{"id":73,"ordinal":0,"modified":"2026-04-17 19:33:18","content_modified":"2026-04-17 19:33:18","featured":1,"title":"Cruising the West: Boat Tourism on America’s Public Lakes","creator":"Anaëlle DePoint, Northern Arizona University","description":"<p>Water has always been a scarce but integral part of the Intermountain West’s identity. Glacial lakes and reservoirs in places like Yellowstone, Glacier, and Lake Powell offer unique “experience-based” tourist opportunities. Although railroads and stagecoaches first expanded visitor access to such areas, their remoteness, rough terrain, and limited infrastructure slowed the development of trails and roads. Boating emerged as an exciting way to visit the country’s outdoor playgrounds in ways that other transportation modes could not. \r\n\r\nAt the turn of the twentieth century, the Department of the Interior faced the challenge of balancing conservation and visitor accessibility. Private individuals and companies sought permission to develop visitor services in protected federal areas. The government began issuing temporary leases on public land for such operations, called concessions. This system, still in use today, regulates and holds concessionaires accountable for their ecological footprints. If concessionaires violated development guidelines, park officials could revoke their permits if necessary. Boating operations became one of the most sought-after concessions in early national park tourism, encouraging responsibly run operations to maintain their leases.\r\n \r\nAmericans exploring via boat offered intimate connections with their public lands. As early as the late nineteenth century, tourists could cruise vast bodies of water via rental crafts or jump aboard a concessionaire’s ship to hiking trails, esteemed hotels, narrow canyons, or, in some cases, a makeshift zoo. Boating in the landlocked Intermountain West was a novel, thrilling opportunity for tourists to truly appreciate the country’s unique, “wild” landscapes.\r\n</p>","postscript_text":"","tour_img":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/68c1a5bf36f9944b8e2ad2d694d1d81e.jpg","items":[{"id":889,"title":"Yellowstone Lake’s Steamships and the Legacy of E.C. Waters","latitude":44.451729999999997744453139603137969970703125,"longitude":-110.4107240000000018653736333362758159637451171875,"thumbnail":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/square_thumbnails/68c1a5bf36f9944b8e2ad2d694d1d81e.jpg","fullsize":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/68c1a5bf36f9944b8e2ad2d694d1d81e.jpg","subtitle":null,"address":null,"custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":890,"title":"Glacier National Park’s Fleet and Captain J.W. “Billy” Swanson","latitude":48.7593490000000002737579052336513996124267578125,"longitude":-113.786981999999994741301634348928928375244140625,"thumbnail":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/square_thumbnails/99b8e82e63e17fc192c50ed163a91c67.jpg","fullsize":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/99b8e82e63e17fc192c50ed163a91c67.jpg","subtitle":null,"address":null,"custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":891,"title":"Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park and the International","latitude":48.99438099999999707279130234383046627044677734375,"longitude":-113.89587299999999459032551385462284088134765625,"thumbnail":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/square_thumbnails/24000f0abc2a900799c63e97227350e5.jpg","fullsize":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/24000f0abc2a900799c63e97227350e5.jpg","subtitle":null,"address":null,"custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":892,"title":"Grand Teton National Park and Jenny Lake","latitude":43.7515240000000034115146263502538204193115234375,"longitude":-110.7222540000000066129359765909612178802490234375,"thumbnail":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/square_thumbnails/13852c02bc409ba82f38315a626b2a97.jpg","fullsize":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/13852c02bc409ba82f38315a626b2a97.jpg","subtitle":null,"address":null,"custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}},{"id":893,"title":"Art Greene and Lake Powell","latitude":36.93806000000000011596057447604835033416748046875,"longitude":-111.484433999999993147866916842758655548095703125,"thumbnail":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/square_thumbnails/b3e159b1b55fa0b91b08098f58109e64.jpg","fullsize":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/b3e159b1b55fa0b91b08098f58109e64.jpg","subtitle":null,"address":null,"custom":{"subtitle":null,"text":null}}]}