The Basics
The Platte River Wilderness is open all year. The Six Mile Trailhead is closed from November 15th through April 30th each year and the other trailheads are difficult to get to in the winter.
It is open to hiking and horseback riding. Dogs are welcome.
It is a designated Wilderness Area so mountain biking is not allowed along with many other special protections.
None of the trailheads have a day use or parking fee, however they are all in or near camping areas that do have a fee. Pay attention to where you park.
There are 3 moderate trails totaling 19.3 miles.
There are 2 difficult trails totaling 12.2 miles.
Video
Description
The Platte River Wilderness has almost 32 miles of trails and some great diversity.
There are some fascinating historical sites. Devils Gate Creek has what remains of Thompson Lodge and an old Timber Flume. There is also a small cabin near the start of Douglas Creek Trailhead.
The Platte River and Douglas Creek are both popular fishing locations for both people and Golden Eagles.We’ve seen moose and big horn sheep here and even caught sight of a bear once.
Do be careful while crossing creeks and rivers as there are no bridges. This is especially so on the Platte River Trail in spring and early summer when the river is at its highest.
Guides
If you are looking for a guide to take with you in the Platte River Wilderness:
- You can view, download, and print a PDF version of our free trail guide.
- You can find these trails in our Snowy Range and Pole Mountain Trail Deck sold through our partner, Laramie’s Basecamp.
- The Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest has a page dedicated to the Platte River Wilderness and they publish the Medicine Bow National Forest Map – Waterproof.
- These trails are also part of the Hiking Wyoming’s Medicine Bow National Forest – Third Edition book by Marc Smith.
Trails
View of Douglas Creek
The trails range in elevation from 7,440 feet at the Platte River Trailhead to 9,000 feet along the Platte Ridge Trail.
Devils Gate Creek Trail (2.6 Miles)
Douglas Creek Trail (9.7 Miles)
Platte Ridge Trail (7.9 Miles)
Platte River Trail (8.8 Miles)
Platte Douglas Link (2.5 Miles)
Directions
Traveling southeast form Laramie on Wyoming Highway 230 you will come to Forest Road 512 (also the road to Fox Park) after 34 miles. Follow Forest Road 512 for 13 miles to the turn off for Forest Road 506 which will take you to the Devils Gate Trailhead. Or follow Forest Road 512 for 27 miles to the Douglas Trailhead.
If you stay on Wyoming Highway 230 and take the first right turn after crossing into Colorado you will be on Forest Road 898 which will take you to the Pelton Creek Trailhead.
The Six Mile Gap Trailhead can be reach from Forest Road 492 which is 10 miles north of the Colorado Border and 23 miles south of Encampment on Wyoming Highway 230
Select the Google Map tab next to the Just Trails Map tab at the top of the page to see a directions map.
You can help other people explore by leaving some comments about the Platte River Wilderness below.
Pelton Creek Trailhead
Six Mile Parking Area
Agreed with the other comment. We were doing a backpacking trip. Started on Douglas Creek Trail and Camped just before link trail. The next day took Link Trail (lots of up hill but not too bad) however when we got on Platte Ridge Trail we ended up turning around and taking Douglas Creek Trail out. Was just too many downed trees it was a nightmare. We had dogs and our backpacks and didn’t want to risk it since the trail was hard to find after getting around all the trees. On a good note when we started they did have a bunch of volunteers that were clearing the trail, but didn’t know how far in they had made it. So hopefully they will be getting it cleared out soon and we will go back and try again in a few weeks.
Platte ridge trail is covered with down timber. Impossible to walk down the trail, majority of the time is spent navigating around fallen trees and trying to recover the trail. Extremely difficult.