Summary
Sunday afternoon hike up to Medicine Bow Peak via Lake Marie in the Medicine Bow National Forest in Wyoming. This is a easy-moderate, non-technical hike. The peak sits around 12000ft. The peak offers great 360degree panoramic views extending well past of the Snowy Range area. The roughly 7.5 mile round-trip took about 4hrs 40min.
(All pictures are clickable for larger views.)
Route Overview
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General Route Return trip elevation profile
In the above general route outline, the yellow was roughly the route. The trail is not always clearly defined and there were a few areas that I had to search for the trail. On the return trip back to the parking area, the trail was a little easier to see. The elevation profile provided depicts the return trip from the turnaround point (Medicine Bow Peak) back to the parking area.
Other Links:
- Hiking Wyoming’s Medicine Bow National Forest
Appropriate Maps:
There are not many resources for maps. I relied on the “Hiking Wyoming’s Medicine Bow National Forest” book by Marc Smith. Amazon Referral Link
- Medicine Bow Peak Trail Guide
Overall Difficulty:
Moderate. The majority of the elevation is gained over the first 1.75miles. Thereafter, there is a gradual until the final 0.75miles to the Peak. Due to the overall altitude of the hike, it may be more difficult for some, especially for those coming from sea level. The parking area sits at around 10,500ft, while the Peak sits around 12,000ft.
Gear Load-out:
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- Gregory Zulu 40L
- 3L Hydration Reservoir
- 2.5L Hydration Bladder Reserve (for added hiking weight)
- First Aid Kit
- Compass
- Map
- 1x pair extra socks
- Food
- Rain Jacket
- Light Down Jacket
- Light-weight warming layer
- Gloves
Getting to the Trailhead:
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From the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest Center on the west side of Laramie, WY, drive east along WY-130W/Snowy Range Rd for about 41.8 miles. Turn right into the West Marie Lake Trailhead parking area.
The parking area at the trailhead is moderate, with room for maybe 20 vehicles. This is a popular hike so the parking can get full.
I ended up parking at the next parking area (Tipple Trailhead) due to a lack of parking at the West Lake Marie one. Its a short walk down to the trailhead so it’s not much difference. The Tipple Trailhead is about 0.1miles past West Lake Marie on the left as you are driving west.
Google Maps Directions:
From the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest Center on the west side of Laramie, WY to the West Lake Marie Trailhead (click here)
Vehicle Clearance:
The road is paved the whole way with no issues needing high clearance.
Permits:
America the Beautiful National Parks/Forest is valid.
Restrooms:
There is a restroom structure at the West Lake Marie parking area.
Day Trip:
Pack Weight Start: Did Not Measure, est 15lbs.
I arrived at the Tipple parking area around 10:30AM. By that time the West Lake Marie parking area was full and there were only a few spaces available at the Tipple Trailhead parking are. The weather was in the mid 70s in the parking area, and remained that way for most the hike, although the steady breeze helped keep cool.
Trailhead to Trail Split. 1hr 37min
It was just a short walk to the trailhead, and I arrived at about 11:15AM. From the trailhead, you begin very gradual, but then starting gaining elevation over a series of switchback that provide a lot of good views from the west, south and east. Part way up you start getting some spectacular views of Lake Marie, Mirror Lake and Lookout Lake at the base of Snowy Range.
Lake Marie (middleground)
The higher you go, the better and more expansive the panoramic views become. The was really clear so you could see out quite a ways in the distance.
The trail does become quite rocky the rest of the way to the peak as can be seen in the following panoramic pictures as I progressed along the trail. Something to note is that the trail is heavily marked with tall wooden poles, which are helpful in some of the rock fields where worn rocks are maybe harder to see. You’ll see several of the poles in many of the pictures throughout this hike.
Eventually you’ll get along the lower ridge, granting you access to the northern panoramic views. The most prominent peak to the north is Elk Mountain. The higher you go, the more you can see in the valleys below, which contain several more scattered lakes.
Along the trail there were several areas that would be great for camping and a few points where you could get water as well.
Elk Mountain in the center background
Trail Split to Medicine Bow Peak. 2hr 13min (36min)
At the sign post, continue along the Medicine Bow Peak Trail. Its about 0.8-0.9miles to the peak.
Long Break at Medicine Bow Peak 2hr 45min (32min)
Since I had nothing going on the rest of the day, I thought I would just hang out and take pictures at the peak. When I arrived there were several other groups at the peak, but part way through my break, the top cleared up and I was the only one there which was very nice and unexpected. There were some cloud development just above which provided some shade and a nice breeze.
360 views from Medicine Bow Peak.
Peak to Trailhead. 4hr 40min (1hr 55min)
The rest of the pictures capture the return trip back to the parking area. There were quite a bit of patches of snow along the trail which you’ll see below. After talking to a bunch of locals, snow doesn’t typically last into late in the summer, but coming from Washington state, snow would still be common, even at much lower elevations than 10000-12000ft.
On the way back I finally had a chance to see a couple marmots, but they were either too far or too quick to take a picture of.
I arrived back at the parking area around 3:57PM, roughly 2hours to get back. The West Lake Marie parking area was still packed, but the Tipple parking area was mostly cleared out.
Trip Metrics
- Total Mileage: ~7.5 miles
- Total Elevation: ~2250 ft
- Start Time: ~11:17AM Sunday 21 July 2019
- Finish Time: ~3:57PM
- Total Time: 4hr 40min
- Total Calories: 2819
