Always the second full weekend in July!
2026 Rendezvous: July 9-12, 2026
Full 2025 Schedule (Schedule will be updated in early 2026, but the 2026 schedule will be similar.)
Please check back here for updates to the 2026 Rendezvous Schedule, and follow us on Facebook for the latest news and program updates.
Livestream: All Journal Forum sessions are livestreamed on our YouTube channel and recorded for later viewing. Please visit our channel to watch see previous programs:
https://www.youtube.com/museumofthemountainman
Four full days of events at the Museum of the Mountain Man featuring:
Historical Tour Thursday, July 9, 2026, time and tour details to be determined.
2025 Tour information – South Pass Auto-Tour. Guided by Jim Hardee and Scott Walker. Visit the little know South Pass fur trade crossing of the Continental Divide. The tour is free. However, registration is encouraged for coordination on tour day – provide name and cell phone (accessible on tour) by calling 307-367-4101 or emailing info@mmmuseum.com. Meet at the Museum at 8:45 am, July 10, 2025. Carpooling is encouraged but you may drive your own vehicle. The estimated time is 6 hours for the 170 total mile loop which includes 40 miles of maintained dirt road. The estimated return to Pinedale is 3:00PM. Please bring your own lunch, drinks and snacks. The only gas and food services will be at Farson, one hour into the tour. Cell phone service is patchy on the back roads. A map of the route will be provided in case anyone gets separated from the group.
In the spring of 1824, Jedediah Smith led a small group of trappers over South Pass into the Green River Valley. This path would become the easy crossing of the Continental Divide and Rocky Mountains that Lewis & Clark had hoped to find. From 1840 through the1860s, hundreds of thousands of emigrants crossed. The traditional wagon road left the big bend of the Sweetwater River, traveled over to Pacific Creek, and on to the Big Sandy River. This route is best known to the public and shows on period maps, noted by modern historical markers. However, earlier trappers and fur trade supply caravans often crossed the Continental Divide 20 miles to the northwest at the Little Sandy River. This location of this alternative crossing is virtually unknown by the public and is not marked. Famous crossings on this route include Robert Stuart in 1812, Narcissa Whitman, Eliza Spaulding and their missionary husbands, Nathaniel Wyeth, and John Charles Frémont. The Lander Cutoff of the Oregon Trail used this route in the 1860s.
10th Annual Western Art & Wine Auction, Thursday, July 9th, 2026, 6:30pm. Proceeds benefit educational programs at the Museum.
Michael Bad Hand, Native American Historian and Ethnologist, Plains Indian Encampment. His lectures are FREE to the public and give an overview of life of the Plains Indians in the 1800’s.
Lapita & Dan Frewin, Hands on Children’s Programs with morning and afternoon sessions, free to all kids.
The American Mountain Men Trapper’s camp, north of the Museum at the amphitheater. Live lectures and demonstrations throughout Rendezvous weekend will include firearms, sign language, beaver trapping, clothes, tools, fire making, horse tack, packing, and Saturday night stories & songs.
Rocky Mountain Fur Trade Journal & Forum, The annual Journal is launched with author lectures and discussion panels. A special awards reception and Journal signing will take place Friday evening at 6:30pm, just before the Hall of Fame inductions. Journals will be available for purchase.
Mountain Man Hall of Fame: July 10, 2026 at 7pm – To celebrate the bicentennial of the Rendezvous, new inductees into the Hall of Fame will be honored. The second class of inductees will be introduced by historians. Stick around for free pizza and beer!
Sponsors: All programs are free thanks to our generous sponsors: Sublette County Museum Board, Sublette BOCES, Rocky Mountain Power, Jonah Energy, Rex & Heather Stevens, and donors and buyers at the Wine & Art Auction and Wreath Auction.
Phone 1-877-686-6266 or 307-367-4101 for more information.
