When you imagine the rolling hills and wilderness of the wild, wild American West, your mind might picture the Equality State, aka Wyoming. To step directly into that picture, you might look toward Moran and the Togwotee Mountain Lodge. This beautiful property is high within the Bridger-Teton National Forest, and is a great place to have a well-rounded adventure trip. It’s a great spot for anyone looking to explore Grand Teton National Park, which is approximately 15 miles west, and Yellowstone National Park, with its south entrance just about 50 miles north of the hotel. The lodge features cozy and spacious rustic cabins, which are quite perfect for this type of environment. It’s like what you’d see in movies or a Hallmark “Cowboy Christmas” holiday special. The interior of the cabins match the exterior with solid wood finishes and furniture, with a gorgeous backdrop of pines, mountains, and a Western sky.
The lodge has a history in the area going back to 1923, where it started as a small camping site that was eventually built up into the hotel that you can stay in today. Its name, Togwotee, carries the roots of the Native American Shoshone tribe meaning “lance thrower” or “exactly there,” sometimes jotted down as “from here you can go anywhere,” which is known to be a great way to describe this area.
The location of the lodge in Moran gives you so many options to travel right into the heart of some of America’s iconic national parks and scenery. You’ll find yourself surrounded by the mountains, lakes, geothermal pools, and other protected areas. Being truly engulfed by the national forest deepens your trip into Wyoming’s vast natural setting. The atmosphere in the region and the lodge, like many of Wyoming’s log cabin retreats, captures a sense of adventure mixed with coziness. Rates for this charming lodge start around $240 per night during both the summer and winter seasons.
Activities at the lodge and nearby
Togwotee Mountain Lodge offers activities around the calendar for every season, too. As the lodge is perched up in the mountains, during the winter, the area becomes a snowy wonderland hub for snowmobiling through a large selection of trail networks. You can also go on guided tours and winter excursions, or take a dog sled tour, which is a great way to experience the beauty of Wyoming during winter.
When summer hits, you can put on your get-up and take a horseback riding tour that winds through various Western paths, truly showing off the mountain ranges, tree-lined trails, and scenery. There’s also side-by-side UTV rentals that you can reserve for off-roading adventures, or you can jump into a tube in the Snake River for whitewater rafting. It goes without saying, but the hiking trails in the area are great to explore when you visit Togwotee Mountain Lodge and the area itself, as you can see nature, wildlife, alpine hot springs, and just be a part of the natural world. From the lodge, you can take a daytrip to four national parks and forests, including Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Bridger-Teton National Forest and Shoshone National Forest. Back at the hotel, disk golf is offered, or you can shoot a game of pool at the Red Fox Saloon on the property. If you’re wanting a hearty dinner, the hotel also has Grizzly Grill, which offers classic American cuisine for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
The best way to get to Togwotee Mountain Lodge and what you’ll see along the way
