Hiking In the Bighorns of Wyoming

The Bighorn Mountains, between Sheridan and Buffalo, Wyoming offer beautiful trails for hikers of all ages and abilities. The three most accessible trails go into magnificent canyons carved by steep, snow fed streams. During spring, the mountain runoff can be strong enough to move boulders. The sounds of rushing water reverberates all year to add an extra layer of magic to canyons walled by steep dolomite cliffs rising several hundred feet on each side.

Most hikers start with Penrose, the longest and most popular trail out of Story, Wyoming, a beautiful village 20 miles south of Sheridan. This trail can accommodate everyone from beginners to backpackers planning several days of camping in the Cloud Peak Wilderness. After the first switchback, around a quarter mile up, you will be in several miles of easily negotiable trail with panoramic views of the Powder River Basin below. You can treat this trail as a short gorgeous walk or a long serious hike.

Story has another short but dramatic trail up South Piney Creek. It begins at the Fish Hatchery around which many tourists love to stop and walk, goes past Thorne Rider Youth Camp, and up the canyon. Enjoyed by both hikers and anglers, this trail continues for two majestic miles and is closed to motorized vehicles. In that short stretch, as in most Bighorn canyons, you will also move through almost two billion years of geologic history ending in pink granite near the top.

Hikers and walkers out of Buffalo Wyoming, thirty five miles south of Sheridan, enjoy driving a bit further south to Crazy Woman Canyon. A major part of this canyon experience is the beautiful drive to reach it. The canyon is short and open to both hikers and motorized vehicles. Crazy Woman is narrow and places you in close contact with creek and canyon walls. The best approach is to park your car at the foot and trek up as far as comfort allows. Afterwards you can return to your vehicle and drive up to join Highway 16 where you can stop at any point for more walking and scenic viewing or you might choose to head further west and stop at the Bighorn Mountain Resort which offers some of the best trails in the State of Wyoming.

There are half dozen areas not as heavily used as the well-known Cloud Peak Wilderness. Most of these sites are within 30 miles from town. Hospital Hill is just ten miles west. From the Bighorn National Forest sign along U. S. Highway 16 West park your vehicle and wander north of through pine forests and meadows. Along this trail a hiker may look upon the Old West town of Buffalo and the Clear Creek valley below. The trails in this area are not maintained, but because of the many meadows along the weather, walking is not difficult. Rougher terrain for the more courageous hiker is available on the nearby Cull Watt Park Road. The road goes some two miles north is and is perfect for anyone wanting to explore the area without leaving the trail. French Creek Road is a rough dirt road and hikers with a vehicle with a two-wheeled drive vehicle may part on the left side of the road for a quarter-mile before crossing a private property line. Continue walking north for some one-and-a-half miles to French Creek. The hiker can then follow the trails west up French Creek or go northward toward Johnson Park. Pole Creek Road is 19 miles west of town and is a gravel road passable for cars and other two-wheeled drive vehicles. Pole Creek Road continues through the forest and nine miles later connects with U. S. Highway 16 West. These roads are open to either foot or bicycle travel and are easy to walk or ride. Off U.S. 16 some 24 miles west Crazy Woman Canyon road takes off and drops into the canyon where there are some side drainages, but there are no trails and hiking would be quite strenuous. This road eventually connects with Wyoming Highway #196--Buffalo to Kaycee. About 32 miles west off Highway 16 is Powder River road. Its old logging roads are closed to motorized travel, but are open to hiking or biking. From this road are several spectacular views of Hazelton and other Big Horn Mountain Peaks. Lastly, Poison Creek road is rough, but will accommodate two-wheeled pickup trucks. There are no marked trails here, but routes and drainages lead to the peaks west of Poison Creek Road.