Lonesome Highway — Centennial Divide Road to Encampment via Sierra Madre High Country

The Sierra Madre range in southern Wyoming doesn’t get the press of the Bighorns or the Winds, but it rewards those who show up. This route leaves the pavement south of Encampment and climbs Forest Road 409 into lodgepole and spruce, tracing the Continental Divide at around 10,000 feet before dropping into the Encampment River drainage. You’ll cross the headwaters of the Encampment River — a proper wade in early season — and pass the ruins of the old Rudefeha Mine, where copper boomed hard around 1900 and busted harder by 1910. Downed timber from beetle kill and seasonal blowdowns make navigation slower than the mileage suggests, and some sections above timberline turn to deep ruts and soft ground well into July.

This is a stock high-clearance 4WD route with some sections warranting a locker or aggressive tires in wet conditions. A full-size rig with good ground clearance handles it fine in dry late summer. Bring fuel from Encampment or Saratoga — there’s nothing between. Water is plentiful but treat it. Best season is mid-July through September before the first hard freeze. No permits required. Dispersed camping throughout Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest. Cell service is nonexistent on the divide. The payoff is genuine solitude on a high ridge most people drive past without a second look.