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Review: Easy as Cake, Hiking Atlantic Canyon and Windy Lake

Wind River Range

Review: Easy as Cake, Hiking Atlantic Canyon and Windy Lake

Review: Easy as Cake, Hiking Atlantic Canyon and Windy Lake

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 17 minutes This area of the Winds is underrated. My 1/2 pregnant wife, my 8 year-old daughter, and the rest of us enjoyed this hike, but we found out a way to do it far more efficiently at the end.

Review: 14 Miles Hiking Sweetwater Gap Lakes, Wind River Range

Review: 14 Miles Hiking Sweetwater Gap Lakes, Wind River Range

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 12 minutes The unnamed lakes in Sweetwater Gap are worth a visit given how easy they are to access, as well as just how surprisingly pretty you’ll find them. I didn’t see any fish there, but it was late in the year.

Review: 26 Fall Miles Hiking Big Sandy, Shadow Lake, Texas Pass, and the Cirque of the Towers

Review: 26 Fall Miles Hiking Big Sandy, Shadow Lake, Texas Pass, and the Cirque of the Towers

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 30 minutes Although a really nice hike, I’d probably only do this in fall to minimize the awful crowds.

Review: 22 Miles Hiking Three Waters Mountain, Native Lake, & Roaring Fork

Review: 22 Miles Hiking Three Waters Mountain, Native Lake, & Roaring Fork

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 51 minutes This hike is one for those who like solitude, stunning views, and horrible deadfall. Not for the easily lost, but I found one on it.

Review: 9 Miles or More to Jim Creek Lake, Wind River Range

Review: 9 Miles or More to Jim Creek Lake, Wind River Range

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 20 minutes Jim Creek Lake avoids all the attention that the rest of the Wind River Range receives. Should it? And can you even get to the trailhead given the terrible roads in the area?

Night sky over Granite Lake, Wyoming
Review: 19 Miles Hiking Seven Lakes—Granite, Dyke, Horseshoe, Marion, & More

Review: 19 Miles Hiking Seven Lakes—Granite, Dyke, Horseshoe, Marion, & More

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 32 minutes Hiking to Granite Lake! I liked this trip enough that I changed plans during it to save some lakes as leftovers for another time. That said, I think if I’d taken any friends with me, they would no longer be my friends. The good news is that I have like 0 friends, so it wasn’t a problem. I wonder why that is?

Review: 19 Miles Hiking Simpson Lake, Plus Dead Horse, Long, and Union

Review: 19 Miles Hiking Simpson Lake, Plus Dead Horse, Long, and Union

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 28 minutes Simpson Lake holds a great deal of value: the walk is easy, the fish are plentiful, and the people aren’t to be found. It also has some fantastic history and decent scenery.

Review: 9 Miles Hiking Gypsum Creek Lakes, Wind River Range

Review: 9 Miles Hiking Gypsum Creek Lakes, Wind River Range

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 14 minutes What a blessing. The most value/mile of any short hike in the Winds or Cloud Peak Wilderness.

Island Lake, Wyoming at sunset after the storms.
Review: Hiking Titcomb in August with Snow

Review: Hiking Titcomb in August with Snow

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 8 minutes Titcomb is a nice trip, though not my favorite. This trip was marked by poor weather which added a little bit of charisma to the place, though it being deserted is what made it truly memorable.

Temple Basin
Review: Cirque of the Towers vs Temple Basin

Review: Cirque of the Towers vs Temple Basin

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 12 minutes This hike covered both the Cirque of the Towers and Temple Basin. Which do you think is a better place to visit?

Upper Silas Lake shoreline
Review: Easy 8 Miles to Upper Silas Lake (Day Hike!)

Review: Easy 8 Miles to Upper Silas Lake (Day Hike!)

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 6 minutes Upper Silas Lake is one of the few hikes in the Winds that can be an honest, easy day-hike. You won’t be rewarded with staggering scenery, but it’s better than being stuck in town, and the fishing is still fun!

Little Sandy Lake's beach during low water
Review: Little Sandy Lake Day Hike

Review: Little Sandy Lake Day Hike

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 9 minutes Little Sandy Lake is an adventure, but is it a good one? The road to the trailhead doesn’t want you to know the answer to that question.

Clear Creek Park/Meadows towards dusk
Review: 12-Mile Day Hike to Slide Lake, Wind River Range

Review: 12-Mile Day Hike to Slide Lake, Wind River Range

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 9 minutes Slide Lake is one of my favorite day hikes that anyone in moderate physical fitness can do. It has some unique features along the trail (a giant waterslide and Fishbowl Springs) and decent views the entire way.

Granite Creek by Granite Hot Springs
Reviews: Hoback Guard Station, Granite Hot Springs, and Clear Lake Day Hike

Reviews: Hoback Guard Station, Granite Hot Springs, and Clear Lake Day Hike

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 12 minutes Clear Lake is a beautiful lake surrounded by cliffs. It can be done as a day hike but is best accomplished with enough time for one to fully take in the concept of eternal damnation. Everything else in this post is tops!

Mount Geikie sunset reflection
Review: 29 Miles to Twin Lakes, Pyramid Lake, and Mount Hooker

Review: 29 Miles to Twin Lakes, Pyramid Lake, and Mount Hooker

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 16 minutes Pyramid Lake was rumored to have golden trout, so we decided to tackle it and look at the Hooker, too.

Lower Cook Lakes, Wyoming in summer
Review: Hiking Cook Lakes, Wind River Range (And How to Do It Better!)

Review: Hiking Cook Lakes, Wind River Range (And How to Do It Better!)

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 15 minutes This 26-mile hike can be made into a much better hike than I had, though I wasn’t equipped with the appropriate knowledge to make it really fantastic at the time. It’s great for people who want good fishing with camping locations which are downright hospitable.

Titcomb Basin from Fremont Peak
Review: 47 Miles from Elkhart Park to Green River Lakes

Review: 47 Miles from Elkhart Park to Green River Lakes

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 26 minutes We did Elkhart Park to Green River Lakes in just under 4 days, but it’s probably nicer if you do it in 5. You’d be an absolute loon to do this trip the opposite way around. While many people utilize Knapsack Col, we used the CDT in order to fish for golden trout and to see extra lakes.

Fish Creek Park, Wyoming, at sunset.
Review: Fall Day Hike to Donald Lake, Wind River Range

Review: Fall Day Hike to Donald Lake, Wind River Range

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 6 minutes Donald Lake has excellent fishing for brookies and is a very low-use area of the Wind River Range. It’s also one of the easiest hikes you can do and only has a low number of miles. Most people looking for a hike of this distance will probably want to do this as an overnight hike in order to maximize time at this picturesque lake.

Lucas Necessary in front of East Temple Peak
Review: Black Joe Lake Day Hike, Wind River Range

Review: Black Joe Lake Day Hike, Wind River Range

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 7 minutes This short hike is great if you want to be in the Big Sandy area without the Big Sandy crowds. I describe the best way to access it, which is not via trail 116.

Review: Exploring the Cirque of the Towers in the Snow

Review: Exploring the Cirque of the Towers in the Snow

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 11 minutes Visiting the Cirque of the Towers in the fall is a real pleasure, since all the bugs and instagrammers are gone! I had it all to myself.

Review: Dickinson Park to Smith, Cloverleaf, Cook, Mendarrin, Middle, & Cathedral Lakes

Review: Dickinson Park to Smith, Cloverleaf, Cook, Mendarrin, Middle, & Cathedral Lakes

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 16 minutes This hike visits numerous lakes in a short number of miles. It’s quite beautiful and has some huge fish!

Review: Quick Overnight Hike to Deep Lake (Temple Basin with Snow!)

Review: Quick Overnight Hike to Deep Lake (Temple Basin with Snow!)

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 11 minutes Temple Basin is probably the easiest hike in the Winds for an overnight, and it’s also one of the downright prettiest!

Dinwoody Trail in Wyoming, Wind River Range
Review: 52 Miles Hiking Glacier Trail to Dinwoody Basin

Review: 52 Miles Hiking Glacier Trail to Dinwoody Basin

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 21 minutes This hike uses the popular Glacier Trail ingress to Dinwoody Basin. It’s arid, strenuous, and has a beautiful payoff, but few trails will make you work for it as hard as this one.

Bomber Lake, Wyoming
Review: Hiking Downs Mountain, Bomber Basin, Mile-Long Lake, etc., Plus a Crashed B24

Review: Hiking Downs Mountain, Bomber Basin, Mile-Long Lake, etc., Plus a Crashed B24

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 34 minutes This hike features stunning scenery and incredible history, but I have suggestions on how you can make it far more worthwhile. My favorite part is the crashed B24 bomber.

Review: AWFUL—30 Miles to Lake Victor and North Fork Lake

Review: AWFUL—30 Miles to Lake Victor and North Fork Lake

Lucas Necessary

Reading Time: 15 minutes I didn’t like this hike. It’s long, winding, not made for easy walking, exposed to the sun, dusty, arid, and with terrible views. Its only redeeming feature is the fishing (maybe), which went poorly for me. I didn’t HATE it, which implies actively wishing it to never exist, but I’d certainly never do it again, and you shouldn’t do it in the first place.

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Hiking and Adventure Map (Work in Progress)

  • NOTE! Zoom in for full list. Some icons at default view contain 5+ hikes when zoomed in. I'm transcribing these hikes in my own order, but if you'd like to see one moved to the top of the review list, just let me know.


Map Symbology:

  • •Blue—Hiking plus kayaking trips
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  • •Purple—Camping, international trips; excursions.

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