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Choose a route of epic scale with stops in the Snowy Mountain Range, Medicine Bow Mountain Range, Seminoe Mountains and Wind River Mountain Range on the way to the Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks. PINE BLUFFS TO LARAMIE Stop into the Pine Bluffs Information Center on your way to Cheyenne. There’s plenty to see in the capital city, including Wyoming State Museum, where you can learn about the everyday lives of Wyomingites from the early days to the present; Historic Governors’ Mansion, the beautifully restored home of the state’s former first families; and Cheyenne Big Boots, 8-foot-tall, colorfully painted cowboy boots displayed around town. Continuing west on Hwy 210, take a quick detour to Curt Gowdy State Park. The Laramie Mountains offer a stunning backdrop for outdoorsy folks, especially mountain bikers looking to singletrack epic trails. Nearby is Vedauwoo Campground and Recreation Area — a great place for climbers, hikers and campers. LARAMIE TO RAWLINS Get on I-80 to head toward Laramie. It’s a popular spot for recreation from fishing to skiing. Other attractions include University of Wyoming Geological Museum and the American Heritage Center. Detour on your way to Rawlins to Seminoe State Park north of I-80, surrounded by white sand dunes and the stomping grounds of thousands of pronghorn, the Seminoe Mountains, Seminoe Reservoir and the “Miracle Mile” of the North Platte River. Or head over the Snowy Range Scenic Byway from Laramie to explore Saratoga and Encampment. Saratoga is perhaps best known for its mineral hot springs, but also draws folks to blue-ribbon trout fishing on the North Platte River. Encampment rests at the base of the Sierra Madres and is the gateway to the Medicine Bow Forest. The 115-year-old Grand Encampment Opera House still presents melodramas, plays and dinner theaters. RAWLINS TO LANDER Rawlins dates back to when tracks were first laid for the Union Pacific Railroad in Wyoming and is best known for the Wyoming Frontier Prison. Known as the “Old Pen,” this museum is said to be haunted with history. A break from the interstate will take you on Hwy 287 to the South Pass City State Historic Site. North of the historic Oregon Trail, the city was built in 1867 during the gold-mining boom. Stop at Sinks Canyon State Park, a geologic phenomenon where the Popo Agie River vanishes into a cavern and reappears in a pool a half mile down the canyon. Lander has several ways to stretch your legs in the Wind River Range: mountain climbing, fishing, miles of hiking trails and the Beaver Creek cross-country skiing trail system. Or visit the Museum of the American West, where you can investigate a recreated pioneer village with 10 different buildings, including a 1909 chapel, 1881 schoolhouse and a livery stable filled with antique farm equipment. LANDER TO RIVERTON Northeast of Lander is the town of Riverton, where the 1838 Mountain Man Rendezvous — a recreated gathering of Native Americans, fur traders and mountain men — takes place annually. Try your luck at the Wind River Hotel & Casino, which hosts the Northern Arapaho Experience, a weekly Native American dance performance during the summer. RIVERTON TO DUBOIS Next up is Dubois, where you can explore the National Bighorn Sheep Interpretive Center, which tells the story of one of Wyoming’s signature animals — the Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep. DUBOIS TO YELLOWSTONE From Dubois, head to the Moran Junction on Hwy 26, the Centennial Scenic Byway, where you’ll choose your final destination: Grand Teton National Park or Yellowstone National Park. Grand Teton National Park’s peaks are popular with climbers, hikers and photographers. Yellowstone National Park has served for generations as a living museum, giving visitors an up-close-and-personal glimpse of what the continent was like in the days before recorded history.
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