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Burgess Junction Visitor Center Reopens

U.S Forest Service

The Burgess Junction Visitor Center off U.S. Highway 14 in the Bighorn National Forest is open again for the first time in years.

Its last season was in 2011, and it closed in 2012 due to a lack of funding. Though, Burgess Junction was reopened for a short time while a nearby stop was under construction.

Tongue Ranger District Ranger for the Bighorn National Forest Amy Ormseth said the Forest Service has wanted to reopen the visitor's center but didn't have the means to do so. Ormseth said several groups have been interested in taking control of it over the years but nothing stuck.

But a year and a half ago, the Forest Service began conversations with the owners of Arrowhead Lodge to take over Burgess Junction.

"Not necessarily a huge visitors center so to speak, but [it will be] more visitor information, the rest area portion, and then that provides some additional capacity for meeting space, wedding venues, conferences and whatnot," Ormseth said

She added there's a lot of traffic in the mountains around Burgess Junction near Dayton, and that it's reassuring for visitors to have a place to stop.

"It's so nice to just have that source of information and that presence for the visiting public that's up there," Ormseth said.

The visitor center is open Wednesday through Monday and will close for the season after Labor Day.

Catherine Wheeler comes to Wyoming from Kansas City, Missouri. She has worked at public media stations in Missouri and on the Vox podcast "Today, Explained." Catherine graduated from Fort Lewis College with a BA in English. She recently received her master in journalism from the University of Missouri. Catherine enjoys cooking, looming, reading and the outdoors.
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