Snowy Range Road

Wyoming Highway 130, known locally as the Snowy Range Road, climbs from Laramie through the Medicine Bow Mountains to cross 10,847-foot Snowy Range Pass, making it one of Wyoming’s highest paved roads. The route passes Mirror Lake and Lake Marie before cresting the Continental Divide, where you’ll find yourself surrounded by 12,000-foot peaks and alpine tundra that looks more like Colorado than the typical Wyoming landscape.

While technically a paved highway, this is an easy but spectacular mountain drive that’s only open May through October due to heavy snow. Stock vehicles handle it fine, but the real adventure comes from the numerous 4WD spur roads that branch off into the backcountry for camping and fishing. Fuel up in Laramie or Saratoga — there’s nothing at elevation. The payoff is some of Wyoming’s most dramatic alpine scenery and access to countless backcountry routes in the Snowy Range Wilderness.