Experience Fort Bridger and the Mountain Man Rendezvous
Every Labor Day weekend, thousands flock to Fort Bridger State Historic Site and Museum for the Mountain Man Rendezvous. The town comes alive and takes a step back in time. People wear attire from the days of Jim Bridger and pioneers traveling the Oregon or Mormon Trails. We felt a little out of place in our shorts and t-shirts, but had fun nonetheless.
Fort Bridger State Historic Site and Museum in Wyoming is open year-round. Visitors can explore the barracks, general store, officer’s quarters, guardhouse, trading post and a small museum to learn more about the Fort and the people who visited it. But if you want to visit Fort Bridger, the Mountain Man Rendezvous is probably one of the best times to experience it. However, while many people are wearing pioneer and mountain man attire, we crossed a few people who were wearing nothing more than a loin cloth. It was a cultural experience. Yikes!
Here’s a rundown on what you’ll see at Fort Bridger, and the experiences that are only available during the Mountain Man Rendezvous.
There are other events hosted at Fort Bridger State Historic Site, including:
- Easter egg hunt on the Saturday before Easter
- Flag raising ceremony on Memorial Day
- Moonlight tours the second weekend in July
Getting to Fort Bridger, Parking and Entrance Fees
Fort Bridger State Historic Site is a short jaunt from I-80, east of Evanston, Wyoming. Take exit 34 and follow the road southeast to Fort Bridger. If you’re visiting the site during a non-event, you can park in a dirt parking lot just past the site entrance. Access it on the south side of the road just before crossing Main Street. There’s a brown sign (as seen in the photo above) to let you know where you need to turn.
If you’re visiting during an event, like the Mountain Man Rendezvous, follow the signs for designated parking areas. There is a cost for these designated parking areas, so be sure and bring cash with you. We scrounged together cash from our van seats and kids so we could pay the $5 fee. You may be able to find a spot along the road where you can park for free, but don’t park illegally or block traffic.
TRAVEL TIP: Bring cash with you, as debit/credit cards are not readily accepted for rendezvous admission.
When you arrive at the actual entrance, this is where you’ll pay the entrance fee. If you didn’t bring cash with you, there’s a Cash Store a few buildings south. They have an ATM in the store where you can withdraw up to $200.
The typical cost is $4 per person over the age of 18 (meaning everyone 18 and younger are free). During the Mountain Man Rendezvous, the cost is $5 for everyone age 12 and older.
Explore the Buildings of Fort Bridger
There are several buildings at Fort Bridger you can explore. Near the entrance, you’ll find a general store with items like what you’d see back in the 1800s. 1859 Post Sutler’s Store has top hats, sewing items, canned foods, saddles and more. You can look into the school house, walk through the stables for the Pony Express and check out a well used by those living at Fort Bridger.
You’ll see what looks like more modern buildings. Those are the officers quarters, a ranch house, barracks and more. Take the time to walk through each of the buildings to get a better since of what it was like for officers, soldiers and those passing through the area. You won’t find any Nintendo gaming systems, televisions or Blu Ray players, so kids may wonder how people survived. 😉
North of the museum (which I talk about below) is the trading post setup by Jim Bridger himself. The reconstructed trading post houses a little gift shop, along with a pioneer-era blacksmith shop. You can also see how tiny the living quarters were.
Wander the Museum and Learn About the Fort’s History
The best place to really learn about Fort Bridger is at the museum. The museum is located further into the historic site. Simply follow the main road and it will take you directly to the museum. Once inside, you can learn about the different eras experienced by the site: A mountain man trading post, a Mormon pioneer fort, military in relation to Wyoming statehood and more.
One of the exhibits is all about Jim Bridger – the namesake of the site. If you want to post for a photo with a handcart (as seen above), you can do that, too. There’s a large map you can use to see how numerous routes hit the Fort Bridger site. For example, the Oregon Trail, the Pony Express Trail, the Mormon Trail, and the California Trail to name a few.
Throughout the museum, you’ll find settings similar to what you’d find in the 1800s, including saddles, side saddles (for the ladies to ride), and a wedding dress. There are some tv screens with various films running to show even more history of the historic fort.
Before leaving, be sure and check out the gift shop. Grab a candy stick, top, or other pioneer-era item. There are books and other collectibles.
Bring Your Muskets, Knives and Hatchets
I wasn’t sure if the Mountain Man Rendezvous was taking place this year because of COVID-19, so we didn’t know what to expect. We learned about two areas that definitely need pre-planning if you want to take advantage of them without having to buy a lot of items on-site.
If you brought your trusty black-powder musket with you, follow the signs to the shooting range. We made our way there to watch as people dressed to the hilt in mountain man attire placed their targets and walked back to the fire line. They then proceeded to dump in black powder, wadding and pound in the musket ball before stepping to the line, taking aim and pulling the trigger. It started to smell like the sulphur pots of Yellowstone National Park after a bit. Since we didn’t have any muskets to fire, we just watched.
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Another area was dedicated to knife and hatchet throwing. Since we were on our way to camp at Flaming Gorge, we did have a hatchet in our vehicle. But we didn’t feel like walking all the way back to the van to grab it. You can buy hatchets and knives from the various vendors if you really want one. There are also people at the Knife Hawk area who can help teach you how to throw your weapon at targets and stumps of wood.
Check out the Vendors
There were so many vendors at the Mountain Man Rendezvous. It was fun just to look at see what they were selling. One vendor was selling wooden chess sets, tops and other wooden pioneer-era games. My wife tried on one of the dresses from a tent selling the oldest (not latest) fashion. There were blacksmith shops selling metal work items and one mountain man was selling furs of animals he had trapped – foxes, bears, beavers, etc.
One of the most unusual vendors there – although it didn’t seem out of place for this event – was a man selling pine box caskets. His philosophy – why do you need to spend thousands of dollars on a casket that’s just going to be put in the ground. Why not go with something simpler and less expensive. I totally agree.
While some of the vendors do accept credit and debit cards, it’s a good idea to carry cash with you just in case they don’t have the technology for cards.
Grab a Bite to Eat
If you’re looking for a bite to eat, you don’t find it at Fort Bridger during a non-event visit. However, during the Mountain Man Rendezvous, we skipped the row of food vendors and headed to a little stand just outside the museum. We paid $2 for a hotdog and bottle of water for each of us. My sister decided to grab some food from the food truck vendors near the entrance and probably paid more than we did. But there are a lot more options.
Beyond food, there are also desserts and snacks available. You can follow the signs to stands selling kettle corn. You can grab a bottle of homemade root beer, too. I did want to try it, but the line was pretty long and our kids were sort of done by that point. Another dessert that sounded really good was for root beer floats or creme soda floats. It was hot and those sounded so refreshing.
Again, if you’re visiting Fort Bridger Historic Site during a non-event time period, you may need to grab food in town.
The Details:
Address: Fort Bridger State Historic Site, 37000 I-80BL, Fort Bridger, WY 82933
Cost: During non-event hours, it’s $4 per day, per person over the age of 18 (18 and under are free). For the Mountain Man Rendezvous, it’s $5 per person for everyone 12 and older. Cash only.
How Long to Spend: You could spend several hours touring the site during the Mountain Man Rendezvous. Outside of that, you could dedicate about an hour or so to tour the historic buildings and museums.
Parking: Parking is available at Fort Bridger and included in the admission. However, during events like the Mountain Man Rendezvous, no parking is available at the site, but you can find parking along the roads or in designated pay lots. The VFW charged $5 for parking – only cash was accepted.
Hours: The grounds are open year round from sunrise to sunset. The historic buildings are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., May 1 through Sept. 30. The museum is also open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. between those dates, but in the off-season (Oct. 1 through April 30) it’s only open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Mountain Man Rendezvous is held every Labor Day weekend.
Website: https://wyoparks.wyo.gov/index.php/places-to-go/fort-bridger
Phone: (307) 782-3842
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