Platte River Wilderness
| Platte River Wilderness | |
|---|---|
 The North Platte River looking southwest toward Six Mile Gap. | |
  Location within Wyoming  Location within Colorado  Location within the United States | |
| Location | Carbon / Albany counties, Wyoming / Jackson County, Colorado, USA |
| Nearest city | Rawlins, WY |
| Coordinates | 41°05′N 106°21′W / 41.083°N 106.350°W[1] |
| Area | 23,492 acres (95.07 km2) |
| Established | 1984 |
| Governing body | U.S. Forest Service |
The Platte River Wilderness is a 23,492-acre (95.07 km2) protected wilderness area within the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest. Split between southern Wyoming and northern Colorado, the Wilderness was designated in 1984 by the Wyoming Wilderness Act.[2] The Wyoming portion (22,749 acres) lies within Medicine Bow National Forest, while the Colorado section (743 acres) is in Routt National Forest; since 1995, these two areas have been administratively combined.[3][4][5][6]
Recreation
[edit]There are multiple types of recreation activities available, including camping and hiking, hunting, white-water rafting (the Northgate Canyon route runs through the area), and fishing.[7] The Wyoming Game and Fish Department considers the North Platte a blue ribon fishery for its entire length through the wilderness in Wyoming, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife has designated the North Platte in the Colorado section as a Gold Medal water.[8][9]
Mullen Fire
[edit]The conifer forests in the area were almost entirely consumed by the Mullen Fire in 2020.[10] Despite the extensive burn area, the resulting mosaic of burned and unburned areas created improved habitat for elk, mule deer, and bighorn sheep.[11]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Platte River Wilderness". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
- ↑ Sen. Wallop, Malcolm [R-WY (October 30, 1984). "Text - S.543 - 98th Congress (1983-1984): Wyoming Wilderness Act of 1983". www.congress.gov.
- ↑ "Platte River Wilderness". Wilderness.net. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
- ↑ "Platte River Wilderness". Public Lands Information Center. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
- ↑ "Platte River Wilderness Area". Colorado Wilderness. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
- ↑ "USGS Horatio Rock (WY, CO) Topo Map Quad" (map). TopoQuest. Retrieved June 30, 2008.
- ↑ "Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests & Thunder Basin National Grassland | Platte River Wilderness | Forest Service". Archived from the original on September 26, 2025. Retrieved September 8, 2026.
- ↑ "Stream categorization | Wyoming Game & Fish Department". wgfd.wyo.gov. Retrieved September 8, 2026.
- ↑ "Colorado Gold Waters – Colorado Gold Medal Waters". coloradogoldmedalwater.tu.org. Retrieved September 8, 2026.
- ↑ "Mullen Fire Information - InciWeb the Incident Information System". inciweb.nwcg.gov. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
- ↑ "Healing the hills | Wyoming Game & Fish Department". wgfd.wyo.gov. Retrieved September 8, 2026.
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- IUCN Category Ib
- Protected areas of Albany County, Wyoming
- Protected areas of Carbon County, Wyoming
- Protected areas of Jackson County, Colorado
- Wilderness areas of Wyoming
- Wilderness areas of Colorado
- Protected areas established in 1984
- Medicine Bow–Routt National Forest
- Routt National Forest
- 1984 establishments in Colorado
- 1984 establishments in Wyoming
- Wyoming geography stubs
- Colorado protected area stubs
- Colorado geography stubs
