ttora4runner
Expedition Leader
Back in 2009 Kurt (Cruiseroutfitters) posted up an article and trip report by kcwyo on Kirwin, Wyoming. The article and trip report got me interested in the area heck in ghost towns in general and that year I made my first trip to Ouray, Colorado to check out that area. Fast forward to 2013 and I’m now in Wyoming for a job assignment. With it being Memorial Day weekend being a three day weekend I started to make some plans on where to go. The original plan was to hit up Kirwin and Morrison Jeep trail over by Cody Wyoming but due to the recent weather I wasn’t sure either route would be open.
So I made alternate plans to hit up Atlantic City and South Pass City just south of Lander Wyoming. A couple of days before the trip I made a call to the forest service to see if the route back to Kirwin was open and to my delight it was. So my plans changed and morfied into a combination of the two plans, I would hit up Kirwin and the Sinks Canyon State Park on Saturday then on Sunday hit up Atlantic City and South Pass city before heading on back.
Saturday morning came with an early wake-up call to finish packing and letting my parents know where I was heading in case things went sour on the trip. Yes, I’ll admit that I’m 31 and still report back to my parents where I’m at since I do a lot of solo trips and really have no one to let know where I’m at in case something happens. The trip to the trail head at Kirwin was uneventful minus seeing a moose and saying screw it to Mapquest directions since they were way off.
The view at the beginning of the trial.
The road back to Kirwin starts as a dirt/gravel road than shown enters a old glacier moraine (I believe that’s the right term)/creek bed with three separate crossings with the third crossing being the deepest. There is a forth crossing later on but it’s minor.
Kirwin in the back ground tucked within the trees.
As you near the end of the trail to pass a couple of old structures and the forest service kiosk and outhouse. The trail ends shortly after at a gate that is for forest service use only and access to four different hiking trails further up. After crossing a small bridge you enter a meadow and into the Kirwin townsite. Most of the remaining structures are boarded off or locked to prevent entry, however there are a few structures that you are still able to enter.
So I made alternate plans to hit up Atlantic City and South Pass City just south of Lander Wyoming. A couple of days before the trip I made a call to the forest service to see if the route back to Kirwin was open and to my delight it was. So my plans changed and morfied into a combination of the two plans, I would hit up Kirwin and the Sinks Canyon State Park on Saturday then on Sunday hit up Atlantic City and South Pass city before heading on back.
Saturday morning came with an early wake-up call to finish packing and letting my parents know where I was heading in case things went sour on the trip. Yes, I’ll admit that I’m 31 and still report back to my parents where I’m at since I do a lot of solo trips and really have no one to let know where I’m at in case something happens. The trip to the trail head at Kirwin was uneventful minus seeing a moose and saying screw it to Mapquest directions since they were way off.
The view at the beginning of the trial.
The road back to Kirwin starts as a dirt/gravel road than shown enters a old glacier moraine (I believe that’s the right term)/creek bed with three separate crossings with the third crossing being the deepest. There is a forth crossing later on but it’s minor.
Kirwin in the back ground tucked within the trees.
As you near the end of the trail to pass a couple of old structures and the forest service kiosk and outhouse. The trail ends shortly after at a gate that is for forest service use only and access to four different hiking trails further up. After crossing a small bridge you enter a meadow and into the Kirwin townsite. Most of the remaining structures are boarded off or locked to prevent entry, however there are a few structures that you are still able to enter.