Fodor's Expert Review Fort Bridger State Historic Site

Historians aren't sure how Mormons came to control Fort Bridger trading post. They may have purchased Fort Bridger from Jim Bridger and Louis Vasquez or forced the original owners to leave. As the U.S. Army approached during a conflict known as the Mormon War of 1857, the Mormons deserted the area and burned the original Bridger post. Fort Bridger was rebuilt and then served as a frontier military post until it was abandoned in 1890, and many of the military-era buildings remain. You can attend interpretive programs and living-history demonstrations during the summer, and the museum has exhibits about the fort's history. The largest mountain-man rendezvous in the intermountain West occurs annually at Fort Bridger over Labor Day weekend, attracting hundreds of buckskinners and Native Americans, plus thousands of visitors. The grounds are open daily, and the historic buildings are open in the warmer months.