Family Travel,  West,  Wyoming

A Trip Down Happy Jack Road to Curt Gowdy State Park

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Two of the things we were looking forward to about our trip out West were enjoying the varying terrains and looking for wildlife. We accomplished this in Colorado earlier in the week by visiting the Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater and the Garden of the Gods.

In Wyoming, we chose to take a drive down Happy Jack Road and spend some time at Curt Gowdy State Park. Curt Gowdy State Park is located halfway between Cheyenne and Laramie and is named after sportscaster Curt Gowdy. After our stop at the Southeast Wyoming Welcome Center we headed towards Wyoming Highway 210, which is nicknamed Happy Jack Road.

Happy Jack Road is nicknamed after a man named Jack Hollingsworth. In the 1880s Jack traveled a popular trail from Cheyenne to Laramie on a cattle drive and later settled in the area. He was known for his happy disposition and his constant singing while working. The road was later paved and officially called Wyoming Highway 210, but is nicknamed Happy Jack Road.

As we drove down Happy Jack Road we were on the lookout for signs of wildlife. Since there were 13 of us in the van, there were lots of eyes emphatically searching. We spotted several pronghorns on our drive, but that was it. It was still pretty exciting every time we saw one though. We also saw lots of wind turbines and some neat snow fences.

When we got to Curt Gowdy State Park we pulled into the Visitors Center to pay our entrance fee and to get a map. There was a playground right outside the visitors center, so we let the kids get out and run around for a little bit while we all took turns going to the bathroom and checking out the map.

We decided to drive and park at the Granite Springs Reservoir and walk around and explore. There are three reservoirs in the park, Granite Springs, Crystal, and Upper North Crow, all of which are great for fishing and boating. While we were there we saw someone kayaking.

Granite Springs Reservoir is full of rainbow trout and kokanee salmon. There are areas for stream fishing near all 3 reservoirs as well. The North Crow Reservoir is located 5 miles West of the Visitors Center and is very rustic with no picnic tables, water supply or comfort stations. But it does offer the widest variety of fish – splake, rainbow trout, brown trout, and grayling.

There are 159 different campsites throughout Curt Gowdy State Park and there is a coin-operated shower facility located in the Visitor’s Center. The cost is .50 for 3 minutes.

There are lots of great opportunities for wildlife viewing and bird watching. Some of the animals that you might encounter are native ground squirrels, mule deer, elk, yellow-bellied marmots, and chipmunks abound in this area. We didn’t see any wildlife while we were there, so that was a little disappointing, but the gorgeous scenery at the park made up for it.

As far as sports within Curt Gowdy State Park there are several options. There is a horse corral for public use as well as a large pasture area. Over 35 miles of trails are accessible and designed for all skill levels. There are also mountain biking play areas and an archery trail. If you’re looking to hunt, archery hunting is allowed.

Hynds Lodge is located inside Curt Gowdy State Park and is available for accommodation rentals as well as a wedding venue. There is also an Amphitheater onsite that’s available for rental as well.

The kids enjoyed skipping rocks at the reservoir as well as climbing rocks on a path nearby.

When we left the park we continued our drive down Happy Jack Road for a quick stop at the Abraham Lincoln memorial before heading back to the Wyoming State Museum in Cheyenne.

For another look at our visit to Curt Gowdy State Park check out our YouTube video below. You can also read about Day 1 of our trip and our visit to Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater and Casa Bonita, and Day 2 of our trip to Colorado Springs and our stops at the Garden of the Gods, the Manitou Cliff Dwellings Museum, the Manitou Springs Penny Arcade, the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum, and Magic Town. You can also go back and read about Day 3 at the Western Museum of Mining and Industry, the Money Museum, the Colorado State Capitol, and the Molly Brown House Museum. This trip is the first trip of our “50 States Before Graduation Challenge” series.

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