Trip
1
110
Miles Round-trip from Dubois
In Dubois
Two imperative stops in Dubois are the National Bighorn
Sheep Interpretive Center and the Dubois Museum located at the west
end of Main Street.The
National Bighorn Sheep Interpretive Center offers spectacular hands-on
exhibits and displays of the bighorn sheep of Whiskey Mountain. The
Dubois Museum houses artifacts from Native Americans, early white
settlers and the tie hack industry.
Tie Hack Memorial
On Hwy. 26/287
travel west 18 miles to the Tie Hack Memorial. The memorial honors
the tie hacks, men of mostly Scandinavian descent
who cut railroad ties by hand in the first half of the 20th century.
Brooks Lake and
the Continental Divide
Another
5 miles up the mountain is the entrance to the Brooks Lake Recreation
Area on Forest Road 515. A beautiful historic lodge, operated
as a private dude ranch, overlooks the lake. The spectacular scenery
includes the peaks of the Pinnacles rising to the east and the Continental
Divide to the west. There are easy hiking trails, good picnic spots
and excellent fishing.
Falls Campground, an impressive clean mountain stream crashing through
a rocky gorge, is several hundred yards up the main highway. Continuing
northwest, you will reach the top of Togwotee Pass and the Continental
Divide at 9,658'. About 11 miles beyond the Divide, the Teton Mountain
range will rise into view. Turn right into the Scenic Overlook parking
area, which looks down into the Bridger-Teton Wilderness and offers
breathtaking views.
The second half of the Bighorn Sheep Trail takes you back to Dubois,
40 miles down the mountain. Continue through town and follow 26/287
southeast.
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Fish Hatchery
Five miles from town, across from the cliffs,
turn right on Forest Road 411. Cross the cattleguard and turn right
on a dirt road for
1.5 miles to the Dubois Fish Hatchery, where guided tours of the
facilities are offered. Driving back to the highway, on the left
near the banks of Jakey's Fork, is the campground site for the Whiskey
Mountain Buckskinners who host an annual mountain man rendezvous
in August.
Trail Lake Road
Before the cattleguard
at the end of the of the dirt road, turn right onto Trail Lake
Road. This scenic drive takes you 10 miles to the
trailhead and past the basin at the base of Whiskey Mountain,
home of the largest herd of rocky mountain bighorn sheep in the
U.S. A
wildlife viewing site 2.5 miles from the highway is a good place
to look for sheep on the slopes of Whiskey Mountain. Continue
on the dirt road past Torrey, Ring and Trail lakes, all on the
left.At
the end of the road is the trailhead leading to Whiskey Mountain
and numerous glacial lakes in the Fitzpatrick Wilderness area,
the nearest of which is Lake Louise. An ambitious trail to the
lake has
a 1,000' elevation gain in 1.7 miles and takes at least 3 hours
round-trip. To finish the tour, follow Trail Lake Road and the
highway back to
Dubois.
TRIP 2 & 3
HALF DAY OPTION's
65
Miles Round-Trip
For
those with less time to spend, the 65-mile round-trip route up to
Togwotee Pass and back, stopping at the Tie Hack Memorial, Brooks
Lake and the Continental Divide, is a breathtaking sampling of the
Rocky Mountains.
30 Miles Round-Trip
The 30-mile round-trip eastward route
to the Fish Hatchery, Whiskey Basin, the 3 lakes and the trailhead
at the end of Trail Lake Road
offers ideal opportunities to view the rugged Wind River Mountains, |
