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Pinedale, Wyoming 82941
Story by Julianne Couch
Photos by Fred Pflughoft
Some would argue that Pinedale is the perfect Wyoming town. Plenty to do without being touristy. Easily accessible without too much pavement. Plenty of cattle but also lots of wildlife.
A long winter but great access to skiing and snowmobiling. A short summer but tons of nearby record-setting trout streams and fishing lakes. In short, Pinedale is a great place to spend a shady afternoon sitting on a bench along a wooden sidewalk, watching the world go by. And right out its back door are mountains and forest promising an exciting vacation. It’s also a perfect place to spend an eventful, exciting vacation playing in the nearby mountains and forests.
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You can find this home to approximately 1,500 people on U.S. 191 at an elevation of 7,100 feet and snuggled against the Wind River Mountains. It is 78 miles from Jackson Hole and 130 miles from Yellowstone National Park. But look closer: in Pinedale’s back yard are the Wind River Mountains, the Bridger-Teton National Forest, and the Bridger Wilderness. The Wilderness itself contains 15 of Wyoming’s 16 highest peaks, including Gannett Peak—Wyoming’s highest at 13,804 feet—and hundreds of miles of trails, streams, and forest. There are also some 1,300 lakes, and hundreds of miles of hiking trails and fishing streams in the Bridger Wilderness.
Fremont, Halfmoon, and other local lakes—as well as the Green River—provide fantastic fishing and boating. Fremont Lake is Wyoming’s second largest natural lake. At 12 miles long, half a mile wide, and 607 feet deep, Fremont Lake is the seventh deepest in the continental United States. One of the lake’s most coveted treasures is Mackinaw trout. Halfmoon, Willow, and Boulder lakes are also great fishing spots.
The Green River, of course, is Wyoming’s premier trout stream. It originates in the Green River Lakes, not far from Gannett Peak, and flows for 730 miles before draining into Utah’s Colorado River. It was probably not named for its color (although it is rather green) but for the partner of William Ashley, the man who “discovered” it.
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But if you don’t feel like going out into Pinedale’s vast back yard, there’s plenty to do right in town, whether you like sports, arts, history, nature, or something else entirely. But watch out: locals pride themselves on having no franchised restaurants in town—and not a single stoplight.
Summer fun in Pinedale begins in May with the annual opening of the Museum of the Mountain Man (see next page). The museum sits high on a hill overlooking the town and offers outstanding art collections and an extensive research library of Western history. It interprets local history and the life and times of the mountain men who rendezvoused in the Green River Valley. Jim Bridger, Kit Carson, William Sublette and his brother Milton, and other hearty souls sought beaver for the fur trade and along the way discovered the beauty and mysteries of the Rocky Mountains. Six times between 1824 and 1840 the mountain men gathered just outside of what would in the late 1870s become Pinedale. They enjoyed several days of good times and pelt trading with one another and the local natives.
Nowadays when folks echo the call of the mountain men to “Meet me at the Green,” they are referring to the Green River Rendezvous Days and Pageant. The pageant has been held annually on the second weekend of July since 1936. Rendezvous Days, July 8-11, perpetuates the spirit of the original Rendezvous with several days of activities, including rodeos, art shows, period crafts, a pelt and plew social with roasted buffalo, historic demonstrations, and special exhibits and events at the Museum of the Mountain Man.
Even after the mountain men pack up their powder, visitors can still enjoy golfing, shopping, dining, or visiting art galleries.
The summer calendar is loaded with many other events, including a town picnic and fireworks for the 4th of July, golf tournaments, boat regattas, rodeos, county fair, and lots of traditional family-fun events.
Once you are ready to leave town, you can hop onto the Centennial Scenic Byway, which officially begins just outside of Pinedale. Along the route watch for elk, moose, deer, antelope, grizzly and black bear, mountain lion, wolves, and plenty of small mammals and other creatures that inhabit the deep forest and, sometimes, the roadways. Or stick closer to town and take an auto tour of the many historic sites in the area, clearly marked on state maps and complete with on-site historical markers.
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| Fremont Lake is Wyoming’s second largest natural lake. At 12 miles long, half a mile wide, and 607 feet deep, Fremont Lake is the seventh deepest in the continental United States. |
Pinedale has a rich history as a center for farming and ranching, its inviting pasture land long a lure to livestock and their caretakers. In fact, both sheepmen and cattlemen found the valley so enticing that in 1902 a battle broke out between the groups vying for the same territory. When a large flock of grazing sheep looked up to find themselves munching vegetation on land claimed by cattlemen, the stage was set for trouble. As a result of their transgression, a band of 150 masked men raided the sheep camps, killing a herder and clubbing to death 2,000 sheep. The rest of the sheep, and their herders, left for other grazing land.
Today folks are a little more tolerant of differences in Sublette County and in Pinedale. Hunters, ranchers, anglers, hikers, horsemen, businessmen, artists, and tourists all seem to get along just fine in this town that has something for everyone.
Julianne Couch is a freelance writer living in Laramie, Wyoming.
Copyright 2004 by FPI (Focus Productions, Inc)., P.O. Box 1930, Jackson, Wyoming 83001. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publishers.
Mountain Country is a free visitors’ guide published annually in May and distributed at hundreds of locations throughout Jackson Hole, Cody, and other regional communities. To receive a copy in the mail, send $5 to Mountain Country, P.O. Box 1930, Jackson, Wyoming 83001.
Publishers: Bob Woodall & Wade McKoy, dba Focus Productions, Inc. (FPI)
Editors: Mike Calabrese, Wade McKoy, Bob Woodall
Art Direction & Ad Design: Janet Melvin
Advertising Sales:
JACKSON: Ike Faust, 307-690-5908, 307-733-6995 email: mail.focus@wyom.net
DUBOIS & PINEDALE: Janet Melvin 307-733-6995
CODY: Guy & Barb Hull 307-527-7808