🥾 ActiveLong weekend · from Jackson, WY
Dubois & the Absaroka Front — Badlands, Brooks Lake & Union Pass
Three days along the Absaroka front northeast of Jackson, based in the classic cowboy town of Dubois at the head of the Wind River valley. Day one explores the red badlands and painted hills around Dubois and the National Bighorn Sheep Center, home to one of the largest wintering bighorn herds in the country. Day two climbs to Brooks Lake, a jewel of a mountain lake beneath the towering volcanic cliffs of the Pinnacles and Brooks Mountain on the Continental Divide. Day three follows Union Pass, the historic crest where three great river systems divide, and the tie-hack logging history of the upper valley, before the drive home. It is red rock, alpine cliffs, and frontier history, entirely outside Yellowstone and Grand Teton.
Day 1 — Dubois badlands & the National Bighorn Sheep CenterDay 2 — Brooks Lake & the PinnaclesDay 3 — Union Pass & the tie-hack history
Day 1 — Dubois, WY
Day 1 — Dubois, WY
🚗 2 hr 5 min driving📍 4 stops
🌅
Morning
🚗
Drive
Jackson, WY → Dubois, WY
1 hr 45 min
📍
National Bighorn Sheep Center, Dubois
★ Reviews →Dubois sits at the head of the Wind River valley, ringed by the Absaroka and Wind River ranges, and the National Bighorn Sheep Center on its main street is the perfect first stop. The surrounding Whiskey Mountain herd is one of the largest wintering populations of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep in North America, and the center's exhibits, mounts, and knowledgeable staff explain the animals' biology, the dramatic autumn rut, and how to spot them on the surrounding slopes. In winter, guided tours run up to the Whiskey Mountain range to see the sheep in the wild. It is a compact, engaging introduction to the wildlife that defines this stretch of the Absaroka front, and a good orientation to the town before exploring the badlands.
~1.5 hrs📍 See location
🍽️
Lunch
🍽️ Lunch~1 hr
🍽️
Cowboy Cafe, Dubois
The Cowboy Cafe is a Dubois institution, a homey main-street diner known for hearty ranch breakfasts, hot sandwiches, and legendary homemade pies. It captures the unvarnished cowboy character of the town, which has deliberately kept its wooden boardwalks and western storefronts. It is the natural lunch stop before an afternoon in the badlands, and the pie alone is worth the visit. Dubois has kept its authentic ranching soul in a way the busier Teton towns have not.
2 options · tap to switch
☀️
Afternoon
🚗
Drive
Dubois, WY → Dubois Badlands Trailhead
10 min
📍
Dubois Badlands (Wind River Badlands)
★ Reviews →Just north and east of Dubois, the land erupts into vivid red-and-orange badlands, eroded bluffs, gullies, and hoodoos of ancient sandstone and mudstone that glow especially fiercely in the low light of morning and evening. A BLM wilderness study area protects a swath of them, laced with informal trails and ridgelines you can wander for expansive views over the Wind River valley to the snowcapped ranges beyond. The painted hills are a striking contrast to the alpine country of the surrounding peaks, and the walking is open, quiet, and easy to tailor to your energy. Watch for pronghorn on the flats and raptors riding the thermals above the bluffs.
~1.5 hrs📍 See location
🌙
Evening
🚗
Drive
Dubois Badlands → Dubois, WY
10 min
🛏️
Dubois lodging (log cabin lodge or in-town motel)
Dubois offers a good range of characterful, affordable lodging, a welcome change from Jackson's prices. Classic log-cabin motels and riverside lodges line the highway and the Wind River, and several guest ranches sit in the surrounding valley for a fuller western experience. Base here for all three nights; the town's few restaurants and saloons make an easy evening, and you will be well positioned for Brooks Lake and Union Pass over the coming days. Book ahead in summer and during the autumn bighorn season.
Day 2 — Brooks Lake & the Pinnacles, WY
Day 2 — Brooks Lake & the Pinnacles, WY
🚗 1 hr 40 min driving📍 4 stops
🌅
Morning
🚗
Drive
Dubois, WY → Brooks Lake Trailhead
50 min
📍
Brooks Lake & the Pinnacles
★ Reviews →High on the Continental Divide between Dubois and Togwotee Pass, Brooks Lake is one of the most spectacular alpine settings in the Shoshone National Forest, a clear blue lake cupped beneath the sheer, banded volcanic cliffs of the Pinnacles and Brooks Mountain. The Absaroka rock rises in towering, striped ramparts straight from the far shore, a view that ranks among the finest in Wyoming. A lakeshore and meadow trail circles the water and climbs toward the base of the cliffs, and the historic 1920s Brooks Lake Lodge sits nearby. Moose frequent the willow bottoms and the fishing is excellent. The elevation makes for cool, bright mountain air even in midsummer; bring layers.
~1.5 hrs📍 See location
🍽️
Lunch
📍
Brooks Lake Meadow Picnic
★ Reviews →The meadows along the lakeshore, directly beneath the Pinnacles, make an unforgettable lunch spot, with the striped cliffs towering overhead and the lake stretching blue below. Spread a picnic on the grass, watch for moose in the willows, and soak in one of the grandest mountain backdrops in the state. Pack a full lunch from Dubois; there are no services beyond the lodge, and you will want to linger here before an afternoon of exploring the surrounding trails and Upper Brooks Lake.
~45 min📍 See location
☀️
Afternoon
📍
Upper Brooks Lake & Jade Lakes Trail
★ Reviews →From Brooks Lake, trails push deeper into the high country toward Upper Brooks Lake and the Jade Lakes, threading beneath the Pinnacles through spruce forest and wildflower meadows on the edge of the Teton Wilderness. The walking is gentle to moderate and the scenery relentless, with the volcanic cliffs looming over a chain of glittering alpine lakes. Even a few miles out and back delivers deep solitude and classic Absaroka grandeur. This is grizzly country at the doorstep of the Teton Wilderness; carry bear spray and make noise on the trail.
~45 min📍 See location
🌙
Evening
🚗
Drive
Brooks Lake → Dubois, WY
50 min
🛏️
Dubois lodging (second night)
Return to Dubois for a second night. The town's saloons, the Rustic Pine Tavern chief among them, make a lively western evening, and the local eateries serve up hearty dinners after a day in the high country. Rest up for tomorrow's drive over Union Pass and into the tie-hack logging history of the upper valley. Those wanting a splurge could instead overnight at the historic Brooks Lake Lodge up at the lake for an unforgettable alpine night.
Day 3 — Union Pass & the Upper Wind River, WY
Day 3 — Union Pass & the Upper Wind River, WY
🚗 2 hr 50 min driving📍 3 stops
🌅
Morning
🚗
Drive
Dubois, WY → Union Pass Road
30 min
📍
Union Pass & the Three Waters Divide
★ Reviews →Southwest of Dubois, the historic Union Pass Road, a gravel Forest Service route, climbs to a broad, high saddle at nearly 9,200 feet where three of the continent's great watersheds meet: waters here drain toward the Columbia, the Colorado, and the Mississippi, a rare hydrological crossroads marked by an interpretive monument. The pass was used for millennia by Native peoples and later by fur trappers and the Astorians crossing the divide. The open, rolling alpine terrain offers enormous views to the Wind River, Gros Ventre, and Absaroka ranges, and easy walking across wildflower parklands. It is a quiet, historically rich high place utterly off the tourist track. Check road conditions before heading up; the route is rough and weather-dependent.
~45 min📍 See location
🍽️
Lunch
📍
Union Pass Meadows Picnic
★ Reviews →The wildflower meadows atop Union Pass make a superb high-country picnic, with sweeping views across three mountain ranges and the sense of standing at a continental crossroads. Spread lunch on the tundra-like parkland, watch for elk and pronghorn on the open slopes, and take in the rare quiet of a place few travelers ever reach. Bring everything you need from Dubois; there are no services on the pass, and the remoteness is part of its appeal.
~45 min📍 See location
☀️
Afternoon
🚗
Drive
Union Pass Road → Tie Hack Memorial, Dubois
35 min
📍
Tie Hack Memorial & Historic Logging Sites
★ Reviews →West of Dubois along the Wind River, a roadside monument honors the tie hacks, the Scandinavian and European immigrant loggers who hand-hewed millions of railroad ties from the surrounding lodgepole forests in the early 20th century, floating them down the Wind River in massive spring log drives to the railhead. The memorial and its interpretive panels tell a vivid, largely forgotten chapter of Wyoming's frontier industry, and the setting on the forested river is a peaceful final stop. Short walks and pullouts nearby overlook the flumes and drive routes the tie hacks once used. It is a fitting close to three days on the Absaroka front before the drive home.
~1 hr📍 See location
🌙
Evening
🚗
Drive
Dubois, WY → Jackson, WY
1 hr 45 min
← All Jackson trips
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