a lead server at the Crater Lake Lodge Dining Room last summer. She said she was shocked at the condition of the employee dorm housing when she first arrived for work.
“I opened the door and literally there were mice running around everywhere and it was just filthy,” she said.
Massery has worked seasonally for the past five years, including at Yellowstone National Park and Mount Rainier National Park, where private concessionaires manage and maintain restaurants, gift shops and lodges.
She said employee housing at parks usually “isn’t great,” but the conditions allowed by Aramark were “disgusting.” She witnessed open garbage cans exposed to wildlife, a motorized skiff that she said sank in the pristine caldera’s lake and regular complaints from customers who didn’t have heat in their rooms at Crater Lake Lodge.
Massery said the National Park Service works in a law enforcement capacity at the park, as well as performing facilities inspections.
“They were doing an inspection of our employee dorms, and they actually officially condemned the building this year,” she said. “They told Aramark that they were not allowed to charge us anymore to live there because it was so bad.”
Two Aramark spokespeople did not respond to an interview request, but instead emailed the following statement: “We take these concerns very seriously, and the examples provided are not reflective of Aramark’s standards. We have been working on improvements to our operations at Crater Lake National Park with recent upgrades to cabins at Mazama Village, refreshed rooms at Crater Lake Lodge, renovations at the Rim Village Café & Gift Shop, and the delivery of new eco-friendly boats for scenic tours. Additional investments are planned to address other important aspects of our operations, and we will continue to work closely with the National Park Service to improve the staff and visitor experience.”
Aramark was also selected to manage operations of the Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve in 2018, including the caves retail operation and Oregon Caves Chateau. The company also manages concessions at Yosemite National Park and Grand Canyon National Park.
Crater Lake Superintendent Craig Ackerman declined an interview request about the condition of park facilities. He said Director Sams is aware of the issues at the park.
“Under the management of Aramark, the condition of park facilities has significantly deteriorated due to a failure to perform contractually-required maintenance,” Wyden wrote in his letter.
He asked Sams, an Oregonian and enrolled member of the Cayuse and Walla Walla with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, to take immediate action to address the mismanagement.
Massery said she hopes raising awareness about the conditions at Oregon’s only national park will bring attention to how it’s being treated.
“It really really makes me upset seeing Crater Lake being taken care of so poorly. Hopefully something changes sooner than later,” she said.
A view of Wizard Island covered in snow, taken near North Junction.
Courtesy of the National Park Service