The Long Way
Albany County
A scenic landscape showing a mountain range illuminated by sunset light with a winding road below.
Plate I. Mountain scenery along Snowy Range Scenic Byway. From visitlaramie.org
A scenic view of a snowy mountain range and evergreen trees.
Plate II. Sunrise over peak, Snowy Range Scenic Byway. From visitlaramie.org
A road cutting through a snowy mountainous landscape with pine trees.
Plate III. Paved road, Snowy Range Scenic Byway. From visitlaramie.org
Snowy Range Scenic Byway below snowy peaks.
Plate IV. Snowy Range Scenic Byway below snowy peaks. Photograph by Tony Webster, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Snowy Range Scenic Byway.
Plate V. Snowy Range Scenic Byway. Photograph by Tony Webster, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Snowy Range Scenic Byway near Centennial.
Plate VI. Snowy Range Scenic Byway near Centennial. Photograph by Tony Webster, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Snowy Range Scenic Byway

Centennial, Albany County, Wyoming. Scenic byway.

Details

Map. Centennial, Albany County, Wyoming. Larger map
Where
Centennial, Albany County, WY. No street address stated. Directions
Season
Normally open Memorial Day through October; from mid-November through Memorial Day the byway closes due to winter conditions and is not plowed beyond Green Rock Trailhead.
Getting there
The Snowy Range Scenic Byway is a stretch of Wyoming State Highway 130 between the cities of Laramie and Saratoga. It can be reached on its western end from Interstate 80 about 20 miles east of Rawlins, or from its eastern end at the outskirts of Laramie, Wyoming. The byway begins as it enters the Medicine Bow Forest 31 miles west of Laramie and leads westward through the Snowy Range.
Access
Paved road; snow lingers late and returns early at upper elevations, normally open Memorial Day through October; the Centennial Visitor Center on the eastern Forest boundary is typically open 9-5, Tuesday through Sunday, from Memorial Day weekend through mid-October, hours vary with staffing.
Phone
307-326-5258
Website
fs.usda.gov
Managed by
Department of Transportation.
Established
1920.

Designated the Second National Forest Scenic Byway in the United States; the route along Highway 130 from Laramie to the Upper Platte River Valley, begun in 1920 and completed in 6 years.

Notable Events

  1. 1909In 1909, the Forest Service, Albany County, and the town of Centennial contributed a total of $2500 for road improvements between Centennial and Brooklyn Lake. wyoachs.com
  2. 1909The first automobile reached Brooklyn Lake in 1909; the improved auto road over the top was formally opened in 1926, though it had been passable for horse-drawn vehicles since the late 1890s. wyoachs.com
  3. 1920In 1920, the federal Office of Public Roads and Rural Engineering provided Wyoming with $25,000 to improve the road to Brooklyn Lake. wyoachs.com
  4. 1924The obvious next project began in 1924—a road passable to autos across the high Medicine Bow Mountains. wyoachs.com
  5. 1926Governor Nellie Tayloe Ross dedicated the "Great Skyroad" at the summit before hundreds of onlookers. wyoachs.com
  6. 1988Designated a National Forest Scenic Byway. web.archive.org
  7. 1995Designated a Wyoming State Scenic Byway. web.archive.org

People

  • Nellie Tayloe Ross, Governor who led state officials to the summit and dedicated the Great Skyroad.
  • P.S. Lovejoy, Forest Supervisor who drove the first auto to Brooklyn Lake, a new Franklin, a year after the 1909 improvements.
  • Harry "Hoot" Jones, Rodeo cowboy who worked on the crew building the Snowy Range Road in 1923, then built Brooklyn Lodge (1923).

Sources

  1. fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/regions/Rocky_Mountain/SnowyRangeByway/index.shtml
  2. visitlaramie.org/things-to-do/scenic-drives/snowy-range-scenic-byway
  3. recreation.gov/gateways/13853
  4. wyoachs.com/a-variety-of-other-topics/2019/8/25/celebrating-the-great-skyroad
  5. wyoachs.com/places/snowy-range-history-revealed-through-place-names
  6. web.archive.org/web/20120119172757/http://byways.org/explore/byways/2054
  7. web.archive.org/web/20111230070815/http://byways.org/explore/byways/2054/designation.html
  8. fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/regions/Rocky_Mountain/SnowyRangeByway/index.shtml