Summer Activity Tour
An Outdoor Paradise
Rock Springs and Green River, Wyoming are a thriving outdoor paradise during the summer. With 10,500 square miles of pure adventure, you are sure to find something for everyone, from hiking, biking, fishing, golfing, sightseeing, dinosaur hunting, shopping or just plain getting away from it all. We have compiled a tour of the best parts of Sweetwater County, so enjoy your favorite summer activity.
View Wildlife at Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge
Established in 1965, the Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge encompasses more than 26,000 acres along the river between Fontenelle Dam and Green River. Seedskadee is home to a wide variety of birds, pronghorn antelope, mule deer, moose, fish, reptiles and amphibians. Most wildlife observation activity occurs along the wildlife auto tour route and river corridor. The auto tour route is on the west side of the river and passes by the Hawley wetland unit, Refuge Headquarters and Hamp wetland unit. Seedskadee also offers world-class trout fishing, and waterfowl, upland bird and big-game hunting.
Access to Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge: From Green River, Wyoming, travel west on I-80 about six miles to the La Barge Road (Highway 372) exit. Continue north about 27 miles on Highway 372 to the main entrance sign for the refuge. Turn right onto the gravel entrance road and travel 2.5 miles to the refuge headquarters WY-372 W/La Barge Rd. 41.85070000, -109.85750000
Mountain Bike at Green River Bike Park
Bring your bike to the Green River Bike Park, offering a variety of exciting trails and features for families and experienced cyclists alike. Features at the park include dirt jumps, an elevated trail with ladder bridges, a pump track with berm turns and roller pumps, and a beginner skills area. For an easy ride, families can hop on their bikes and tour the park’s edges on the Loop Trail. Trails are marked similarly to ski runs with green circles highlighting the easiest trails and black diamonds left for more advanced riders. Mountain bikers of all skill levels can enjoy the bike park without worries.
Access Point: From I-80, exit 91 Green River/WY-530/E Flaming Gorge Way, merge onto E Flaming Gorge Way, take ramp onto Uinta Dr., turn left on Monroe Ave, stay straight when Monroe Ave. becomes a dirt road and enters Stratton-Myers Park. Drive to the end of the road and park. The Green River Bike Park is across the creek just south of the parking lot.
Kayak, Canoe or Tube at the Whitewater Park at Expedition Island
The Whitewater Park and North Tubing Channel at Expedition Island Park provide amenities for floating and swimming. The North Channel Tubing Channel at Expedition Island Park is a 1,200-foot lazy river/tubing channel that is an excellent place for beginner kayakers to practice Eskimo rolls, eddy-outs and peel-outs. Or just cruise down the river in a tube. The Whitewater Park has three main features along the way: the first feature forms a smooth, friendly wave and is great for beginners, the second feature is a slightly more intense wave located about a half-mile downstream, and the third feature, known as Castle Falls formed from eight pneumatically controlled gates that can be raised or lowered to create the perfect wave at almost any flow rate.
Access Point: 475 South Second East St., Green River, Wyoming 82935
Fish at Lake Flaming Gorge
Lake Flaming Gorge is home to some of the best cold-water fishing and trophy fishing in the country. Trophy-sized trout, especially large lake trout, reward anglers year-round at Lake Flaming Gorge. Fish weighing more than 50 pounds have set both Wyoming and Utah state records.
Linwood Bay, next to Lucerne Marina, is always a hot spot to catch the big ones. Rainbows are found throughout the reservoir and usually become active during April. By May or early June, kokanee action picks up with the fish suspended 25 to 30 feet deep in open water or pelagic areas. Even smallmouth bass can be found along the rocky shoreline habitat throughout the Gorge.
Access Point: Off Squaw Hollow Road, McKinnon, WY 82938 Lat/Long - 41° 9′ 41″ N, 109° 33′ 4″ W
See the Wild Horses on the Pilot Butte Wild Horse Scenic Loop Tour
The Pilot Butte Wild Horse Scenic Loop will be an unforgettable experience for you and your family. Sweetwater County’s cherished wild horses are living examples of a wide-open landscape and untamed frontier spirit. After being extinct from this country, the Spanish reintroduced horses in the 1800s. Current herds are descendants of those Spanish horses, along with ohter horses turned out by ranchers or enticed from ranches by wild horse herds. Watch for the wild horses between Rock Springs and Fourteen-Mile Hill and all the way across the top of White Mountain.
Access Point: Flaming Gorge Way and Wild Horse Canyon Road, Green River, Wyoming 82935
ATV at Killpecker Sand Dunes
Killpecker Sand Dunes, encompassing approximately 109,000 acres, stretches 55 miles east from the Green River Basin across the Continental Divide and into the Great Divide Basin. The dunes are the second largest active sand dune field in the world. Explore the awe-inspiring Killpecker Sand Dunes and discover 11,000 acres in a designated “Open Play Area” on a dune buggie, dirt bike, ATV and other off-road vehicles. Or take a hike at the dunes for a chance to see the herd of rare desert elk or view Boar’s Tusk, a prominent geological landmark in Wyoming that stands over 400 feet tall.
Access Point: From Rock Springs, take U.S. 191 about 10 miles north. Turn right at CR 4-18 (at the sign that sign that read Petroglyphs, Sand Dunes, Boar’s Tusk), then left at CR 4-17.
Sightsee at White Mountain Petroglyphs
Venture 26 miles northeast of Rock Springs to see ancient artworks known as the White Mountain Petroglyphs. Over a dozen panels bearing hundreds of figures were etched into sandstone bedrock of the Eocene Bridger formation. These incised petroglyphs were carved by the ancestors of present Plains and Great Basin Native Americans. The petroglyphs include drawings of elk, buffalo, horses, teepees and several kinds of human figures including riders with feather headdresses. Many of the petroglyphs date back about 200 years, as evidenced by the horse figures which were introduced by the Euro-Americans. Other figures appear to be much older and are estimated by archeologists to be as much as 1,000 years old. The petroglyphs are located on a brown sandstone cliff on White Mountain in the Upper Wasatch formation. The cliff containing the petroglyphs faces south and runs west to east. It is about 300 feet long and varies from a height of 10 feet at the west end to 40 feet at the east end.
Access Point: From Rock Springs, take U.S. 191 about 10 miles north. Turn right at CR 4-18 (at the sign that sign that read Petroglyphs, Sand Dunes, Boar’s Tusk), then left at CR 4-17, and drive about 14 miles on the dirt road until you reach the White Mountain Petroglyphs sign. Turn left onto the dirt road and drive about two miles until you reach the BLM parking lot. From here, you’re on foot for about ¼ mile on a packed-foot trail to the petroglyphs. Make sure to travel in a four-wheel-drive vehicle. Pack food and water, and let someone know where you’re going and when you plan to return.