Outdoor Recreation

As Wyoming’s recreation industry continues to grow, new trails and outdoor facilities are popping up all over the state to give mountain bikers, skiers, snowshoers and hikers more options for basking in the wilderness. That includes the Happy Jack Recreation Area near Laramie.

Recently, the Park County Travel Council has highlighted more outdoor experiences. It’s a shift backed by millions of local lodging tax dollars, but it's drawn some skepticism from some locals.

Nationwide, the sector accounted for some 2.3% of GDP, or the value of final sales of goods and services. That figure is even higher for every Mountain West state, and about twice that in Montana and Wyoming.

The U.S. Forest Service has historically faced demands that exceed its budget and workforce capacity. And now, looming congressional budget cuts are only putting a finer point on this. That likely means looking for creative solutions for maintaining these public lands, which is nothing new for the third largest forest in the lower 48 – the Bridger-Teton. They’ve worked closely with a nonprofit to fill in some critical gaps. It’s a relatively novel concept in the forest world.

The advocacy group the Wilderness Society has released an interactive map that allows users to locate the wildest places in their communities, even if they are far from formally designated protected areas.

Laramie will be celebrating a new trail that connects town to the nearby trail system this Saturday. It showcases an industry Wyoming towns are buying into more and more.

This summer, Wyoming Wildflower Women started offering daylong introductory programs and outings for activities like rock climbing and caving. The adventures are part of Wyoming State Parks’ efforts to empower women to get outside and explore, and are also part of a collaboration with Shoshone and Arapaho Fish and Game to increase opportunities for Indigenous women.

Climbers have a long history of ‘fighting the system.’ Now they’re in a big disagreement with some conservationists and the federal government over proposed regulations in the wilderness.

A dozen agriculture, mining, oil and gas organizations filed a lawsuit this month to overturn the rule, which elevates conservation in land-use decisions. They argue it undermines traditional uses.

A bill that will establish guidelines for how Wyoming will use a new outdoor recreation trust fund was signed into law by Gov. Mark Gordon today.