US Forest: Bighorn National Forest
Length: 27.0 miles / 43.5 km
Time to Allow: Allow 45 minutes to drive this byway.
Wyoming Highway 14A, known as the Medicine Wheel Passage, rises from the Big Horn Basin to high elevation rangeland. Named for the Medicine Wheel National Historic Landmark, the Medicine Wheel Passage celebrates the rich Native American history and culture of Wyoming. With the panorama of the Big Horn Basin and Absoraka Mountains in the background the Byway provides a unique and informative view into the spiritual qualities of ancient history. Just as its name implies, the Medicine Wheel Passage has always been much more than a byway, it is a passage.
Overview
Drive the Medicine Wheel Passage from the Big Horn Basin into high elevation rangeland. Following Highway 14A, you'll pass through the Bighorn National Forest, and along the way, you'll take part in the rich Native American history and culture. From Bighorn National Forest to Connor Battlefield State Historic Site to Medicine Wheel National Historic Landmark, get connected with the land and culture that have remained in this region for centuries.
More Wildflowers Along The Passage (WY) [1]
Leave behind your vehicle to enter Bighorn National Forest; any motorized or mechanical vehicles are banned from this vast forest comprised of fir, aspen, pine, and spruce trees. Spanning over 1.1 million acres, recreation abounds in the forest’s cool atmosphere. Over 1,500 miles of trails offer ideal biking or hiking, and numerous trout-loaded lakes provide fishing. Wildlife such as black bears, moose, marmots, mountain lions, and deer reside here, so wildlife watching always proves interesting. Stay overnight in one of the 32 campgrounds for a night under the stars.
Bighorn Basin (WY) [2]
Seek peace at the Medicine Wheel National Historic Landmark, located in the Bighorn National Forest on Medicine Mountain. Native American cultures revere this sacred stone circle for its strong spiritual ambiance. Here, Native American people held ceremonies and communed with the Great Spirit to obtain strong spiritual medicine. The calm feeling of this landmark reflects the sacred nature of this prayerful place.
For a taste of history set in a quiet park, visit the Connor Battlefield State Historic Site in Ranchester. Here, General P.E. Connor and his troops battled against an Arapaho village in the Battle of Tongue River in 1865. Today, a monument stands at the battlefield, surrounded by a fresh green park. Have an afternoon picnic here, then indulge in some relaxed fishing at the Tongue River, whose waters stream alongside the park.
Medicine Wheel Passage provides a panorama that encompasses the wide meadows in the Big Horn Basin and the towering trees of the Absaroka Mountains. Three primary points of interest will entice you to explore the land and expand your vision of the people and animals that inhabit it.
Construction:
The wheel was constructed by Plains Indians between 300-800 years ago, and has been used and maintained by various groups since then. The central cairn is the oldest part, with excavations showing it extends below the wheel and has been buried by wind-blown dust. It may have supported a central pole. The star alignments are most accurate for around 1200 AD, since slight changes in the Earth's orbit have caused perturbations since. The solstice alignments remain accurate today.
The Bighorn wheel is part of a much larger complex of interrelated archeological sites that represent 7000 years of Native American adaptation to and use of the alpine landscape that surrounds Medicine Mountain. Numerous contemporary American Indian traditional use ceremonial staging areas, medicinal and ceremonial plant gathering areas, sweat lodge sites, altars offering locales and fasting (vision quest) enclosures, can be found nearby. Ethnohistoric, ethnographic, and archeological evidence demonstrates that the Medicine Wheel and the surrounding landscape constitute one of the most important and well preserved ancient Native American sacred site complexes in North America. Between 70 and 150 wheels have been identified in South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Alberta, and Saskatchewan.
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