The Historical Elk Mountain Hotel

The Historic Elk Mountain Hotel has stood in the town of Elk Mountain, Wyoming since 1905, when John Evans built it on the site of a former 1860s stagecoach stop along the Overland Trail. The three-story folk Victorian building was the first establishment in the area to have electricity and indoor plumbing, powered by its own coal-fired electrical plant, and in 1920 Evans and his sons added the Garden Spot Pavilion, a dance hall whose bouncy floor drew touring acts like Louis Armstrong, Tommy Dorsey, and Lawrence Welk through the late 1940s and 1950s. The hotel was later listed on the National Register of Historic Places and underwent an extensive restoration between 1999 and 2002. Today the hotel sits along the Medicine Bow River among cottonwoods, at the gateway to Medicine Bow National Forest, and offers 12 historically themed guest rooms with private baths. An on-site dining room serves breakfast and dinner to guests and the public, and a conference room hosts business meetings and retreats with catering available. The property also welcomes weddings and other private events, describing itself as a peaceful, intimate place for celebrations, with garden, patio, and balcony space and free guest WiFi.