Wind River Range

The crest of the Wind River Range is a jagged wall of ancient granite, crowned by Gannett Peak, the highest point in Wyoming, and lined with dozens of other high summits and famous rock spires that draw climbers from around the world. The scale and remoteness of the peaks set the Winds apart.

Clinging to the highest slopes are the largest glaciers in the American Rockies, remnants of the ice ages that carved the whole range. These glaciers feed icy streams and lakes and are watched closely as they slowly shrink, a living link to the deep cold that shaped this country.

The glaciers of the ice ages gouged countless basins into the granite, and today the range holds hundreds of alpine lakes, from tiny tarns to long, deep waters ringed by peaks. Areas like the Cirque of the Towers and Titcombe Basin are famous among backpackers for their concentration of lakes and dramatic rock.

The lakes and streams offer superb trout fishing in a wilderness setting, and reaching them is much of the reward. Trails climb from the gateway trailheads into these high basins, where campers wake to peaks mirrored in still water and air scented with pine and stone.

The range gives its name to the Wind River, and its eastern side borders the Wind River Reservation, home to the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho. This high country has been part of the Shoshone homeland for a very long time, tied to the legacy of Chief Washakie, who worked to secure a lasting home for his people.

Their connection to these mountains, valleys, and waters remains living and strong. Travelers exploring the range and its gateway towns are moving through a landscape whose deepest history belongs to these nations, a fact worth carrying with respect into the backcountry.

Pinedale on the west, with Fremont Lake and the Museum of the Mountain Man, and Lander and Dubois on the east are the main gateways, where visitors outfit, resupply, and pick up trailheads into the wilderness. Each is a friendly base for a range that has no roads through its heart.

The Winds shelter moose, elk, mule deer, bighorn sheep, black and grizzly bears, and pikas and marmots in the high rocks, with eagles overhead. Summer is short, bright, and the only real season for the high country, fall gilds the aspen in the valleys, and winter buries the range in deep snow beneath hard blue skies.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is a place we chose through independent editorial review, never a paid placement.

The Wind River Range, in west-central Wyoming, is a magnificent and rugged mountain range that includes Gannett Peak, the highest mountain in the state, along with dozens of other towering peaks, hundreds of alpine lakes, and some of the largest glaciers in the American Rockies. Less famous and far less crowded than the Tetons, the remote and pristine Wind Rivers are a paradise for backpackers, climbers, and anglers, offering spectacular high-country wilderness, including the renowned Cirque of the Towers. With its soaring peaks, glaciers, alpine lakes, and vast wilderness, the Wind River Range offers some of the most spectacular and unspoiled mountain scenery and backcountry adventure in Wyoming.

You can backpack and hike the extensive trails into the high-country wilderness, past countless alpine lakes and beneath towering peaks, climb and mountaineer, including in the famous Cirque of the Towers, fish the pristine lakes and streams for trout, watch for wildlife, and camp in the backcountry amid spectacular scenery. The range is especially beloved by backpackers and climbers for its remote, unspoiled wilderness. Much of the best scenery requires multi-day treks. With its soaring peaks, alpine lakes, superb backpacking, climbing, and fishing, the Wind River Range offers magnificent and uncrowded mountain adventure in west-central Wyoming.

The Wind Rivers are remote, rugged wilderness with limited access and no services in the backcountry, so venturing in requires proper gear, supplies, navigation skills, and backcountry experience, and cell coverage is nonexistent, so be self-sufficient and tell someone your plans. This is high country with thin air, cold temperatures even in summer, and rapidly changing mountain weather including afternoon storms, so bring layers and be prepared. It is also bear country, so take precautions with food. Being well-prepared, experienced, and self-reliant is essential for a safe trip into the Wind River Range.

Summer through early fall, roughly July through September, is the prime and often only practical time for the high country, when the trails are snow-free and accessible, the weather is mildest, and the alpine lakes and meadows are at their best, with wildflowers in summer, while the high country is under deep snow much of the rest of the year. Even summer nights are cold at elevation. For backpacking, climbing, and fishing in the high country, aim for mid to late summer through early fall, always preparing for the remote, high-elevation conditions of the Wind River Range.

The Wind River Range is in west-central Wyoming, near the towns of Pinedale, Lander, and Dubois that serve as gateways, the Bridger-Teton and Shoshone national forests, the Sinks Canyon area near Lander, and within reach of Jackson Hole, Grand Teton National Park, and the Wind River Indian Reservation. That makes the Wind River Range a magnificent wilderness to combine with Pinedale, Lander, Sinks Canyon, and the other attractions of western Wyoming on a visit to the state.