Posted on 06/07/2004 6:42:44 AM PDT by Theodore R.
Change your view Stop and smell the flowers along scenic byway
By Ty Stockton outdoors@wyomingnews.com Published in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle
CENTENNIAL - If your idea of a summer vacation is more about secluded hiking trails, breathtaking vistas and crystal-clear fishing waters than long amusement park lines, $2.25-per-gallon gas prices and overpriced hotel rooms, a drive through your own backyard may be your best bet this summer.
Wyoming Highway 130 from Centennial to Saratoga is more than just a scenic byway. The road is a springboard for endless summertime outdoors activities. You could spend the entire summer on that road and never hike all the trails or fish all the lakes and streams.
And staying several nights in the Medicine Bow National Forest, through which the road winds, is affordable. Campsites are scattered along the route and tucked back in the trees, and the camping fee is $10 a night.
If you prefer camping in a tent far from your vehicle, it costs even less.
Camping
Starting in Centennial and driving west, the first campsites you come to are accessible from the Barber Lake Road. Like all the campgrounds in the forest, visitor information technician Jill Robinson says they are primitive.
"There are no electrical hookups or water," she says. "There are pit toilets, fire rings on concrete pads and stand-up grills at all the campsites. They can accommodate (recreational vehicles) up to 30 feet long."
There are more campgrounds all along Highway 130. Some, like the North Fork campground and the Brooklyn Lake campground, require a detour off the main road back into the woods. All the campgrounds are on either paved or graded gravel roads, and they should be accessible by any kind of vehicle.
If you prefer to hike a bit before setting up camp, dispersed camping is allowed anywhere in the forest as long as the camp is at least 500 feet from Highway 130, Robinson says.
Also, be aware that black bears are present in the area, so be sure to suspend food from a tree limb at least 10 feet off the ground and four feet from the trunk of the tree. Don't cook any food or wash cooking equipment closer than 50 feet from your sleeping area.
Hiking
All told, there are hundreds of miles of hiking trails in the Snowy Range. Quite a few of these trails begin right off of Highway 130.
Heading west out of Centennial, the first trailhead is the Corner Mountain trailhead.
"(It) weaves toward the summer slopes of the ski area," Robinson says.
Just up the road from Corner Mountain, the Little Laramie trailhead is on the north side of the highway. This is one of a complex of trails that meanders along and around the North Fork of the Little Laramie River. The seven-mile Little Laramie Trail connects to the North Fork Trail, allowing hikers to travel another five miles without breaking stride.
The next trailhead is the Brooklyn Lake trailhead. Off of Forest Road 317 at Brooklyn Lake, the Sheep Lake Trail heads north past the North Twin Lakes and Sheep Lake and continues to Sand Lake. The trail is 8.2 miles.
The Sheep Lake Trail connects to the Deep Lake Trail southwest of Sheep Lake, and this trail meets up with the Quealy Lake Trail and the Gap Lakes Trail.
The trailhead at Lewis Lake, accessed via the Sugarloaf Recreation Area, is the beginning of the Glacier Lakes, Gap Lakes and Lakes trails. These trails are 1.8, 2.3 and 1.5 miles, respectively.
Robinson says hikers should be aware that the Sugarloaf area will be under construction this summer. You may have to park somewhere other than the Sugarloaf Recreation Area and walk a bit farther to get to these trails.
Just across Highway 130 from Sugarloaf is the Libby Flats Observation Point. There is a telescope in the hilltop structure to help visitors see the scenery better. Robinson says there also is a new signed interpretive trail that starts at the observation point.
"The signs describe the plant life and animals you might see on the flats," she says.
At the high point of the Snowy Range Pass, just under 11,000 feet, is the Miner's Cabin Trail. There is another interpretive trail here, and the path winds .7 miles down the slope to the remains of an old miner's cabin.
"Along the trail, there are great scenic overlooks of Bellamy Lake and the mountains of the Snowy Range," Robinson says.
Down the other side of the pass, there is another trailhead at Lake Marie. This trailhead is the start of the 4.5-mile Medicine Bow Peak Trail on the west side of Highway 130 and the 2.2-mile Tipple Trail on the east.
The Silver Lake Trail is the last trail that starts right on Highway 130. It's a 1.7-mile loop around Silver Lake.
Fishing
The fishing in the Snowy Range is hard to beat. If you get bored at one lake, another is not far away, and many of them are within a mile of the highway.
Hanging Lake is on the south side of Highway 130 just east of the Snowy Range Ski Area turnoff. It isn't deep, but the water stays warmer than the water in the lakes at higher elevations. Expect to find rainbow trout.
If you're in the mood for brook trout, you shouldn't have any trouble finding them at the higher lakes, especially if you walk in to lakes farther off the highway.
The lakes closer to the road with brookies are Brooklyn Lake, Little Brooklyn Lake, Towner Lake, Libby Lake, Lewis Lake, Bellamy Lake, Mirror Lake and Lake Marie. Brooklyn Lake also has cutthroats.
You may catch cutthroats, brown trout and splake as well as brookies in Lewis Lake, and cutthroat and splake also live in Libby Lake. There is a chance you'll catch a rainbow at Mirror Lake and Lake Marie.
Farther off the beaten path, on the Sheep Lake Trail, is Sheep Lake. Along the way, Albany South Twin Lake is home to cutthroat trout, and Carbon North Twin Lake holds brookies.
Along the Glacier Lakes Trail, there are brook trout in the Telephone Lakes, Lost Lake and the Glacier Lakes. East Glacier Lake also has cutthroats.
Up the Gap Lakes Trail, try for brookies, rainbows and cutthroats at South Gap Lake and brookies at North Gap Lake. Crescent Lake lies on the Shelf Lakes Trail off of the Gap Lakes Trail, and you may find brookies there.
If you take the Lakes Trail, you'll find brook trout in Lookout Lake and Klondyke Lake.
Golden trout are rumored to swim the waters of Bear Lake in the Libby Flats. To get to Bear Lake, take Forest Road 336 south from Highway 130.
This road is just south of the Sugarloaf Recreation Area turnoff. Forest Road 396 splits off of 336 to the east. Follow 396 to Forest Road 396A, and you'll eventually wind up at Bear Lake.
If you want to take this road, especially early or late in the season, you'll need a four wheel-drive vehicle with good clearance to make it. The road is not graded, and it may be snowed over even in early July.
At most of these lakes, the fish are hungry. They may be small, but the fishing action should be intense, because there are often more fish in the lakes than there is food for them.
There also are opportunities in the rivers and creeks in the area. Beaver ponds and small bodies of water dot the map, and there are likely fish in many of these.
Picnic areas
If you're just traveling through but want a good place to stop for lunch, there are several picnic areas along the scenic byway.
The Green Rock Picnic Area is popular because it is a streamside picnic area. The Barber Lake Picnic Area also is a streamside dining spot, sitting on the bank of Silver Run Creek.
There are also picnic areas at Libby Lake and Mirror Lake.
Wildlife viewing
Robinson says drivers should keep their eyes open for wildlife along the scenic byway.
"You might see elk in the early and late evenings as well as mule deer or maybe a few whitetail," she says. "There are some fox, coyotes, black bears, and even pine martens in the forest, but the martens are usually only out at night. Of course, there are always birds, and up near the pass, you might see marmots."
The area is home to moose as well. Especially on the west side of the pass, keep an eye out in the willow bottoms for the world's largest cervid.
Scenery
The recreation opportunities and wildlife aren't the only reason to take the scenic byway. The Civilian Conservation Corps built the original road through the mountains because of the spectacular scenery the area offers.
Near the top of the pass, the trees thin, and the tundra starts. Though it isn't as green as it is lower in elevation, the peaks of the Snowy Range more than make up for the lack of color.
Created by glaciers, Medicine Bow Peak, Sugarloaf Mountain, Browns Peak, Schoolhouse Rock and the other peaks of the range make a towering wall on the north side of the highway. Nestled at the bottoms of the mountains are the sparkling-clear waters of the glacial lakes.
"It's such a beautiful drive," Robinson says. "It has certainly earned its national scenic byway status."
It is beautiful country with every imaginable land/formation type. Highly recommend it. Supposedly there are more deer there than residents. Of which I believe there is less than 300,000
Wyoming Population Statistics
US Census 2002 Total Population Estimate 498,703*
You had the right idea, but you are some 200,000 short. It's still the least populous state, for Vermonters outnumber Wyomingites.
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