Please note that none of the rooms at The Range Rider’s Lodge have private bathrooms. Built in 1938, the Lodge is a charming historic building — but its age means it has creaky floors and thin walls, so sound can travel easily between rooms.
Room #11 offers a simple setup, featuring one full bed, a nightstand, and a dresser. Shared bathrooms are available in the hallway, and guests also have access to a communal area downstairs equipped with a microwave, coffee maker, and electric tea kettle.
The space
Your Space: Room #11 has a full-size bed, comfortably sleeping two people, with arguably the best view in town of Amphitheather Mountain.
The Lodge:
Originally opened in 1938 as the Gorham Chalet, the Range Riders Lodge was less a place for lodging and more an “indoor playground” for drinking, gambling, and prostitution. In its early days, Ernest Hemingway was a regular at the bar on Saturday nights—he spent a few summers writing at a nearby ranch, and we now house a small Hemingway museum honoring his time in the area.
Since then, the Range Riders has gone through many hands and eras, each adding to its colorful history and connection to our mountain community. Today, it’s a bit tamer. The Whitebark Bar & Kitchen, located onsite, serves beer, wine, and a rotating selection of delicious small plates alongside Hemingway-themed cocktails that pay tribute to the lodge’s literary legacy. The bar is open for a few relaxed hours each evening and provides a warm, welcoming space to unwind after a day in the park.
The Range Riders remains the closest lodging to Yellowstone’s renowned Lamar Valley—one of the best places in the world to see wolves and other wildlife.
While the lodge’s beautiful woodwork and storied past can be appreciated by all, the Range Riders isn’t luxury lodging. It’s a rustic experience for travelers who value character over polish and don’t mind creaky floors, shared bathrooms, or thin walls. If you're looking for a one-of-a-kind place with soul and history, this is it.
Guest access
All rooms are located on the 2nd floor of The Range Rider's Lodge. The 1st floor of the lodge is split: half, a large, open area with tables and chairs. The other half, our lounge and bar. You're welcome to explore the space and hang out wherever!
There are six shared bathrooms on 2nd floor. Though shared, each is used one person at a time, maintaining your privacy. Three bathrooms have a shower and toilet. Two have a shower only. One has a toilet only.
In the interest of safety and insurance, guests cannot use the kitchen, however, we're happy to provide restaurant recommendations and do have BBQ grills for your use outside (basic foods and charcoal can be purchased at our General Store next door as well).
Also worth noting, 10pm to 8am are quiet hours in the Range Rider, as sound travels well through our old building.
Other things to note
IMPORTANT: There is no wifi or television in the Range Rider and no cell phone service in town. However, free high-speed internet is available three miles up the road at the Cooke City Chamber of Commerce!
Instead of TV and social media, the Range Rider is a sort of hostel-style setup where guests venture down to the lounge and bar area in the evening to relax by the fireplace, grab a drink, or play games (we have a foosball table, giant Jenga, and many board games). Like a hostel, it's a place where you can meet fellow travelers, yet, like a hotel, you still have your space. It's the kind of place you'll remember, even decades later (practically every day we're open previous guests stop by for another look and to reminisce).
While the Range Rider is an older building with few frills, we're here to make your Yellowstone experience the best it can be. Each room comes with a short, helpful “best of” Yellowstone guidebook written by Henry, the owner of the lodge, who's spent the better part of the last 25 years in and around Yellowstone. At the Silver Gate General Store immediately next door, we sell bear spray, wolf charts, and detailed maps of Yellowstone in addition to renting out spotting scopes and binoculars. Our staff is comprised of individuals who love nature and work here to be near the park, they're happy to provide recommendations on how to best spend your time here.
Where We're Located:
Nestled one mile outside Yellowstone's Northeastern Gate in a glacially carved valley, the Soda Butte Creek winding through town, Silver Gate is a bit of humanity in a sea of wilderness. Animals from bison to bear to fox to moose wander through our tiny mountain town almost as if it didn't even exist. The Absaroka Mountains, a sub-range of the Rockies, abruptly jut skyward forming the walls of our valley upon which mountain goats and bighorn sheep clamor about the cliffs above (which can be spectacularly seen with a spotting scope rental from our General Store).
With a winter population of six and a dog loosely elected town mayor, Silver Gate is a place to relax and to be overcome with the wonder of wilderness—the perfect home-base to return to after a long day exploring the park.
