May 27, 2022 |
In time for Memorial Day travel, the upper portion of the Snowy Range Road opened for the season Thursday morning. The gate to WYO 130 swung opened to summer driving around 9:00 a.m. yesterday.
WYDOT crews from as far away as Casper and Cheyenne assisted the local Saratoga and Laramie crews open the 12 mile stretch from above Ryan Park on the west slope to Green Rock Trailhead on east side.
A new WYDOT web cam at Green Rock shows the snow has melted from near the highway and along sun-exposed hill sides. The road is dry through the stretch depicted by three different camera views at mile marker 33.9. Snow is still visible in the tree stands.
A release from WYDOT about the opening reports that highway crews cleared drifts of snow as tall as 15-feet. In some years the drifts have reached 20-feet high and more, stretching for much of the 12-miles of 130 past Libby Flats and Lake Marie that closes each winter season.
WYDOT reminds motorists that severe winter storms are still possible across the top of Snowy Range, which reaches an elevation of 10,800 feet at its highest point near the observation area.
The state highway department strives to open the Snowy Range in time for Memorial Day Weekend each year. This is the latest it’s opened in the last six years. With the recent stormy weather on top, traffic began moving five days later than last year. The earliest WYO 130 opened in the last six years was on May 18 in 2020.
No matter the date, it’s always welcome news when the Snowy Range opens for the season. WYO 70 over Battle Pass, the other scenic byway in Carbon County, opened earlier this week.
Enjoy the ride and the views!
Pictured above: WYO 130 through the Snowy Range, photo released May 26, 2022. Photo courtesy WYDOT.
