Cottage Court Museum and History Park

The Smith-Eslick Cottage Court was built around 1915 as Grand Lake’s first “motel”: four cabins separated by open carports under one roof, for travelers arriving by car. The Grand Lake Area Historical Society moved and restored it after 2008, when it faced demolition, and it now holds hundreds of items, photographs and stories of early automobile tourism; the society says historians consider it probably the oldest original motel structure in the United States. Next to it, the restored Eslick Store, once the court’s check-in office and small store, is the welcome center where visitors check in. The museum and store are open Monday to Saturday, 11 am to 5 pm, closed Sunday, from Memorial Day through August, and Saturdays through September. Admission is $5 for adults and free for children 12 and under, and includes a tour.

The Cottage Court History Park beside it is finished, the society’s home page says, with a pavilion with benches and tables, and has held events and programs since summer 2025. The society’s news page says the park is free for anyone to picnic or play in and can be rented for private events.

Hours, admission, address and phone were read on the society’s Cottage Court page and its news and events page on 10 October 2026; the chamber’s listing gives the court itself as 729 Lake Avenue and the History Park as 725. The society’s news page lists a talk on Tuesday, October 13, which the Grand Lake Area Chamber of Commerce’s event calendar dates to 13 October 2026, and the chamber’s member page lists the society with both museums.