Trail: Turtle Rock Trail
Hike Location: Medicine
Bow National Forest,
Geographic Location: southeast of Laramie ,
WY (41.16082, -105.37588)
Length: 2.8 miles
Difficulty: 4/10 (Easy/Moderate)
Date Hiked: June 2016
Overview: A loose circumnavigation of Turtle Rock.
Site Information: http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/mbr/recreation/hiking/recarea/?recid=22904&actid=50
Directions to the trailhead: In southeastern Wyoming ,
take I-80 to the Vedauwoo exit (exit 329).
Exit and go north/east on Vedauwoo Road . Drive Vedauwoo Rd.
1.2 miles to the entrance to the Vedauwoo Campground and Picnic Site on the
left. Turn left to enter the site, and
pay the small entrance fee. Follow signs
for the Turtle Rock west trailhead, and park in the small blacktop lot at the
trailhead.
The hike: Although the rocky ridge between Laramie
and Cheyenne stands more than 100
miles east of the continental divide, it contains the highest elevation on
Interstate 80’s 2903 mile cross-country journey. The Union Pacific Railroad used the present-day
I-80 corridor across this ridge as a route for the first transcontinental
railroad in the late 1860’s, and the historic Lincoln
Highway also passed through here. In fact, a monument to the Lincoln
Highway sits in the median of I-80 just east of exit
329.
The
unusual-shaped rocks of the Vedauwoo formation also sit atop this ridge, and
Vedauwoo is protected as part of Wyoming ’s
vast Medicine Bow
National Forest Medicine
Bow Peak Laramie . The name Vedauwoo comes from a corruption of
an Arapaho word that means “earth-born.”
The national
forest’s Vedauwoo Campground offers 28 campsites, and the adjacent Vedauwoo
Picnic Site contains numerous picnic areas.
Vedauwoo is also a trailhead for a system of national forest trails that
head north into the heart of the rock formations. The largest rock formation at Vedauwoo is known
as Turtle Rock, and many experts view the circumnavigation of Turtle Rock described
here to be southeastern Wyoming ’s
best short hike. If possible, you may
want to plan a weekday visit to Vedauwoo: the area’s unusual rock formations
and location just off of I-80 make it a popular destination.
 |
| Turtle Rock west trailhead |
Your trip around Turtle Rock starts at the
rear of the west trailhead parking area.
The dirt Turtle Rock Trail heads west into the aspen forest, which seems
unusually lush and green compared to surrounding areas. Large numbers of thorny pink wild rose bushes
were in full bloom beside this part of the trail on my late June visit.
 |
| Wild roses |
The trail
descends slightly as the pink/orange hues of Turtle Rock begin to appear above
you to the right. The entire Vedauwoo
formation is made of Sherman granite,
which geologists believe to be some of the oldest rock in Wyoming . Wind and water sculpted the odd-shaped
hoodoos that make this area so scenic.
 |
| Turtle Rock's hoodoos |
Between 0.3
and 0.4 miles some of Turtle Rock’s most scenic formations appear above you
ahead and to your right. In addition to
being a nice hiking destination, Turtle Rock is also a top-tier rock climbing
destination, and I saw several climbing groups working their way up the hoodoos
on my late afternoon hike. As you head
further around the rock, some small ponds appear to the left. Beavers have built several lodges in these
ponds, and the ponds’ water attracts many kinds of wildlife, thus making for
good wildlife viewing on this hike.
 |
| Pond at base of Turtle Rock |
Just shy of
1 mile and at the lowest elevation of the hike, an unmarked trail exits left to
head deeper into the national forest’s trail system. Though the Turtle Rock Trail is unblazed and
rarely signed, it is pretty easy to follow: at every trail intersection choose
the option that stays closest to Turtle Rock.
The trail now begins a gradual to moderate climb, and it will gain 150
feet of elevation over the next 0.5 miles.
While the total elevation gain on this trail is less than 300 feet, the
hike stays above 8000 feet in elevation for its entire length, so the altitude
will cause you to get winded faster than usual if you live at lower elevations
like I do.
 |
| Turtle Rock in the distance |
Now heading
east on the north side of Turtle Rock, the trail alternates between sunny,
slightly rocky desert-like terrain and shady conifers. Turtle Rock’s hoodoos now stand several
hundred feet to the right. Parts of the
trail pass over bare granite, but for the most part the going is fairly
easy. As you gain elevation, some
partially obstructed views of the surrounding Wyoming
countryside emerge.
 |
| Trio of boulders |
At 1.9
miles, you pass an unusual trio of boulders that sit alone on bare
granite. Next, a sign directs you to
angle left just before another trail from deeper in the trail system enters
from the left. The trail now descends
slightly to reach another lush wet area.
This area features a small creek with a small waterfall.
 |
| Small waterfall |
After
passing through a gate that marks your re-entrance into the developed picnic
area, you need to stay left where a spur trail exits right to prematurely enter
the Vedauwoo Picnic Site. The final
segment of trail passes beside another small pond before emerging at a
trailhead parking area with vault toilets.
Unfortunately, this parking area is the Turtle Rock east trailhead
parking lot, not the Turtle Rock west trailhead parking lot where your car
resides. Thus, this hike ends with a
paved road walk through the Vedauwoo Picnic Site.
Heading due west takes you first
uphill and then downhill to the correct parking area to complete the hike. While you are here, you may also want to
check out the short 0.5 mile asphalt trail that explores Turtle Rock’s box
canyon, a narrow rocky ravine through the middle of the rock formation. The trailhead for the asphalt trail lies to
the right along the final road walk through the picnic site.
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