With the spring semester ending, many students will be making the journey back home for the summer, but for the ones sticking around Laramie to see if winter continues through the summer months, there are countless activities in and around Laramie to keep them entertained.
Located along Interstate I-80, about 30 miles west of Cheyenne or about 20 miles east of Laramie at Exit #329 is none other than Vedauwoo. A recreation area full of enormous Sherman granite rocks made of pink feldspar, white quartz, black specs of horneblende and other minerals. Vedauwoo is a perfect place to hike, camp, fish, go mountain biking and climbing. A reviewer on tripadvisor.com even called it a “climbers paradise.”
“It [Vedauwoo] is unique in what it is and what it has to offer,” UW Outdoor Program Coordinator Garrett Genereux said. “Other-worldly rock formations that are billions of years old? Check. A plethora of wildlife that are native to Wyoming such as moose, elk, and deer? Check. Amazing recreational opportunities throughout the entire year that include rock climbing, hiking, wildlife viewing, mountain biking, and more? Check.”
Medicine Bow National Forest is another place for people to get their fresh air fix and enjoy beautiful natural surroundings. With many trails to hike and explore, Medicine Bow National Forest is a great place to set up camp, picnic and fish after backpacking the trails. Tripadvisor.com reviewers say the best time to go is in the summer because the weather is more enjoyable and there’s less of a chance roads and hiking paths will be closed off.
The UW Outdoor Program will also be having multiple opportunities for first year students to take their three-day Summer Outdoor Experience. The trips will include a day and a half of rock climbing at Vedauwoo, followed by a day of white-water rafting.
“Through the planned activities they [first year students] will get a taste of what outdoor recreation opportunities are available to them when they return in the fall as students,” Genereux said.
Participants will be camping the two nights at the Vedauwoo campground and go white-water rafting down the Cache la Poudre River down in Colorado. The Poudre is a designated National Wild and Scenic River.
The Outdoor Program will be taking ten participants each trip and all food, transportation and group equipment including tents and cooking gear will be provided. To sign up for the Summer Outdoor Experience or to see the program’s dates, visit uwyo.edu/rec/outdoor-program/summer-outdoor-experience.
For a little dose of history, the Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historic Site is the place to visit. Originally it operated as a federal, territorial and state prison from 1872 to 1903 and became the Agricultural Experiment Station for UW after the State Prison relocated to Rawlins. Now a museum, visitors can walk the through the halls and cells where convicts were locked up.
Other museums in and around Laramie include the UW Geological Museum, the Laramie Plains Museum, which is housed in the Ivinson Mansion, the UW Art Museum, the Laramie Historic Railroad Depot and the American Heritage Center.
For those who aren’t the outdoorsy type and don’t care for history, there are multiple places to eat and shop in downtown Laramie. There are countless destinations to see and enjoy this summer. It just takes stepping out of the house and a little exploration.
