On the western side of the Wind River range, tiny well-to-do
PINEDALE
on US-191 offers unrivaled access to the mountains. Once a major logging center, it now attracts second-homeowners and hikers. The excellent
Museum of the Mountain Man
, 700 E Hennick Rd (May-Sept daily 10am-6pm; rest of year by appointment only; $4; tel 307/367-4102), commemorates the town's role as a rendezvous for fur trappers in the 1830s.
A sixteen-mile road winds east from Pinedale past Fremont Lake to
Elkhart Park
, from where trails lead past beautiful
Seneca Lake
and along rugged Indian Pass to the glaciers and 13,000ft peaks; the Pinedale Ranger Station office at 29 Fremont Lake Rd (June-Aug Mon-Sat 8am-5pm; rest of year Mon-Fri 8am-5pm; tel 307/367-4326), can give information on good hiking routes.
There are clean, basic
rooms
at the
Sun Dance Motel
, 148 E Pine St (tel 307/367-4336 or 1-800/833-9178; $50-75/$75-100). Any one of the three
saloons
in town -
Calamity Jane's World Famous Corral Bar, The Cowboy
and
Stockman's
- may have a live country or blues band or just general rowdiness from a mob of cowboys.
McGregor's Pub
, 21 N Franklin Ave (tel 307/367-4443), offers a good pint, a wide range of moderate to expensive dishes and a pleasant patio;
Wrangler Café
, 905 W Pine St (tel 307/367-4233), has big, inexpensive roast dinners, a salad bar and a huge range of pies for dessert.
