Going Off Road in Park County
Written By: Sarah Reish
Park County, Wyoming is home to beautiful scenery and an abundance of outdoor recreation, along with wildlife. Spreading out and enjoying the colder months outdoors is easy in the Northwestern corner of our state. When we met with Ryan from the Park County Travel Council to discuss highlighting the area, this location was on his list! Special thanks to PCTC for inviting us to explore and share more about what makes Wyoming amazing!
The McCullough Peaks
The trailhead into McCullough Peaks is located roughly 6 to 7 miles outside of Cody on Highway 14. This recreation area is managed by the BLM Cody Field Office. The main dirt road loops through the recreation area and back to the main road. The trail is approximately 30 miles. It is 109,814 acres of stunning landscape.
Wild horses in their natural habitat
McCullough Peaks is also a Wild Horse Management Area, meaning you can see wild horses in their natural environment. Bring your cameras and binoculars and see if you can find the herd! The herd features multiple coats in bay, brown, black, sorrel, chestnut, white, buckskin, gray, palomino, and blue, red and strawberry roans as well as multiple patterns.
Vehicles, road and trails
The main dirt road is McCullough Peak Road which is a two track dirt road that is easy to navigate. There are steep areas so use caution when driving. Also, the lower areas of the roads could be dangerous when flooded so it is best to watch the weather. There are off road trails that break off of McCullough Peak Road. This is what makes this area a favorite for four wheeling, side-by-sides and other off roading vehicles. Due to the holidays we weren’t able to rent a side-by-side, however our 4-Runner handled the road just fine.
The terrain
The wide range of terrain is what makes this area so stunning and fun to explore. From mountainous to prairie and cliffs to badlands, this high dessert landscape is uniquely one-of-a-kind. The drive takes you first up to the peak giving you views of Carter Mountain, Cedar Mountain, Rattlesnake Mountain and Heart Mountain. The jaw dropping views give adventures something to look forward to. Further up and around the mountain, the views change to the colorful badlands. These rocky formations bring an entirely new feel to the area and the vast changes in scenery are amazing. With it being fall, nearly winter, the low level ponds on the northern side of the peaks, used to water livestock during the summer months, begin to recede and dry out along the road like many of the creek beds in the area. Continuing along, the McCullough Peaks Road took us through some prairie flatlands and back out to the main road.
Time
This is a perfect afternoon or weekend day trip. Get out of the house and outdoors in the wide open spaces. Plan on an hour and a half for this adventure. If you want to watch for horses or take more time photographing you could spend up to 3 hours or more. With that in mind, pack a picnic and drinks and remember to pack out your trash!
Hit the road!
We loved this drive and will do it again soon. Be sure to snap photos of your trip through the McCullough Peaks and be sure to tag us @LiveWYldMag and @CodyYellostone then use #LiveWYld