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Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest
Wyoming

Straddling the Wyoming-Colorado border, the Medicine Bow-Routt is an archipelago of Rocky Mountain forests with Medicine Bow in Wyoming and Routt in Colorado. In the forest's rugged wilderness areas, you'll find magnificent cathedral-like cirques with natural acoustics that echo the cries of raptors in flight.

Vedauwoo campground
Vedauwoo campground

Bird watchers should bring their binoculars as the alpine sections of the forest are home to the peregrine falcon, bald eagle, and osprey. Hikers can wander through vast stands of aspen and conifer as they ascend toward towering rock sentinels like the 12,180-foot Mt. Zirkel.

Fishermen will no doubt delight in the fact that the Platte River is a blue ribbon trout stream. Rock climbers have discovered awesome climbing opportunities on the sheer walls of the Vedauwoo and LaBonte Canyon.

Medicine Bow derives its name from the Native American ritual of bow-making which was often accompanied by a ceremonial powwow for curing disease. These fine bows were made of mountain mahogany found in a mountain valley in southeastern Wyoming. The Routt is named for John Long Routt (1826-1907) — the last territorial and first state Governor of Colorado.

The Medicine Bow-Routt comprises over 2.2 million acres. Steamboat Springs is a great mountain town that can serve as a springboard for exploring the rest of the forest.


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