Rainbow End, Medicine Bow National Forest, Laramie Range, WY

Posted: June 14th, 2006 | Author: Roger Ludwig | Filed under: Wyoming | Tags: , , , , | 3 Comments »

North Laramie River Trail

Highlights: A rather boring hike to a destination that truly has it all: scenery, wildlife, good stream fishing, a swimming hole and the interesting remains of the old Rainbow End, a lodge and string of cabins that was a popular resort for those seeking cool canyon solace and leaping rainbows from the 1920’s through the 1950’s. And you can come and stay for the price of a walk, 2 ½ miles each way. But bring a tent and your own cooking gear.

Location: About 20 miles west of Wheatland in the Laramie Range along the North Laramie River.

Elevations: Trailhead 6,980; Rainbow End 5,850′

Distance: 2 ½ miles each way

Maps: Medicine Bow National Forest, Laramie Peak Unit; USGS Fletcher Park Quad

Guide: Marc Smith’s Hiking Wyoming’s Medicine Bow National Forest, Douglas Ranger District pamphlet “North Laramie River Trail #625″

Trailhead: Take I-25 north from Cheyenne, past Wheatland to exit 94, El Rancho Road. Go west on CR 114, Fish Creek Rd. After 13.7 miles turn right on CR 113, Fletcher Park Rd. (AKA FS 716) and continue 5.5 miles. Just past Camp Grace, turn south on FS 642, Cow Camp Road. Look for a little spur on the left, FS 643, where you’ll find parking. The trailhead is marked as the “North Laramie River Trail”. The route is passenger car passable.

The Hike: The first mile is mostly level through the burned remains of ponderosa pine, the result of a lightening strike in 1996. New growth returns slowly in this dry land but the flowers can be beautiful and the deer are plentiful. The second mile is a steady descent that gets ever steeper as you go, leaving the blackened trees to switchback down an open hillside. The old inn, the lovely North Laramie River and the hay fields long left to flower await you. This flat bottom valley is held in a cradle of jagged rock walls and steep hillsides, sheltered like a little Shangri-la. More cabins, barns and workshops are found upstream. You’ll have to wade the river as it meanders back and forth to get to some of them.
Read the rest of this entry »