Wind River Range

This fall we plan to travel through Wyoming on our way to Colorado. We%26#39;re avid photographers and are looking for especially ';photogenic'; areas of Wyoming. We%26#39;ve spent a lot of time in both parks and love them, but are looking for something new. I%26#39;ve heard some encouraging things about the Wind River Range, but most were from people who took 7-14 day backpacking or pack trips into the area. We won%26#39;t have time to really do a ton of hiking, but we%26#39;d still love to see some of what the range has to offer. We could do a fairly short day hike or two. We plan to spend only a day or maybe 2 in the area.

Any suggestions on places to shoot, stay, eat etc...?

Thanks!

MO

Wind River Range

I%26#39;ve only driven through the region several times, but a photographer friend of mine has raved about his time in the Range. I don%26#39;t know what he did specifically, but he said he spent a sunrise and sunset in the region and shot a heck of lot of film.

Wind River Range

I think your friends are right! The Wind River Range is a great place to visit. I%26#39;ve done the long trips too (a month backpacking, a couple of weeks on pack trips) but I raved about the Wind River Range that I eventually persuaded my mom to come back and visit too. I took her on a couple of day hikes, one to Oregon Butte (which is a fairly easy and short hike, where you can drive pretty close to it) which is pretty beautiful in a very desert-y way. Another place that I took her is to Irish Canyon, which is more difficult to find but is absolutely gorgeous. I think that both areas would offer fabulous hiking and photographic possibilities if you%26#39;re interested. Not really a hike but have you considered visiting South Pass City? It%26#39;s a hoot to visit in a sort of ghost town-y type of way. Hope you have a great trip!

MO- Another great spot for photography is the Wind River Canyon south of Thermopolis. The Wind River runs through the canyon and there are some fabulous rock formations. There are several places to pull out to walk up and down the road. There are even three tunnels to go through. There are many signs throughout the canyon naming the historic eras of the rock formations. East of Thermopolis in the State Park is gorgeous too. Go up in the buffalo pasture and look out over the town and some of the red hills. Even just driving in from Cody or Worland. Thermop sits in a bowl and is surrounded by great rock formations, including Round

Top, which looks like a volcano but isn%26#39;t. Lots of red rock, much like you%26#39;d find in the south west.

This part of Wyoming is part of the high desert.

Another good place to check out is Dubois, which is between Riverton and Jackson Hole. If you head off the road up into the mountains, either side, you%26#39;ll find amazing mountain views. These are more typical mountain sites, with lots of evergreens and higher peaks.

One of my all-time favorite passes is that through the Big Horns going from Tensleep to Buffalo. This isn%26#39;t part of the Wind River Range (obviously) but it is an absolutely gorgeous drive. We%26#39;ve seen moose up there and if you have time to hike off the beaten path the trout streams are to die for. Meadowlark Lake is a great stopping point and there are lots of good hiking spots near there.

Another spot (am I wearing you out with suggestions?) is up in the mountains above Meeteetse, which is between Thermopolis and Cody. There are a lot of very old ranches in this area and the mountains are a lot of sage scrub and gnarly jack pine - very awsome picture taking there as well.

Good luck deciding where to go. I lived in Thermop for six years and my folks are still there so let me know if you have any other questions.

Erin