Attractions and Places To See in Carbon County - Top 20

The Union Pacific Railroad arrived in southern Wyoming following natural corridor around the Medicine Bow Mountains that stretched for about 30 miles. This corridor has been a place of movement for centuries. Early Native American tribes traveled from hanting areas to sacred places in southern Carbon County using the same route. The first non-native settlers also traveled along the curridor on the Overland Trail The Lincoln Highway, America's first transcontinental highway, followed this route in 1913, even using sections of abandoned nal grade to build the road. In the following years, the corridor has been a prime highway, not only for tourists and commerce, but also for high-speed cable lines, oil pipelines, and interstate power production

The historic maker provides interesting information about the mining background of this austere landscape. The hills located to the south and west (on the photo left) are part of the Rawlins Uplift, a 40 mile long. north trending fold in the earth's crust. The geologic feature rises a thousand feet above the surrounding plains. Granite rocks that range in age from 2.6 billion years to 10 million years are exposed along its crest and slopes. The reddish rocks that comprise much of the distant hills are the Flathead Sandstone (Cambrian) which is 520 million years old. The gray strata that overlie the Flathead Sandstone are part of the Madison Limestone (Mississippian Period), a 360 million year old rock unit. Both the Flathead Sandstone and Madison Limestone were deposited in shallow seas which once covered this area. The Flathead Sandstone contains hematite, a red iron mineral, that was mined in this area from 1870 to the early 1900's. The now abandoned mines were located in the rock outcrops located a mile to the south of this sign. Some of the mined hematite was used as a "barn red" paint pigment noted for its durability and covering qualities. This popular "Rawlins Red" enjoyed the distinction of being selected in 1893, as the paint for the newly constructed Brooklyn Bridge. Hundreds of tons of ore were extracted annually between 1879 and 1886, and the paint made from it was used all across the country on a wide variety of buildings and structures. Cost Increases for extracting, shipping and processing the ore as well as technological advances in paint manufacture eventually led to permanent closure of the mines.

This section of the TransAmerica Trail runs from Rawlins to the turnoff for 6,965 foot (2,123 m) Separation Point. If you're heading north from Rawlins you can look forward to a constant, gradual incline, then a long downhill until you reach the flatlands. Although this is technically a road ride, you'll see lots of people with touring bikes on the paved shoulder too.

All told, the TransAmerica Trail runs for more than 4,000 miles across the country. Although it's technically a road ride, you'll also see people riding their touring bikes along the paved shoulder. Some folks even go all-in with bikepacking their way along the trail. This segment runs from the twin towns of Encampment-Riverside in Wyoming to the Colorado state line, although of course you can keep biking farther if you like.

This is actually a road ride — not a separate trail — and it is unbelievably scenic. The entire trail is more than 4,000 miles long; this segment runs from the twin towns of Encampment and Riverside in Wyoming to the Colorado state line with just one section of significant uphill/downhill grade. Of course the trail keeps going beyond that, so you could continue riding farther if you like.

This section of the TransAmerica Trail runs from Saratoga, Wyoming, through the neighboring communities of Riverside and Encampment, and to the shores of the small, pretty Encampment River. Technically this is a road ride, but it's common to see people here on touring bikes or even full-on bikepacking. The terrain is rolling enough to be interesting, but not so steep that you have to be a serious road biker with quads of steel to manage it. All in all, this is a great place for a relaxed ride in beautiful scenery.

Despite the name this is actually a road ride — a beautiful one, as the wide-open grasslands toward the north of Wyoming give way to the rolling foothills that herald the approach of much higher-elevation peaks in nearby Medicine Bow National Forest and Huston Park Wilderness.

This stretch of the TransAmerica Trail runs from Rawlings, Wyoming to the town of Saratoga. The northern half of this segment has relatively gradual elevation gain and loss, but the southern half is more hilly. Expect a lot of wide-open highway — and a lot of wind.