Location: Medicine Bow National Forest
State: Wyoming
Length: 4 miles
Difficulty: Difficult
Trail Type: Up and Back
Elevation Change: 1,263 ft
The view from Medicine Bow Peak Wyoming
Trail Information:
Medicine Bow Peak is the highest point in the Snowy Range of Wyoming, which is a north to south running chain of mountains.
The eastern side of the range rises very steeply and rapidly for about five miles, mostly cliffs or cliff like rocks, above a string of the most photogenic lakes you’ve ever seen, surrounded by small alpine meadows.
The rocks are very much like crystal, which gives it a glowing white appearance much of the time.
From the hikers’ register near the parking lot, the trail descends slightly and crosses the outlet stream of Lewis Lake, then follows the south shore of the lake, heading due west toward the grayish-white bulk of Medicine Bow Peak.
The trail climbs uphill through open meadows, liberally covered in August with a wide variety of colorful wildflowers.
On the left is the north slope of 11,400 ft Sugarloaf Mountain, an eastern spur of the Snowy Range, where there are permanent snow-slopes tinged pink with algae.
White crystalline rock, sometimes tinged with gray and pink, is everywhere, as are many types of wildflowers. The views to the east and south are special, as are those of Sugarloaf Mountain and down to the lakes below.
As you climb upward, the trail approaches a couple of snowfields, then turns left and follows a ridge – where you can expect to find hardened 3-ft deep snow , even in late summer which is not surprising when you realize that you are headed up to a 12,013-ft summit. Once on top of the mountain, Colorado‘s Front Range is visible to the south and you can often make out Longs Peak.
The altitude alone makes this a climb that isn’t for the faint hearted but it is certainly worth the time and energy. Make sure that you’re not climbing alone for this one.
To avoid afternoon lightning storms, a risk common to most of the Rocky Mountains, it is recommended that this climb be completed in the morning. Start early, try to minimize rest and photo stops on the way up, then take your time on the way down so you can fully enjoy the spectacular views and also the little things you see along the trail .
Directions:
Take Hwy 130, a National Scenic Byway over the Snowy Range, to the turn-off (on the north side of the road) into the Sugarloaf Recreation Area. This point is 0.5 mile east of the Snowy Range Pass and 6 miles west of Centennial.
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