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Special Places
The Bighorn National Forest is filled with special places. With over 1 million acres of national forest, the Cloud Peak Wilderness area, historic guard stations and fire lookouts, developed campgrounds, 1,200 miles of trails, and spectacular scenery, the Bighorn National Forest has something for everyone.
Cloud Peak Wilderness
In Wilderness natural processes are the primary influences and human activities are limited. Here we experience wild places without disturbing or destroying the action of these natural processes. These two identical photos (to the left) were taken near Diamond Lake one in 1923 and one in 2013.
The Wilderness Act of 1964 defines wilderness as "an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain . . . an area protected and managed so as to preserve its natural conditions." Find out more about the 191,900-acre Cloud Peak Wilderness.
Visitor Center
The Bighorn National Forest operates one visitor center: Shell Falls Interpretive Site southwest of Burgess Junction, Wyoming. The site is open 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., seven days a week, Memorial Day through mid-September. Shell Canyon is named for the shell fossils found in the sedimentary canyon walls.
Scenic Byways
Three scenic byways traverse the Bighorn National Forest, for 115 miles of beautiful views.
Bighorn Scenic Byway follows US Highway 14 across the mountain from Dayton to Shell, Wyoming.
Medicine Wheel Passage follows US Highway 14A from Burgess Junction down the west side of the Bighorns.
Cloud Peak Skyway follows US Highway 16 from Buffalo to Ten Sleep, Wyoming.
