Deep within one of Wyoming’s most beautiful mountain ranges — the Bighorn Mountains — lies the ancient treasure of Medicine Lodge Archaeological Site. Here, petroglyphs and pictographs dating back 10,000 years cover much of red sandstone bluff and offer insight into the ancient people who once lived in present-day Wyoming.

First excavated in the 1960s, the site continues to provide scientists with clues about ancient life through the stone carvings and paintings, bones and artifacts. Interpretive signs along the base of the bluff walk visitors through the history of the Medicine Lodge site and the surrounding area. A visitor center is open May through September, and the grounds of the park offer plenty of other activities, including walking trails, streams ripe for casting a line and picnic areas.

The variety of wildlife in the area — partly due to a five nearby vegetation zones — is astounding, and the 25-site campground (you can make an online reservation here) is a wonderful option to spend a night in the Bighorns and extend your stay.

A visit to Medicine Lodge is worth a trip to the region alone, but you’ll find stunning scenery along the route, too. To get there, you’ll travel the Cloud Peak Skyway Scenic Byway, a 47-mile stretch of gorgeous vistas that can be reached via the small town of Ten Sleep from the west or Buffalo, a charming Old West town with plenty of history itself, from the east.