Worland is a farming town on the Bighorn River in the south-central area of the Bighorn Basin. Hikers have many choices that vary from desert country in the west to mountain grandeur to the south and east.

Although there are trails to the south in the Owl Creek and Bridger
Mountains and to the east in the Bighorns, you can find a unique basin hiking experience to the west in the Painted Desert. On BLM land a nature trail winds through fascinating hoodoos, beautifully weathered rocks and arches in the Gooseberry Badlands. Visit the BLM Office in Worland before you leave to get a printed handout on these carvings of nature.

Another way to prepare for this hike is to visit the Washakie County Museum and Cultural Center to view its geology and fossil collection. Bones of Eohippus, a small, 50-million-year-old horse have been found in these badlands. Keep an eye out for fossils to add a sense of ancient history to the experience.

You can also walk around the Big Cedar Ridge Plant Fossil area to get a sense of what life was like before dinosaurs disappeared on public lands between Worland and Tensleep. Drive east from Worland on Hwy. 16 to Blue Bank Road and continue for another 15 miles to Big Cedar Ridge.

For both hiking and fishing drive north of Worland on Hwy. 20 towards Greybull. Turn east at Hwy. 31 for a drive towards the Big Horn Mountains and a small place called Hyattville. Turn north on the Alkali Cold Springs Road until you reach Hyatt Lane where you turn right. Soon after the turn you'll reach Paint Rock Creek.

This trail involves no climbing and is easy for beginning hikers or walkers. It begins on BLM land and continues through private Hyatt Ranch land before reverting back to BLM territory. You'll be treated to the beautiful sounds and colors of Paint Rock Creek bounded by limestone cliffs. You can use this trail on a wide and gentle six-mile route from April through September, public access months chosen by the ranch.