You Must See Wyoming’s Red Desert – It’s AMAIZING!

As many articles before this one have said, if you want to explore and know a place like Wyoming, you have to get off the main highways.

For this adventure, let's see some of the highlights of the southern part of Wyoming's RED DESERT.

The Red Desert is a vast, untamed high-desert ecosystem spanning roughly 9,320 square miles in the southern part of the state. Famous as one of the largest unfenced landscapes in the Lower 48, it offers sweeping badlands, massive migrating sand dunes, and abundant wildlife.

Riding with some friends, we began by turning off I-80 at Point of Rocks, which is a prominent landmark and historical site located on Interstate 80 in Sweetwater County, Wyoming, approximately 25 miles east of Rock Springs at Exit 130.

CAUTION: The backroads north of here will become primitive dirt and gravel. A high-clearance 4WD vehicle is strongly recommended. Also, pick up a paper map of the Red Desert area. You will not have cell service or GPS out here.

We headed north on State Road 15 until it ran out of pavement. Around the big old power plant we went. Watch the signs here; it can get confusing. At some point, the road split, and we took 17 toward the Killpecker Sand Dunes.

To the right loomed the impressive Black Butte. You'll wonder how that got there. Black Butte is an 8,097-foot landmark towering over the landscape and sitting on the floor of an ancient sea.

Killpecker Sand Dunes in southwest Wyoming are one of the world's largest active dune fields, spanning 109,000 acres. Located about 32 miles north of Rock Springs, this remote, fee-free area offers towering 100-foot slopes perfect for sandboarding, off-roading, and wildlife viewing. Here is a chance to use some state-run toilets and then watch riders bounce their vehicles across the sand.

Off to the west, we spotted Boar's Tusk. A striking 400-foot volcanic neck rising out of the landscape. Formed from a dormant, 2.5-million-year-old volcano, this rare geological formation stands on the edge of the Killpecker Sand Dunes. Make sure to dive out there and take a slow drive around it.

The road to and around the Tusk is rough going for your average automobile. Even if you are in something more rugged, dive easily.

It is 100% worth taking the slow drive around this thing. We did it twice.

From there, we continued south on 17 until we found the sign for the White Mountain Petroglyphs Site, which averages 12 thousand visitors per year.

It is a short and BEAUTIFUL walk from the parking area to the petroglyphs. I highly recommend it.

The location is part of a cultural landscape that is culturally important to four Native American tribes, featuring rock art panels dating back 200+ years.

This is a fee-free site.

Access from the parking area is a steep walking path 2/3 mile long.

There is so much more to explore in the Red Desert. But there is too much to do in one day. This guide should get you started.