🥾 ActiveLong weekend · from Jackson, WY

Lander & the Southern Winds — Sinks Canyon to South Pass

Three days on the sunny southeastern flank of the Wind River Range, based in the classic climbing and ranch town of Lander. Day one explores Sinks Canyon State Park, where the Popo Agie River vanishes underground into a limestone cavern, the Sinks, and reappears a quarter mile downstream in a spring pool called the Rise, full of giant trout. Day two hikes the granite of the canyon's upper reaches, the Popo Agie Falls trail and the switchbacking Loop Road onto the high plateau. Day three drops south into the ghost-town gold country of South Pass City and Atlantic City, where the Oregon Trail crossed the Continental Divide, before the long drive home. It is geology, granite, and frontier history, entirely outside the national parks.

Day 1 — Sinks Canyon State Park & the disappearing Popo Agie RiverDay 2 — Popo Agie Falls & the Loop RoadDay 3 — South Pass City & Atlantic City ghost towns

Day 1 — Sinks Canyon State Park, WY

🚗 3 hr 20 min driving📍 4 stops

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Morning

🚗

Drive

Jackson, WY → Lander, WY

2 hr 50 min8:00 AM → 10:50 AM

Lander Main Street

★ 4.3

Tucked at the foot of the southern Winds where the mountains meet the high plains, Lander is one of Wyoming's most likable towns, a hub for rock climbers, a National Outdoor Leadership School base, and a working ranch community all at once. Its walkable main street has good coffee, gear shops, and a friendly, unpretentious feel that makes it an ideal base for three days. Stretch your legs here after the drive, pick up any last supplies, and get oriented before heading up into Sinks Canyon just minutes to the southwest. The town sits on the edge of the Wind River Indian Reservation, and the surrounding country is steeped in both Native and frontier history.

10:50 AM📍 See location

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Lunch

🍽️ Lunch11:50 AM

The Middle Fork, Lander

The Middle Fork is Lander's standout kitchen, a farm-to-table cafe on Main Street known for creative breakfasts and lunches built on regional ingredients. It is the perfect first meal in town, relaxed, hearty, and well-suited to fueling a day of canyon exploration. If you would rather eat in the park, the town's grocery and delis can outfit a picnic to enjoy on the riverbank in Sinks Canyon, where shaded tables sit right beside the Popo Agie.

★ 4.6$$cafe📍 Maps →

2 options · tap to switch

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Afternoon

🚗

Drive

Lander, WY → Sinks Canyon State Park

15 min12:50 PM → 1:05 PM

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The Sinks & The Rise, Sinks Canyon

Sinks Canyon State Park is built around one of Wyoming's strangest hydrological wonders: the Middle Fork of the Popo Agie River roars down the canyon and then abruptly disappears into a cavern in a limestone cliff, the Sinks, swallowed whole by the rock. A quarter mile down the canyon the water bubbles back to the surface in a calm, spring-fed pool called the Rise, home to enormous trout that gather to be fed. Dye tests have shown the water takes over two hours to travel the underground gap, and more water emerges than goes in, a mystery still not fully explained. A visitor center, boardwalks, and short interpretive trails connect the two, making this a fascinating, easy afternoon of geology. The canyon walls glow red and gold in the late light.

1:05 PM📍 See location

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Evening

🚗

Drive

Sinks Canyon State Park → Lander, WY

15 min5:00 PM → 5:15 PM

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Lander lodging (historic hotel or in-town motel)

Lander makes an easy, affordable base for all three nights. In town, a mix of well-kept independent motels, the historic downtown hotel, and cozy inns cluster within walking distance of Main Street's restaurants and breweries. For a more rustic option, Sinks Canyon has campgrounds and a lodge right in the park. Basing in Lander keeps you central for the canyon, the Loop Road, and the South Pass ghost towns over the coming days. Book ahead in summer, when the climbing and NOLS seasons fill the town.

Day 2 — Popo Agie Falls & the Loop Road, WY

🚗 1 hr 20 min driving📍 4 stops

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Morning

🚗

Drive

Lander, WY → Bruce's Bridge Trailhead, Sinks Canyon

20 min8:00 AM → 8:20 AM

Popo Agie Falls Trail

From the upper end of Sinks Canyon, the Popo Agie Falls Trail climbs about 1.5 miles through pine and granite to a series of cascades where the Middle Fork tumbles roughly sixty feet over stepped rock ledges into inviting pools. It is one of the finest short hikes in the region, gaining just enough elevation to open canyon views while remaining accessible to most walkers. In summer the lower pools become a popular swimming and rock-jumping spot, and the granite slabs make natural sunning perches. The trail marks the boundary between the state park and the Shoshone National Forest wilderness beyond, a gateway into the granite heart of the southern Winds.

8:20 AM📍 See location

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Lunch

Popo Agie Falls Pools Picnic

★ 4.8

The granite ledges beside the falls are the ideal lunch spot, with the cascades roaring alongside and pools cold enough for a bracing dip. Spread out on the sun-warmed rock, watch the swimmers brave the plunge, and take in the canyon dropping away below. Pack a substantial picnic from Lander; there are no services beyond the trailhead, and you will want to linger before climbing the Loop Road onto the high plateau in the afternoon.

9:20 AM📍 See location

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Afternoon

🚗

Drive

Sinks Canyon Trailhead → Sinks Canyon Loop Road Switchbacks

20 min12:00 PM → 12:20 PM

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Sinks Canyon Loop Road & Frye Lake

Above the falls, the Sinks Canyon Loop Road, a gravel Forest Service route, switchbacks dramatically up the canyon wall onto the high granite plateau of the Shoshone National Forest, gaining thousands of feet in a few miles. The climb opens huge views back down the canyon toward Lander and the plains beyond, and the plateau on top is a different world of alpine lakes, meadows, and granite domes. Frye Lake and Fiddlers Lake sit up here, ringed by forest and offering easy shoreline walks, fishing, and picnicking at altitude. The full loop eventually connects to the South Pass country, but even driving partway up and back delivers the canyon's grandest perspective and a taste of the high Winds.

12:20 PM📍 See location

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Evening

🚗

Drive

Loop Road → Lander, WY

40 min5:00 PM → 5:40 PM

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Lander lodging (second night)

Return to your Lander base for a second night. The town's breweries and Main Street restaurants make an easy evening after a day on the trail, with the Lander Bar and Cowfish among the local favorites for dinner and a pint. Rest up for tomorrow's drive south into the gold-rush ghost towns of South Pass. If you would prefer a change, the campgrounds up on the Loop Road plateau offer a starry high-country night before the final day.

Day 3 — South Pass City & Atlantic City, WY

🚗 4 hr 15 min driving📍 3 stops

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Morning

🚗

Drive

Lander, WY → South Pass City State Historic Site

55 min8:00 AM → 8:55 AM

South Pass City State Historic Site

★ 4.8

High on the sagebrush plateau at the southern tip of the Winds, South Pass City is one of the best-preserved gold-rush ghost towns in the West, a state historic site with over two dozen original 1860s buildings, a saloon, a hotel, a schoolhouse, and the gold mill, kept much as they were. Gold was struck here in 1867, and the boomtown that sprang up became a cradle of women's suffrage: it was in this district that Wyoming Territory passed the first law in the world granting women the vote in 1869. You can tour the buildings, pan for gold, and walk the dusty streets of a genuine frontier settlement. Nearby the Oregon, California, and Mormon trails crossed the Continental Divide at South Pass itself, the gentle gap that made westward migration possible.

8:55 AM📍 See location

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Lunch

🚗

Drive

South Pass City → Atlantic City, WY

15 min9:55 AM → 10:10 AM

🍽️ Lunch10:10 AM

Atlantic City Mercantile

A couple of miles from South Pass City, the tiny, still-inhabited old mining camp of Atlantic City is home to the Atlantic City Mercantile, a rough-hewn 1893 log-and-stone saloon and steakhouse that has been serving miners and travelers for well over a century. Its dim, historic barroom and hand-cut steaks make it one of the most atmospheric meals in Wyoming, a genuine frontier institution rather than a re-creation. It is the perfect midday stop between the ghost towns before the long drive home. Check seasonal hours in advance, as the remote setting means limited days of operation.

★ 4.3$$bar📍 Maps →

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Afternoon

Continue at South Pass Overlook & Oregon Trail Ruts

★ 4.8

Use the afternoon to explore a different side of South Pass City State Historic Site — there's more to discover beyond the morning highlights.

12:00 PM📍 See location

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Evening

🚗

Drive

South Pass, WY → Jackson, WY

3 hr 5 min5:00 PM → 8:05 PM

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