🥾 ActiveWeekend · from Jackson, WY
Pinedale & the Winds — Green River Lakes to Fremont Lake
Two days in the Wind River Range, Wyoming's highest and wildest mountains, based out of the ranching town of Pinedale southeast of Jackson. Day one drives the long gravel road to the Green River Lakes, one of the most photographed spots in the state, where the sheer flat-topped tower of Square Top Mountain rises straight out of the water at the very headwaters of the Green River. Day two climbs to Elkhart Park, the range's premier trailhead, for a hike toward the Pole Creek lakes and the Continental Divide, then closes on the shore of glacial Fremont Lake, the second-largest natural lake in Wyoming, before the drive home. This is granite-and-glacier country, remote and uncrowded, entirely outside the Teton and Yellowstone parks.
Day 1 — Green River Lakes & Square Top MountainDay 2 — Elkhart Park, Pole Creek trails & Fremont Lake
Day 1 — Green River Lakes, Bridger-Teton NF, WY
Day 1 — Green River Lakes, Bridger-Teton NF, WY
🚗 4 hr driving📍 4 stops
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Morning
🚗
Drive
Jackson, WY → Pinedale, WY
1 hr 30 min8:00 AM → 9:30 AM
Museum of the Mountain Man, Pinedale
★ 4.8Pinedale sits at the western foot of the Winds and was the heart of the fur-trade rendezvous era, the annual mountain-man gatherings held in the Green River valley through the 1830s. The Museum of the Mountain Man tells that story well, with trapper gear, Native artifacts, and exhibits on the beaver trade that first drew Europeans into these mountains. It is a compact, worthwhile orientation to the region's history and a good first stop to break the drive before the long gravel road north to the Green River Lakes. Rangers and staff here can also advise on current road and trail conditions in the high country.
9:30 AM📍 See location
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Lunch
🍽️ Lunch10:30 AM
Wind River Brewing Co., Pinedale
Before heading up the long road to the lakes, fuel up in town at Wind River Brewing, Pinedale's local brewpub, with burgers, sandwiches, and house-brewed ales in a relaxed western setting. It is the last real sit-down meal before the gravel and a good spot to fill water bottles and grab provisions for the day. Pack extra for the Green River Lakes, where facilities are minimal and cell service disappears.
2 options · tap to switch
🚗
Drive
Pinedale, WY → Green River Lakes Trailhead
1 hr 15 min11:30 AM → 12:45 PM
☀️
Afternoon
Green River Lakes & Square Top Mountain
★ 4.9At the end of a long gravel road on the Bridger-Teton National Forest, Lower Green River Lake opens one of the iconic views in Wyoming: the sheer, flat-topped bulk of Square Top Mountain rising straight out of the water at the very headwaters of the Green River. This is the source of the river that eventually feeds the Colorado, and the setting, glacier-carved cliffs, forest, and mirror-still lake, is as grand as anything in the region. An easy lakeshore trail circles Lower Green River Lake with Square Top framed the whole way, and the ambitious can push on toward Upper Green River Lake for even more solitude. Moose, elk, and the occasional bear frequent the valley. It is a long drive for a reason.
12:45 PM📍 See location
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Evening
🚗
Drive
Green River Lakes → Pinedale, WY
1 hr 15 min5:00 PM → 6:15 PM
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Pinedale lodging (Lakeside Lodge or in-town motel)
Pinedale is the natural overnight base, a friendly ranching and outfitting town with a strip of independent motels and lodges. For something special, the Lakeside Lodge sits right on the shore of Fremont Lake a few minutes from town, with cabins, a marina, and a lakeside restaurant, and puts you closer to tomorrow's Elkhart Park trailhead. In town, several well-kept independent motels along the main street are reliable and reasonably priced. Book ahead in July and August, when the Winds draw backpackers from across the country.
Day 2 — Elkhart Park & Fremont Lake, WY
Day 2 — Elkhart Park & Fremont Lake, WY
🚗 2 hr 20 min driving📍 3 stops
🌅
Morning
🚗
Drive
Pinedale, WY → Elkhart Park Trailhead
30 min8:00 AM → 8:30 AM
Elkhart Park — Pole Creek Trail
★ 4.8At 9,300 feet, Elkhart Park is the highest and most popular trailhead in the Wind River Range, the launch point for the classic route to Titcomb Basin. For a day hike, the Pole Creek Trail climbs gently through lodgepole and whitebark pine to Photographer's Point, roughly a nine-mile round trip that rewards with a sweeping panorama of the range's glaciated interior, Fremont Peak, Jackson Peak, and a wall of granite summits marching along the Continental Divide. Shorter turnarounds at Miller Lake or the meadow overlooks still deliver the high-alpine feel. The air is thin, the wildflowers are extravagant in midsummer, and the sense of standing at the edge of a vast roadless wilderness is immediate. Carry layers; weather turns fast up here.
8:30 AM📍 See location
🍽️
Lunch
Photographer's Point Picnic
★ 4.7Rather than descend for lunch, the payoff of the Pole Creek Trail is to eat on the rimrock at Photographer's Point or one of the meadow overlooks along the way, with the entire spine of the northern Winds laid out before you. Marmots and pikas patrol the boulders, and the granite peaks catch the midday light across the deep glacial valleys. Pack a substantial lunch and plenty of water; there is no service of any kind on the mountain, and the altitude makes hydration essential.
9:30 AM📍 See location
☀️
Afternoon
🚗
Drive
Elkhart Park → Fremont Lake
20 min12:00 PM → 12:20 PM
Fremont Lake Shore
★ 4.6Descending from the high country, Fremont Lake is the perfect place to unwind before the drive home. Carved by glaciers and cradled between forested moraines, it is the second-largest natural lake in Wyoming, a long, deep, startlingly clear ribbon of water reaching back toward the mountains. A day-use area and the lakeside lodge offer beaches, boat rentals, and a shoreline path for an easy afternoon leg-stretch. The water is cold but swimmable in late summer, and the view up the lake to the Winds is a fine last image of the range before turning back toward Jackson.
12:20 PM📍 See location
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Evening
🚗
Drive
Fremont Lake / Pinedale, WY → Jackson, WY
1 hr 30 min5:00 PM → 6:30 PM
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