Snowy Range Gap Lakes and Medicine Bow Peak Loop

Snowy Range, Medicine Bow National Forest (Brooklyn Lake area west of Laramie and Centennial)

The Snowy Range rises in southern Wyoming’s Medicine Bow Mountains, topped by Medicine Bow Peak at 12,013 feet. Backpacker’s 2010 “Rip and Go” trip strings together the Sheep Lake, Gap Lakes, and Medicine Bow Peak Trails into a 15.6-mile loop from Brooklyn Lake, with camps among a scatter of alpine lakes.

Colorado Mountain Club, describing a longer route over the same peak, says most of the trip is at tree line and the summit is well above it.

The hike

The loop starts near Brooklyn Lake, off the Snowy Range Scenic Byway (WYO 130). Colorado Mountain Club’s route notes put the Sheep Lake Trailhead just before the Brooklyn Lake Campground entrance.

Backpacker’s route heads north on the Sheep Lake Trail, reaching North Twin Lakes at 1.5 miles, then Sheep Lake and Cutthroat Lake. Crescent Lake lies a quarter mile off-trail. Backpacker’s suggested first camp is on a high plateau at 10,900 feet, about half a mile past Cutthroat Lake, with Crescent Lake in view below.

The loop then follows the Gap Lakes Trail south past North and South Gap Lakes and the Lost Lake Trail junction to the Lewis Lake area, where the Medicine Bow Peak Trail climbs to the summit. Colorado Mountain Club notes “some rock hopping is required near summit” on its own route over the peak. From the top, Backpacker’s loop finishes past Telephone Lakes and the Nash Fork area back toward Brooklyn Lake. Backpacker’s 2008 article on a longer traverse describes the open flats at Telephone Lakes as a place to camp, swim, and “eyeball tomorrow’s goal: fin-shaped Medicine Bow Peak.”

Snow lingers. Colorado Mountain Club recommends late summer and lists July through September, and PMags, a hiking blog, crossed snowfields and talus on a mostly off-trail version of this loop in July 2010, after a night of heavy rain and fierce wind.

Colorado Mountain Club also describes a 22-mile, three-day variation from the Sheep Lake Trailhead with camps at Deep Lake and Heart Lake, returning over Medicine Bow Peak.

For a lower, warmer overnight in the same national forest, see the Platte River Wilderness on Douglas Creek.

Tips

Go in late summer. Snow lingers well into July.
Watch the weather. Much of the route is at or above tree line, and PMags hit heavy rain and fierce wind in July.
Camp more than 500 feet from WYO 130 outside campgrounds, per the 2024 Forest Service order.
Use a stove. Stage 1 restrictions in 2026 limited open fires to Forest Service fire pits.
Check the byway’s status in fall; WYO 130 closes for the winter in November.

Camping

The Snowy Range is national forest land without a backcountry permit system that we could find. Forest Service order MBRTB-2024-103 (through April 2034) bans camping on national forest land within 500 feet of the Snowy Range Scenic Byway between about mile 28.8 and mile 55.9, except in developed campgrounds, and limits campfires and stove fires in that corridor to Forest Service rings and grills in developed sites. The Medicine Bow National Forest’s Stage 1 order (02-06-00-26-205, July 24 through Dec. 31, 2026, unless rescinded) bans open fires except in permanent Forest Service fire pits at developed campgrounds or picnic areas.

Colorado Mountain Club caps its own trips at 12 people. Brooklyn Lake Campground, per its notes, doesn’t open until July 15.

Inside Intel: Backpacker (2010) recommends the high plateau at 10,900 feet about half a mile past Cutthroat Lake, with a view down to Crescent Lake, and suggests a second night along Telephone Lakes. Its 2008 article also calls Telephone Lakes’ open flats a good base before climbing Medicine Bow Peak.

Trail facts

Distance: 15.6 miles (Backpacker)
Route type: Loop
Difficulty: Moderate to strenuous
High point: Medicine Bow Peak, 12,013 feet
Campsites: Dispersed; plateau past Cutthroat Lake, Telephone Lakes
Water: Many lakes; treat it
Permits: None found for backpacking
Fires: Stage 1 restrictions in 2026; none within 500 feet of WYO 130 outside developed sites
Season: Late summer; WYO 130 closes in November
Trailhead: Sheep Lake Trailhead near Brooklyn Lake, off WYO 130
Last verified: October 17, 2026

The Lowdown

Coffee on the plateau above Crescent Lake:

Backpacker's first camp sits at 10,900 feet with Crescent Lake below, and 2026 fire rules kept open flames to Forest Service pits. See which stoves testers trust for cold alpine mornings.

Compare the top 5 →

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.