Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming

Lying to the southeast of Bozeman near the Lovell, Wyoming area, are the majestic Bighorn Mountains. Considered Wyoming's most underrated mountains, the Bighorns offer rugged peaks, hundreds of miles of maintained byways, and tons of outdoor recreation opportunities. The Bighorn Mountains make an excellent long weekend getaway from Bozeman.

There is much confusion: is 'Bighorn' spelled as one word or two, 'Big Horn?' The mountain range, the national forest, and the animal (bighorn sheep), are all spelled as one word, 'Bighorn.' The town and the river are spelled as two words, 'Big Horn.'

The Bighorn Mountains contain the Cloud Peak Wilderness Area. Within the 189,000 acres of wilderness are excellent backpacking, hiking, and sight seeing opportunities. The peaks range in elevations from 8,500 to 13,165 feet. You are sure to find a vista that pleases you. There are also about 19 maintained campgrounds in the Bighorns, all with close proximity to excellent fly-fishing and spin-casting lakes and streams.

To get to the Bighorns, take either Highway 16, 14, or 14A. All three highways are considered National Scenic Byways. Within a few miles of HWY. 14A is the mysterious Medicine Wheel.

The Medicine Wheel is sitting at an elevation of 9,642 feet on a ridge of Medicine Mountain. The Medicine Wheel is a circular alignments of rocks that spans a diameter of 75 feet. There are 28 rows of stones radiating from a carin in the center of the circle. Six smaller carins are placed in regular intervals around the edge of the circle.

Mystery surrounds the Medicine Wheel and no one knows its true origin or purpose. Reports of the Medicine Wheel were made by early white travelers in the 1800s. Archeological digs in 1902 and 1958 reveal a few artifacts from clay pots to tools. Some astronomers believe that the Medicine Wheel served as a sort of a calendar, noting that the 28 spokes are parallel to the 28 days in a month. Two of the carins are also placed on the north-south line, which could have been used as horizon markers for sunrise and sunset. There is also another carin placed by itself at the end of a spoke that points to the exact spot of the summer solstice.

The Medicine Wheel was made a Nation Monument in 1957. Native American use this area as a place for vision quests, prayers, and inspiration. The fence that surrounds the Medicine Wheel is covered with prayer bundles that were tied on by Native Americans. There used to be a road that drove right up to the Medicine Wheel but it was closed in 1993. Today, you must walk 1.5 miles to view the Medicine Wheel.