Wyoming’s Bighorn Mountains have a million acres of wild and almost no crowds

Wyoming’s best-kept range is hiding in plain sight

You’ve probably driven past the Bighorns without stopping.

They sit halfway between Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone, easy to skip when the famous parks are calling. That’s exactly why they’re worth your time.

Over a million acres of national forest, ancient rock formations, alpine lakes, and a stone circle no one can fully explain. The range runs 200 miles, and the crowds don’t.

Cloud Peak towers over 13,000 feet of raw Wyoming

The Bighorn Mountains rise out of the northern Wyoming plains and push into southern Montana, running roughly 200 miles long and 30 to 50 miles wide.

Cloud Peak, the highest point in the range, clears 13,000 feet. These aren’t gentle hills.

They’re a full spur of the Rockies, and they carry all the weight that description implies. What makes them different from the parks to the west isn’t what they lack.

It’s the silence.

Rocks here predate almost everything you’ve ever stood on

The Bighorns started forming about 70 million years ago, but the rock itself is far older.

At Shell Falls, exposed Precambrian formations date back nearly 2.9 billion years, some of the oldest rock you’ll find anywhere on Earth.

The Crow people call this range Basawaxaawuua, which means “our mountains,” and Native American peoples have moved through this landscape for at least 10,000 years.

The 1.1-million-acre Bighorn National Forest was established in the late 1800s, but the place has been in use much longer.

Three scenic byways cut straight through the range

Three US highways cross the Bighorns, and all three carry scenic byway designations: US 14, US 14A, and US 16.

US 16, known as the Cloud Peak Skyway or “The Sweet 16,” takes the gentler grade over Powder River Pass and gives you the only roadside look at Cloud Peak.

US 14 runs through the forest’s middle, past mountain meadows and canyon views. US 14A climbs hard through high plains and deep canyon country.

Drive all three if you have the time.

189,000 roadless acres where you go in on foot

The Cloud Peak Wilderness covers 189,000 acres along the spine of the range, set aside in 1984 under the Wyoming Wilderness Act. No motors, no bikes, no mechanical equipment of any kind.

You go in on foot or horseback, and that’s the only option.

More than 100 miles of trails cross the area, moving through glacier-carved valleys, sharp summits, and hundreds of alpine lakes. The east face of Cloud Peak still holds the last remaining glacier in the Bighorns.

Snow stays on the high ground until July, so the hiking season is short.

Shell Falls drops 120 feet and needs no effort to see

Shell Falls is the easiest payoff in the Bighorns.

A short paved trail from the parking area along US 14 puts you on a viewing platform above a 120-foot drop over ancient granite. The falls run hardest in late spring when snowmelt fills Shell Creek.

The interpretive center nearby walks you through the geology, including outcrops of 550-million-year-old sandstone sitting directly on top of 2.9-billion-year-old rock. You don’t have to hike a mile to get here.

You don’t even have to break a sweat.

Porcupine Falls hides at the bottom of a steep trail

If you’re up for more of a workout, the trail to Porcupine Falls is about a mile round trip, but that mile involves a serious descent.

The waterfall drops roughly 200 feet through a slot in high canyon walls over colorful granite.

From the same stretch of US 14A in the northern part of the forest, you can also reach Bucking Mule Falls, a series of cascading drops inside the Cloud Peak Wilderness.

Neither hike is long, but both ask something of your knees on the way back up.

Meadowlark Lake sits in a mountain bowl at 8,500 feet

Meadowlark Lake covers 325 acres along US 16, sitting at about 8,500 feet with a wall of lodgepole pine and Douglas fir around it. A dam built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1936 created the reservoir.

The lake holds rainbow, cutthroat, brown, and brook trout, and boating is allowed at wake-free speeds, so it draws anglers in canoes and small fishing boats as much as anyone else.

The mountain views from the water are the kind that make you lose track of how long you’ve been sitting in one spot.

Over 1,500 climbing routes line Ten Sleep Canyon’s walls

On the western slope of the Bighorns, Ten Sleep Canyon has quietly built a reputation that pulls climbers in from other countries.

More than 1,500 bolted routes run up limestone and dolomite walls, covering the full range from beginner to expert, with most falling somewhere in the middle.

The canyon’s standing in the climbing world has grown significantly over the past decade.

If you don’t climb, the drive through on US 16 still gives you a front-row look at walls that make other people’s palms sweat.

An 80-foot stone circle sits at 10,000 feet with no clear explanation

The Medicine Wheel sits on a limestone ridge at nearly 10,000 feet, a stone circle roughly 80 feet across with 28 spokes radiating out from a central cairn.

Native American peoples have used Medicine Mountain for close to 7,000 years. The Wheel itself could be a few hundred years old or more than 3,000 years old.

Nobody has been able to date it reliably. The National Park Service designated it a landmark in 1970, and the site now covers 4,080 acres.

This is a living sacred site for multiple tribes, so go quietly and be ready for closures during private ceremonies.

Moose, elk, bighorn sheep, and bears all share this range

Moose turn up regularly near streams and alpine lakes throughout the forest. Elk herds number in the thousands.

Bighorn sheep, the animal the range is named for, pick their way across the steepest rock faces. Black bears, mule deer, pronghorn, and cougars also live here.

Carry bear spray, keep food stored properly, and give every animal more distance than you think you need. The wildlife here isn’t a surprise bonus.

It’s part of what you came for.

Bighorn Canyon puts water and sheer canyon walls in the same frame

The Bighorn Mountains don’t stop at the forest boundary.

Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area spreads across more than 120,000 acres along the Wyoming-Montana border, with Bighorn Lake stretching 71 miles through it, backed up behind Yellowtail Dam. You can boat, fish, kayak, or swim.

Devil Canyon Overlook delivers some of the most dramatic canyon views in the region. The recreation area also borders the Pryor Mountains Wild Horse Range, where wild mustangs still run.

That’s a lot of country for one afternoon.

Explore the Bighorn National Forest in Wyoming

You can reach the Bighorns from several gateway towns in north-central Wyoming, including Sheridan, Buffalo, Ten Sleep, Lovell, and Greybull.

U.S. Highways 14, 14A, and 16 all cross the range and connect to routes heading west toward Yellowstone or east toward Mount Rushmore.

The Bighorn National Forest has 32 campgrounds, plus lodges and cabins spread through the range. Summer is peak season, with most high-elevation areas open from late June through September.

The Medicine Wheel access road typically opens around July 1, so plan accordingly.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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