Route 130 West from Laramie, WY

Thom02099 wrote:

spindrift wrote:
We're looking to travel west out of Laramie, WY on Rt. 130 along the Snowy Range Scenic Byway and through Medicine Bow Forest. Has anyone made the trip? This will be late June of this year. What road conditions will we encounter? Thanks.

Being that it's close by where I live, I'm up in that area frequently. WY 130 is a decent road, starts out from Laramie in rather flat high plains terrain, but gets into more rolling countryside as you get closer to Centennial. It's about 27 miles from Laramie to Centennial, there's some side trips you could take if you want before getting to Centennial. Lake Hattie would be one of them, or going down to the Foxpark area. Just depends on what you want to see and do.

From Centennial, you'll start the climb to Snowy Range Pass; it's not a difficult climb, as passes go in Wyoming. There's a small visitor's stop a few miles west of Centennial, restrooms and information on the area. There's some lodges and the Medicine Bow ski area that you'll pass as you go up. There's also some USFS campgrounds if you're so inclined to boondock, as there's limited facilities in them.

Even in June, there can be snow up there, and a lot of it. We were up there a few seasons back in June and most of the campgrounds near the top (Brooklyn Lake and Sugarloaf) were still snowed in and the hiking trails at the summit were still inaccessible. There a parking lot and a scenic pulloff up top that is MUST SEE for the views! And the snow is likely going to be plowed/melted off the roadway, so at that time of year, encountering winter driving conditions on the roadway would be minimal.

Dropping down on the west side is also easy, but likely even more snow than on the east side, especially in June. There's Ryan Park heading down, another USFS CG that's a good place to stop; it's the site of a former WWII Internment Camp, with some vestiges of the camp still visible.

Dropping down into Saratoga is also an easy drive. On the same trip a few seasons ago, Saratoga had some significant flooding from the North Platte River, and the Hot Springs there was completely flooded. They are likely completely recovered or close to it. Worth a stop there.

You don't indicate what your stop plans are, so I'll offer some heads up info. In Laramie, there's a KOA near the exit for WY 130. It's comfortable enough, but sites are close together and it's NOISY from the Interstate. If you're looking at alternative places to stay, there's Curt Gowdy State Park east of Laramie, between Laramie and Cheyenne. It's a nice place and off the Interstate. Other than that, there's not a whole lot in that area.

On the west side, there's a few campgrounds in Saratoga. There's Saratoga Lake CG, but it's no hookups. And there's Deer Haven RV park in Saratoga, but it's self contained only, no showers or restrooms. If you want to travel a bit south of Saratoga, there's the Lazy Acres RV Park in Riverside, and a USFS CG near Encampment, in that same area.

If you'll be returning to Laramie, an alternative to going back over WY 130 would be to take WY 230, from Riverside, dropping down into the North Park area of Colorado and CO 125/127, that will take you back into Wyoming where it becomes WY 230 again, and goes back in to Laramie. That would be a wonderful loop drive if you're so inclined!

Hope you enjoy your visit there! This is one of my favourite areas, it's about 1/10th the number of people that go to RMNP to the south, but with the same spectacular scenery.

Thom...thanks for the detailed response. We're going to be visiting with my sister in Laramie for a few days before we head of to Frontier Days. I was in Cheyenne last about 30 years ago and I hear Frontier Days has gotten a bit more crazy. Oh well, my wife loves the bands that will be playing and you can never see too many nuclear missile silos. But I digress.

While we're staying with my sister, we're planning to head out to Medicine Bow. This is the rub; I already know my 41' fiver isn't going to find accomodations in any of the many campgrounds that are in and around the Snowy Range. What intrigues me are the so-called "dispersed camping areas". I've recently ordered some maps of the area through the Forest Service in hopes that they will give me some idea as to whether or not I'll be able to negotiate some of those backcountry roads. The whole idea sounds awesome but clearly I don't want to get my rig in a situation that would be unsafe. On the other hand, if we do get stuck, my sister and niece will be able to safe as since they'll be bringing along the llamas. Haha.