Nestled high above Jackson Hole, Wyoming in the mountains of the Bridger-Teton National Forest, Togwotee Mountain Lodge has earned its reputation as the World's Premier Snowmobile Resort for winter vacation sports. When the weather warms, the snow melts away and makes way for a virtually endless array of activities – including horseback riding, hiking, fishing, mountain biking and whitewater rafting.
Located 16 miles from Grand Teton National Park and 49 miles from the South Gate of Yellowstone National Park, Togwotee Mountain Lodge is ideally located so that whether you choose to relax at one of our cabins in the woods, or one of our guest rooms or suites in the Lodge, you will be deep into one of the most beautiful and exciting destinations in the country.
History of Togwotee Mountain Lodge
In 1873, Captain Jones of the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers recommended a road be built over TWO-GWO-TEE Pass. The Pass had been named after the Shoshone Indian Guide who scouted the area for Captain Jones. Togwotee means “lance thrower” or “exactly there” from an Indian lance throwing game.
Nearly 50 years later, the road crew finally arrived. Among them were Al and Bertha Angle. Seeing a need for good home cooking, Bertha started making sandwiches and meals to sell to the road crew and any passersby. When the road over the pass opened in 1921, Al and Bertha saw the possibility of building a permanent camp that featured comfortable lodging and home-cooked meals.
The Angles received a 99-year lease from the Forest Service and built Angle’s Camp. They also acquired an outfitting permit and started guiding fishing and hunting trips into the Teton Wilderness. The Angles helped stock many of the lakes and trained many of the outfitters in Jackson Hole. Al used to say, “Well, anyway, a guide wasn’t a tough mountain man till he’d been exposed to schooling at Angle’s Camp."
With the abundance of snow, over 600 inches annually, and the fact that it came early and stayed late, this was the biggest cause of problems for the Angles. After 30 years of operating in spite of the winters, they decided to seek a less strenuous way of life and sold their cherished and hard-won business to Harry Moll.
Moll later sold to the Weideman family, who built the existing lodge. They completed the lodge in 1965 and called it Togwotee Mountain Lodge. The old Angle’s Camp Lodge was renovated and moved in 1982 to its present site, a.k.a the convenience store. In 1995, 54 modern log cabins were constructed below the main lodge, nestled into the pines.
There were seven owners of the lodge between the Weideman family and the current owners, ARAMARK Parks and Destinations, who purchased it in the spring of 2008. The long winters, which caused the biggest problems for the Angles, are today's biggest asset and most popular season. The arrival of year-round maintenance of the Togwotee Pass road opened up a Winter Wonderland for snowmobilers and cross-country skiers.
Today, Togwotee Mountain Lodge still aspires to the same goals as Al and Bertha Angle’s when they built their camp in 1923: to provide good food, comfortable lodging, western hospitality, and the activities necessary for a memorable vacation.
While in the Togwotee area, be sure to check out our popular winter and summer activities, as well as points of interests unique to this area.