The route around the stunning Wind River Range passes through a near-desert and two national forests, touches Grand Teton National Park, and twice crosses the Continental Divide.
Total travel time: Two to three days
From Rock Springs, a historic coal-mining town along Interstate 80, shoot straight north on U.S. 191 through arid high country whose beauty is more subtle than stunning. Then, somewhere around Farson, the southwest edge of the Wind River Range comes into view. These mountains are a paradise of glaciated peaks, lakes, trout streams and abundant wildlife.
Rock Springs to Farson - approximately 40 miles - about an hour
If you stop in Pinedale, visit the Museum of the Mountain Man, honoring early 19th-century fur traders in this area.
You can detour north on Highway 352 for 50 miles through the Green River Lakes deep into the Green River Range, a sub range of the Wind Rivers. The last stretch of the winding road into the scenic heart of this spectacular mountain group is unpaved. The reward for a challenging drive is one stunning view after another. The most spectacular features are Squaretop Mountain, Dinwoody Glacier and 13,785-foot Gannet Peak, Wyoming’s highest mountain set deep in the Bridger Wilderness.
Take in the view, vow to return and backtrack to US 191. A monument just east of Daniel honors Father Pierre De Smet, a notable Jesuit missionary in the 1840s.
Culture and Commerce: If the long detour isn't part of your plans, stop and sample the homemade food and brews at Wind River Brewing Company in Pinedale. You'll have plenty of time to sample and sober before heading out on the next leg of your journey.
Farson to Pinedale - 84 miles - About an hour and a half
From Daniel through Bondurant to Hoback Junction comprise one leg of the Wyoming Centennial Scenic Byway along the Gros Ventre Range. Arrive in fabulous Jackson with time for the National Museum of Wildlife Art, shopping and dining before overnighting in one of many choice hotels.
Pinedale to Jackson - 88 miles - About an hour and a half
The next morning, continue to Moran Junction, gateway to Grand Teton National Park, but to stay on course, turn right onto U.S. 287/26, the other leg of the scenic byway. Cross the Divide at Togwotee Pass (pronounced "TOE-guh-tee") to Dubois. The Dubois Museum documents Upper Wind River Valley inhabitants from pre-historic indigenous "sheep-eaters" to Scandinavian loggers. America's largest bighorn sheep herd lives in the nearby Whiskey Mountain area. Learn about the animals at National Bighorn Sheep Center.
Culture and Commerce: Taste a bit of the past in Dubois at Home Slice Artisan Bakery. Here, baked goods are made the old fashioned way. Be sure to try some hard tack - a thin bread that many of the people who passed through the area ate as a staple.
Jackson to Dubois - 55 miles - About an hour and ten minutes
The route through the sprawling Wind River Reservation is also called the Chief Washakie Trail, after the most famous Shoshone tribal chief. If a powwow is scheduled be sure to attend. Where the highway splits, take the right fork, continuing on U.S. 287 to Lander
Dubois to Lander - 70 miles - About an hour and twenty minutes
Dubbed the City of Bronze for its many statues cast in a local foundry, Lander is an outdoorsy community. Find a place to stay, then head out on Highway 131 for a side tripo to Sinks Canyon State Park, so named because the Popo Agie ("Po-po-zsha") River sinks into a canyon wall and reappears a quarter-mile downstream.
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Leave Lander on U.S. 287 and, after nine miles, bear right onto Highway 28 through red rock country. Take the short detour to the South Pass City/Atlantic City historic area, an open-air museum composed of a pair of restored gold-rush boomtowns.
Cross the Divide again at South Pass, a key part of the Oregon Trail, enabling settlers to travel through the mountains at a relatively moderate 7,660 feet. To the south is the stunningly lonely Red Desert Basin.
Lander, through South Pass, to Farson - approximately 85 miles - About an hour and a half
At Farson, turn left onto U.S. 191 and complete the circuit back to Rock Springs.