SEKIU — Olson’s Resort has been sold to an Idaho family familiar with welcoming guests to the great outdoors.
The 81-year-old family fishing resort at 444 Front St. has been run by the Olson family since its founding by Alvin Olson, who died in 1970.
Arlen Olson, 80, Alvin’s son, has run the business with his wife, Donalyn, for more than 40 years.
The couple stepped into semiretirement last Tuesday, when the sale closed.
The new owner is Mason Family Properties, a limited liability company with roots in Murtaugh, Idaho, where the Mason family operates an RV park and a ranch near Twin Falls in that state.
The Mason family business’ local representatives are new permanent Sekiu residents Brandon Mason, 36, and his wife, Dawn Mason, 37, who moved to town last month to run the operation.
“Other family members will come and go, but we are the ones who will be here year-round,” Brandon Mason said Monday.
The couple has 21 years of experience running an RV park and they are both hunters and anglers.
The Olsons were not available for comment Monday afternoon.
The Mason family has been in talks with the Olsons since February, getting to know them and developing a relationship, said Dawn.
Last month, the Olsons approached the Masons, and offered to sell the property and business to them.
Before the Olsons offered the property for sale, the Masons had to show that they would operate the resort in the family spirit that the Olsons had maintained since the business’ founding.
“That was Arlen’s thing. He wanted to keep the family tradition,” Brandon said.
According to Clallam County Auditor’s Office documents, the resort’s land was purchased for $1.7 million.
Dawn declined to offer any more financial detail on the sale of the business.
The Masons said that while the Olsons are entering a sort of retirement, they aren’t going anywhere.
“They’ll be here forever. It’s like having grandma and grandpa around,” Dawn said.
She said that Arlen still makes the coffee in the morning, and both Arlen and Donalyn will be staying around to help the Masons learn the ins and outs of operating the resort.
“He knows this place inside and out,” she said.
The resort currently offers camping, a motel, RV sites, a boat launch and moorage, a grocery store and a gift shop.
A bait shop offers fishing tackle and bait, ice and cold storage for fish.
The resort’s lodging includes cabins and house and hotel rooms, from fully furnished rooms to basic cabins that require guests to bring their own bedding and cookware.
Olson’s Resort has been available for sale for nearly 25 years, as the couple looked toward retirement but was selective in deciding on a new owner.
A 2007 effort by Clallam County to purchase the property for about $2 million, which included a $984,900 state matching grant, fell through, and developers have at other times been turned away in efforts to buy the resort.
The resort’s motel rooms and cabins will be renovated and will be open for bird watchers and storm watchers this month and in December.
There will be improvements to the docks, Brandon said.
“We have a five-year plan,” he said.
Brandon said that additional plans are to bring back fuel and propane, add RV hookups near the water to expand the RV camping area, and to “clean the place up.”
Existing office staff are expected to remain at the resort to provide continuity, he said.
He said that part of the updates to the resort will include the addition of more recreational activities, including kayaking, surfing, hiking and birdwatching.
“There are a lot of eagles out here now,” Brandon said.
However, when it comes down to it, Brandon said the resort is still very much a fishing haven.
“It’s going to be a pink [salmon] season this year,” he said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
