Wind River Range
Wind River Range, Wyoming
Wind River Range, WY
A hundred-mile wall of granite peaks, alpine lakes, and living glaciers, holding Wyoming's highest summit and some of the wildest country in the Lower 48.
The Wind River Range is the wild, granite heart of Wyoming, a hundred-mile chain of peaks that holds the state's highest summit and some of the most remote country in the Lower 48. Along its crest rise Gannett Peak and dozens of other summits above thirteen thousand feet, sheltering hundreds of alpine lakes and the largest glaciers left in the American Rockies.
Most of the range is roadless wilderness, reached only on foot or horseback, which has kept it wilder and quieter than the more famous Tetons to the northwest. For backpackers, climbers, and anglers, the Winds are legendary, a place of granite spires, tundra basins, and water so clear it seems to hold the sky.
What Guests Love
- Gannett Peak, the highest mountain in Wyoming, deep in the range
- Hundreds of clear alpine lakes cupped in granite basins
- The largest glaciers in the American Rockies clinging to the high peaks
- Vast wilderness backpacking, climbing, and fishing far from any road
Worth Knowing
- The heart of the range is protected wilderness reached only on foot or horseback, so know the regulations
- This is remote, high country where weather turns fast; come prepared and tell someone your plans
- The high season is short, with snow lingering into summer and returning early
- Gateway towns like Pinedale, Lander, and Dubois are the places to outfit and resupply
Details
Wind River Range, WY
Learn about Wind River Range
The high peaks and the glaciers
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.
A land of alpine lakes
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 homeland of the Eastern Shoshone
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.
Gateways, wildlife, and seasons
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.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Things to Do Near Wind River Range
Pinedale
West gateway
A mountain town at the foot of the range, with Fremont Lake and the Museum of the Mountain Man.
Sinks Canyon State Park
East side, near Lander
A canyon where the Popo Agie River vanishes into a cave and rises again downstream.
Lander
East gateway
A welcoming town on the edge of the Wind River Reservation and a base for the range's east side.