Brothers Russell, left, and Robert Zavozsky work on one of two new cabins at Heather Thompson's Imnaha Lodging & RV on Friday, Feb. 10, 2023.

IMNAHA — Want a comfortable place to stay in a cozy little community? Imnaha Canyon Lodging & RV may be just the place, since it opened last fall off the beginning of Hat Point Road.

Heather Thompson, a Wallowa County native who bought the land in December 2021, got an ominous start on her facility last fall. That’s when the Double Creek Fire, the largest blaze in the state last year, swept over the area, threatening the town.

The RV park overlooks the Imnaha Rodeo Grounds, where firefighters set up the forward fire camp. They even did a back burn uphill from the park.

“Their greatest fear was it was going to burn down into Imnaha so that’s why they did a back burn,” Thompson said in an interview Friday, Feb. 10.

But that didn’t happen and warnings to evacuate went unheeded. Still, the fire season put a damper on business.

“There was not much for business then,” she said. “All winter it’s been pretty quiet.”

Local tiesA Wallowa County native, Thompson grew up in Wallowa and attended school there. She still has family in the county. She enlisted in the U.S. Navy right out of high school and worked as a cook, stationed in Greece, San Diego and Texas.

It was in Texas she met her boyfriend, Russell Zavozsky.

“My boyfriend, Russ, came across this property because he’s got property downriver and saw the for sale sign,” she said. “He said, ‘What do you think about owning a motel or RV park?’ I had heard there was a motel down here.”

Russ and his brother, Robert, are busy helping get the park ready for the tourist season. On Friday, they were completing the two new cabins that sit alongside the three former ones.

Once Thompson returned to the county, she renewed her familiarity with it working at several different places.

“This is a really neat place to be and I’m really familiar with it,” she said. “I worked for the Forest Service in the visitor center.”

She quit the Forest Service in May. She’s also worked at the Imnaha Tavern, the Stubborn Mule in Joseph and the Little Store in Enterprise.

But she wanted a place of her own.

“I’ve got a lot of experience in Montana,” she said. “I helped manage lodges up there for four years.”

The mother of three daughters, Thompson’s girls are 16, 15 and 11 years old. They live in Imnaha and attend school in Joseph. Like most kids their age, they want a bit more social life than the little community has to offer, but Thompson said they are getting used to it.

“We bring them down here once in a while,” she said. “They’ve gotten dirty, moving rocks, moving this and that. They help.”

Spring outlookThompson is anticipating an active spring and summer tourist season this year.

“I think it’s going to take off,” she said.

She’s already got bookings for the spring — in March and later in April when the Imnaha Tavern puts on a music festival. She’s expecting the new cabins will be finished by then.

In addition to the five cabins, the park will have 10 slots for RVs complete with water, electricity and sewer hookups, Thompson said.

There also will be space for tent camping, a shower house and at least three wall tents built on platforms for use in the spring and fall.

A little building with the name “Mad Dog Saloon” will serve as a coffee shack with vending machines. There won’t be any continental breakfast, but the Imnaha Tavern serves breakfast, Thompson said.

The park will have cellphone and Wi-Fi reception, although both are spotty in Imnaha itself.

Another small shack near Hat Point Road will serve as Thompson’s office.

But the big thing is what the park gives visitors access to. Not only are there bighorn sheep on the cliffs above keeping an eye on the park, but Imnaha is central to much of what Wallowa County has to offer.

“We want people to come check the area out,” she said. “We’re a central hub in Imnaha — upriver, downriver, up to Hat Point, the Zumwalt. Our logo is a compass. It fits perfectly — all directions.”

Who: Heather Thompson

Phone: 830-719-5141

Where: 79023 Hat Point Road, Imnaha

Website: imnahalodging.com and Facebook

Email: heather.imnaha@gmail.com