Snowy Range Scenic Byway

For far too many miles the only road through southern Wyoming is Interstate 80 so having a choice of bypassing the interstate from Fort Steele to Laramie by taking either US 30 to the north or Route 130 to the south is a wonderful option. We chose Route 130 which travels through Medicine Bow National Forest. I didn’t research other than checking to see if the road was opened and paved the whole way.

This is what we found – quite a difference from the plains!

The road, originally a wagon road built in the 1870s, was paved in the 1930s. It starts at 8000’ and climbs to almost 11,000’ to reach a beautiful summit with views of the mountains and subalpine lakes. The mountain range is made of quartzsite which gives it a snowy look all year round.

Several trails begin at the Lake Marie parking lot including a one mile round trip, paved, accessible trail. There’s a slight step up at each end of a bridge that crosses a small stream. The trail has a gentle uphill rise.

Sugarloaf Campground, a couple of miles east, has scenic views of the mountains from many of the sites. None of them are designated as accessible but all have tables with extended tops and high fire rings. The terrain makes some of them inaccessible.