Brooks Lake Lodge

A historic 1922 guest ranch and spa at 9,200 feet in the Shoshone National Forest, offering all-inclusive high-country luxury and classic mountain adventures.

Brooks Lake Lodge, a historic Western Craftsman landmark built in 1922, sits at 9,200 feet in Wyoming's Shoshone National Forest. Originally constructed in just 90 days by a crew of 90 men, the lodge was initially named the Two-Gwo-Tee Inn, which translates to "spear" in Shoshone. It was designed as an overnight stopover for travelers riding the Lander-Yellowstone Transportation Company stagecoaches to Yellowstone National Park, which was celebrating its golden anniversary. Today, the property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and serves as an all-inclusive mountain retreat under the stewardship of owner Max Chapman. The post-and-beam main lodge features hand-hewn logs and locally sourced stone, showcasing early 20th-century "parkitecture" that blends into the surrounding Rocky Mountain peaks.

The interior of the main lodge is anchored by the Governor's Tea Room, named in honor of Wyoming's seventh governor, Bryant Butler Brooks, who first came across the lake during an 1889 hunting trip. Centenarian logs frame a dramatic, double-sided stone fireplace that separates the tea room from the Great Hall dining room. In the Great Hall, guests dine under soaring timber beams and wagon-wheel chandeliers, watched over by Mortimer the Moose, a mounted bull moose with a bullet hole in his antler who has occupied the hearth since the 1950s. The lodge houses a notable Western art collection, featuring sculptures by Frederic Remington and landscape paintings by Clyde Aspevig, Jim Wilcox, and Scott Christensen. Accommodations are limited to 36 guests, split between seven historic suites in the main lodge and eight private cabins. To preserve the quiet of the backcountry, none of the rooms feature televisions, though they are outfitted with handcrafted lodgepole pine beds and wood-burning stoves.

Wellness and outdoor recreation define the daily rhythm at the lodge, which operates as a summer dude ranch and a winter snow resort. The Rocky Mountain Spa offers a double-height space called the Tranquility Room, dominated by a 35-foot river rock fireplace, as well as a dry sauna and treatment rooms for hot stone and deep-tissue massages. Outside, an 11-by-14-foot hot tub provides views of the Pinnacle Buttes rising over the water. In the summer, wranglers lead trail rides through alpine meadows, and guests fly-fish for cutthroat trout in Brooks Lake. At the end of the day, the wranglers release the horse herd to run free into the open pasture. In the winter, when the mountain road is closed to vehicles, the lodge is accessible only by snowmobile or snow coach, serving as a remote base for exploring 700 miles of groomed backcountry trails in the surrounding national forest.

Where to Stay — Curated accommodations hand-picked by Basecamp West. Glamping, boutique hotels, historic lodges, and unique stays across the American West.