Medicine Wheel Passage Scenic Byway
Personal Notes
This page contains our personal notes on our drive along the Medicine Wheel Passage Scenic Byway in Wyoming.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
On this day our main destination was the Medicine Wheel National Historic Landmark, which is in the Bighorn Mountains between Burgess Junction and Lovell, Wyoming. We had driven up from our campground in Thermopolis, up Shell Canyon (Big Horn Scenic Byway), and headed west along the Medicine Wheel Passage Scenic Byway at Burgess Junction. Almost right away we were rewarded when we spotted three bull moose and a female feeding in a meadow near the Highway (14A).
Along this scenic route you'll get great views of massive cliffs, plateaus, canyons, streams, and meadows. We spotted hawks and stopped at several scenic overlooks, with great views of the Big Horn Basin below. This route really gives you the feeling that you are high up in the mountains, and indeed you are. Most of the route is above the 9,000 foot elevation mark.
We passed several National Forest campground, and the entrance to the Medicine Wheel National Historic Landmark. Beyond that, farther to the north, we visited the Five Springs Falls, another scenic area, just before Highway 14A drops back down a dramatic set of winding curves into the Big Horn Basin.
