120 Forest Service, 44 BLM and 15 National Park Service. 122 take reservations
Winter winds the State Climate Office calls frequent 5
30 to 40 mph
With gusts to 50 or 60
Skills Wyoming tests
Wyoming tests judgment more than wheel placement. Reading a dirt road after rain and knowing when to turn around, since WYDOT says even light precipitation can make Red Gulch/Alkali impassable. Driving sand at the Killpecker dunes, flag up and 15 miles per hour near the access roads. Holding a loaded vehicle in low gear down a 10 percent grade without riding the brakes. Handling a crosswind, and being willing to park until it drops.
A course that also covers navigation, self-recovery and first aid a long way from help fits this state well.
Training is the cheapest upgrade there is. It costs less than a bumper, weighs nothing, and works on every vehicle you will ever own.
Common courses
01Driving: line choice, throttle and brake control, airing down, spotting
02Recovery: safe rigging, winching and kinetic recovery
03Field repair: tires, fluids, electrical faults and improvised fixes
04Navigation and communication
05Wilderness first aid
How to choose a course
Small classes and real terrain.
01Ask about class size and how much time you spend driving rather than watching.
02Ask whether you train in your own vehicle. You should.
03Ask about the instructors' certification and how long they have been teaching.
04Ask what terrain the course uses, and what to bring.
Why it is worth it
A trained driver breaks less, gets stuck less and recovers more safely. Most vehicle damage on the trail comes from speed and poor line choice, and most recovery injuries come from rigging that someone guessed at.
Questions people ask
I have driven dirt roads for years. Is a course worth it?
Most experienced drivers say the recovery day alone was worth it. Rigging a winch pull safely is not something to work out for the first time when you are stuck.
Do I need a built vehicle to attend?
No. Most introductory courses are designed for stock four-wheel-drive vehicles, and learning what a stock vehicle can do is the point.
How high is Wyoming?
From Sheridan at 3,748 feet to Gannett Peak at 13,804.
Altitude decides what your engine, your brakes and your lungs have to work with, and how late in the year the passes open.
2,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,000
Feet above sea level
Towns
PinedaleSouth end of the Wyoming Centennial Scenic Byway, on US 191 under the Wind River Range. BLM and Bridger-Teton offices.7,179 ft
LaramieOn I-80. Highway 130 runs 30 miles west to Centennial, where the Snowy Range Scenic Byway enters the forest.7,165 ft
KemmererBLM field office and a Bridger-Teton ranger district. The Big Spring Scenic Backway runs from here to Cokeville.6,955 ft
DuboisNorth end of the Wyoming Centennial Scenic Byway, on US 26/287 below Togwotee Pass. Shoshone National Forest district office.6,934 ft
RawlinsOn I-80. Its BLM field office manages the Seminoe to Alcova byway, which leaves the interstate at Sinclair, exit 219.6,796 ft
SaratogaWest end of the Snowy Range Scenic Byway. The Forest Service district office here covers the Sierra Madre and the west side of the Snowy Range.6,789 ft
Rock SpringsOn I-80 with a BLM field office. The road to the Killpecker Sand Dunes leaves US 191 to the north, and the BLM’s 24-mile Pilot Butte Wild Horse Scenic Tour starts here.6,388 ft
JacksonBase for Grand Teton. The highway north to Flagg Ranch is plowed all winter. The Forest Service says camping nearby often fills by late morning in summer.6,238 ft
CheyenneState capital, where I-25 crosses I-80. The BLM’s Wyoming State Office is here.6,092 ft
LanderAt the foot of the east slope of the Wind River Range. Shoshone National Forest district office and a BLM field office.5,356 ft
CasperBLM field office. The South Bighorn/Red Wall byway starts 13 miles northwest on US 20/26, and Alcova is 30 miles out on Highway 220.5,105 ft
CodyShoshone National Forest headquarters, about 50 miles from Yellowstone’s East Entrance. The Chief Joseph byway leaves Highway 120 sixteen miles north.5,000 ft
BuffaloEast end of the Cloud Peak Skyway, US 16, over Powder River Pass. Full services and a BLM field office.4,640 ft
WorlandHome of the BLM field office that manages Red Gulch/Alkali. Full services west of the Cloud Peak Skyway.4,065 ft
GreybullAll services for the Red Gulch/Alkali byway. The turnoff is 11 miles east on US 14.3,794 ft
SheridanFull services for the Big Horn Scenic Byway, US 14, which climbs west from Dayton to Granite Pass.3,748 ft
Passes, high roads and summits
Gannett PeakThe highest point in Wyoming, in the Wind River Range. No road to the top13,804 ft
Cloud PeakThe highest point in the Bighorn National Forest, by the forest’s figure13,167 ft
Medicine Bow PeakAbove Snowy Range Pass on Highway 13012,013 ft
Beartooth PassBeartooth Highway (US 212): Red Lodge, Montana, to Cooke City and Yellowstone’s Northeast Entrance, across the northwest corner of Wyoming10,947 ft
Snowy Range PassSnowy Range Scenic Byway (WYO 130): Centennial to Saratoga, across the Medicine Bow Mountains10,847 ft
Powder River PassCloud Peak Skyway (US 16): Buffalo to Ten Sleep, across the southern Bighorns9,666 ft
Togwotee PassUS 26/287 between Dubois and Moran Junction, on the Wyoming Centennial Scenic Byway9,658 ft
Granite PassTop of the Big Horn Scenic Byway, US 14 between Shell and Dayton9,033 ft
Pass, road and summit elevations are the figures published by the agency that manages them. Town elevations are the town’s or county’s own
figure where it publishes an exact one; the rest are from the U.S. Geological Survey (3D Elevation Program at the place’s official coordinates),
retrieved September 18, 2026. Every source is listed at the foot of the page.
