Take a Drive Through the Snowy Range Scenic Byway in Wyoming on Opening Day

The Snowy Range Scenic Byway is closed for about half the year, but when the road opens for the first time after a long winter, you wouldn’t believe the size of the snow banks!  The opening of the pass over the Snowies officially marks the start of the summer season in the high country, although the mountains won’t be free of snow for another few months.  We drive over the mountain pass every year on opening day, and this year the sheer amount of snow did not disappoint.

  

We packed our winter coats and snowshoes and headed up the mountain for a hike at 10,000 feet.  Even my super athletic husky/german shepard had to take a couple running stats of practice before finally making the leap onto the snowpack.

  
We hiked through blue skies, sunshine, thunder and snow and got to have a good look at Lake Marie, which is still totally frozen and covered in snow.  The textures in the snow have some beautiful details, and the layers tell the story of snowfalls from the past winter.

    

We had the entire mountainside to ourselves and after we got sufficiently sunburnt (since we forgot to bring the sunscreen!), we drove up to get a good look at the entire Snowy Range.

    

The Snowy Range Mountains have a very special place in my heart, and I feel so thankful that places like this are still wild and free.  We thought it would be fitting to have a cup of coffee out of our Snowy Range coffee mug overlooking the entire range to warm ourselves up after a brisk snowshoe.  We are so excited for more adventures into the mountains and can’t wait to share more awesome Wyoming vistas with you!

Even professional photographers take awkward selfies sometimes.  Nothing can stop us now that our favorite mountain pass is open!  Do you have a favorite scenic byway you love to drive?