Sheep Mountain Trail, Centennial, WY
Posted: March 30th, 2009 | Author: Roger Ludwig | Filed under: Wyoming | Tags: Albany Wyoming, Centennial Wyoming, Laramie Wyoming hiking, Medicine Bow National Forest, Sheep Mountain | No Comments »Highlights: This is the mountain that everyone sees but few explore, the eastern most spur of the Medicine Bow Range. While from the road the mountain simply looks like a narrow ridge the top is a pleasant surprise, a long basin with flowing streams, wetlands and floating mat bogs. The 19,238 acres of Sheep Mountain were designated a National Wildlife Refuge on August 8, 1924 to preserve our elk population. It is roadless and the trail is the longest hiking trail in the Wyoming side of the Medicine Bow range. Mountain bikes are allowed.
Location: West of Laramie, east of Centennial.
Elevations: Sheep Mountain trailhead (south) 7840’, high point 9480’, north access route 7700’.
Distance: Roughly 15 miles from end to end.
Maps: USGS Rex Lake (north), Lake Owen (south); Medicine Bow National Forest Map, Medicine Bow “Sheep Mountain” pamphlet.
Guide: Marc Smith’s Hiking Wyoming’s Medicine Bow National Forest – Third Edition
, Erik Molvar’s Wild Wyoming
.
Trailhead: From Cheyenne take I-80 to Laramie, Exit 311, go southwest on WY 230 for 23 miles, turn north on Fox Creek Road (Forest Service 311). There are three southern trailheads. Fence Creek is first, at 1.4 miles, Sheep Mountain Trailhead (with the largest parking area) at 2.3 miles and the Forbes Game and Fish Trailhead (best for horses) at 5.5 miles. The Forbes trail is closed until July 1st to protect elk calving. The North access, which only the crazy or the seriously athletic would want to ascend, is marked by a sign on the fence on WY 11, 1.9 miles south of WY 130.
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