Backpack Trail Guide

Trails / Wyoming / Wind River Range

Cirque of the Towers via Big Sandy and Jackass Pass

Bridger Wilderness (Bridger-Teton National Forest) and Popo Agie Wilderness (Shoshone National Forest), Big Sandy Trailhead south of Pinedale

The Cirque of the Towers is a ring of granite spires in the southern Wind River Range, named by climber Orrin Bonney in 1941, according to Wikipedia. Lizard Head Peak (12,847 feet) is the highest point, and Pingora Peak and Wolfs Head carry climbing routes featured in Fifty Classic Climbs of North America. The cirque straddles the Continental Divide, so the trip starts in the Bridger Wilderness and ends in the Popo Agie Wilderness.

The standard way in is from the Big Sandy Trailhead over Jackass Pass, about 18 miles round trip by HikingWalking’s count.

The hike

The Big Sandy Trailhead sits at about 9,085 feet at the end of a long drive from Pinedale. The Forest Service gives the route as about 57 miles, with separate backpacker and stock parking, vault toilets, and no drinking water. HikingWalking describes the final 9.8 miles as “rocky, rutted” and slippery when wet, and recommends high clearance, though it says careful drivers manage in cars.

The trail starts gently. HikingWalking’s mileage log passes the Diamond and V Lakes junction at 3.3 miles and reaches the southwest end of Big Sandy Lake at 4.9 miles (9,690 feet). Wikipedia describes the first 7 miles as relatively level and the last mile as very steep. At 5.5 miles an unmarked junction turns north toward Jackass Pass, and the climb begins in earnest past North Lake and Arrowhead Lake, where a boulder-field shortcut is “quite difficult to negotiate when wearing a backpack,” HikingWalking says. The main trail is the better choice.

Jackass Pass, at about 10,790 feet and 8.2 miles, crosses the Divide. From there a steep half-mile drops to Lonesome Lake at 9 miles, at the floor of the cirque. Wikipedia notes Lonesome Lake was the first lake in the range judged unfit to drink because of human waste, which is the reason for the quarter-mile camping setback around it.

Adventures of A+K, a travel blog updated in March 2026, describes a longer clockwise loop: Big Sandy to Dad’s Lake, Marms Lake, and Shadow Lake, then over steep Texas Pass to Lonesome Lake and out over Jackass Pass. The authors list it at 23 miles but clocked just under 28. HikingWalking lists the Texas Pass loop at 24.5 miles and calls part of it off-trail, for experienced backpackers.

HikingWalking calls a one-night trip “a ridiculous schedule” and suggests at least three nights, with five or more for side trips. Both guides say July through September is the main season, and the cirque “can get quite crowded.”

For another Wind River trip, see Titcomb Basin from Elkhart Park or Stough Creek Lakes on the Popo Agie side of the range.

Tips

Camping

There is no permit for individual backpackers. Adventures of A+K says to sign the log at the trailhead. On the Big Sandy side, Bridger Wilderness order 04-03-312 bans camping within 200 feet of any lake or designated trail and within 100 feet of streams, creeks, or springs. It also bans open fires above timberline and within the same distances. Order GYCC-7 caps groups at 15 people and 25 head of stock and limits stays to 16 days in one place. Organized groups need a permit.

In the cirque, the Popo Agie Wilderness adds a quarter-mile setback from Lonesome Lake. Food storage orders on both forests require food to be hung at least 10 feet up and 4 feet from a tree or post, or kept in an approved bear-resistant container, from March 1 to December 1.

HikingWalking says forested benches above Big Sandy Lake have “nice campsites with good views,” but the lake is “extremely popular.” Black Joe, Clear, and Deep Lakes are other options.

Inside Intel: Adventures of A+K camped in the cirque near the main waterfall, in a small site tucked into the trees with a view for cooking, found by following two other backpackers. Check that any site you choose is at least a quarter mile from Lonesome Lake.

Trail facts

The Lowdown

The steep half mile below Jackass Pass:

From Jackass Pass at about 10,790 feet, a steep half mile drops to Lonesome Lake on the cirque floor. Lengthen your poles for the descent; here is how to use them right.

See the pole tips →

Where this comes from

This page draws on the sources below, along with other guides and trip reports. Links go to the original pages.

Before you go: This page is based on published trail guides, trip reports, and reviews, along with official park and agency information where we could find it. It’s meant to help backpackers discover new trails, not to replace current, official information. Conditions, closures, permits, campsites, and water sources change, and some details here may be out of date or wrong. Confirm everything with the managing agency and check current conditions before you head out, and don’t rely on this page alone for safety or navigation. Backcountry travel involves risk.