Bighorn Canyon NRA (WY side), Wyoming

Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area carves a dramatic landscape where towering canyon walls plunge nearly 1,000 feet to meet the pristine waters of Bighorn Lake, creating one of the West's most striking geological amphitheaters. On the Wyoming side, you'll discover intimate vistas and quieter trails that reward those willing to venture beyond the crowds, where golden eagles soar overhead and the canyon's geology tells stories written in stone across millennia. This is where high-desert beauty meets outdoor adventure—a place to hike rim trails at sunrise, kayak turquoise waters at midday, and watch the canyon walls glow amber at sunset.