A Brief History

Photo courtesy of the Kenneth Jesson collection.

Occupying the corridor of an early 20th century rail line through quintessential western forest and mountain terrain, the Medicine Bow is Wyoming’s newest—and longest—rail-trail; the grand opening was held in late September 2007. Former District Ranger Clint Kyhl saw the project through from its start in 2001. “It began with a feasibility study conducted by a private contractor and funded by the Wyoming Department of Transportation,” Kyhl says. Once the study was finalized, U.S. Forest Service personnel stepped up to move the process forward, with Kyhl leading the charge.

“There were two main reasons the Forest Service got involved,” he says. “First, the railroad bed structure was in good shape and we wanted to put it to public use. Second, the community support for the project was overwhelming, in both enthusiasm and dollars.” Working with the Laramie Bicycling Network, Cycle Wyoming, the Wyoming Department of Transportation, the City of Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities, and the Wyoming Institute for Disabilities, Kyhl’s team raised more than $1 million, which was used to resurface the rail trail, repair culverts and clean up debris along the corridor. In addition, the money funded construction of five trailheads—all with parking lots and four with restrooms—and a mile-long circuit trail at Lake Owen with a handicap-accessible fishing pier.

The Hahn’s Peak and Pacific Railroad, between Laramie, Wyo., and Coalmont, Colo., first hauled gold and then expanded to transport livestock, timber and coal as well. The rail corridor “really was a marvel of engineering when it was constructed in the early 1900s,” says historian James Lowe. “At 9,050 feet, this was the highest elevation standard gauge railroad in the country. There are ‘muleshoe’ loops coming out of the town of Albany that allowed trains to scale the steep grade.” (That section is not currently part of the rail-trail but is passable on foot, via mountain bike, or on horseback.) Such engineering achievements are one reason the corridor is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Photo courtesy of the Kenneth Jesson collection.

The railroad operation was abandoned in 1996, and in 1999 the rails and ties were removed. Debris littered the corridor but the route itself was in excellent shape. Now the corridor is cleaned up, although rail stakes and other bits and pieces of the former life of the trail can still be found. Outside the corridor, there is little evidence of the bustling commerce once associated with the railroad. Train depots and other structures are long gone, except for the refurbished depot in Centennial that houses the Nici Self Museum.

The caboose, which was donated by WyColo Railroad, the last railway operator, rests on a short section of track at the Lake Owen trailhead. The Caboose was badly damaged by the 2020 Mullen Fire and will be removed by summer 2023.