Saratoga is in southern Wyoming, only about 40 minutes from Colorado. The North Platte River runs through it, which is a Blue Ribbon trout fishing location. For us, it was all about the moose. From Dubois, Wyoming to Saratoga is was about a 3.5 hour drive.
Saratoga, Wyoming
Less than 2,000 people live here. The downtown is somewhat revitalized with a few shops, restaurants and bars. They have free public natural hot springs, which we checked out, but the temperatures were around 110-116F and the outside temperatures were above 90F, so too hot for us.
Hotel Wolf, Saratoga, Wyoming
The Hotel Wolf is a 2 story Victorian hotel that opened in 1883. It is still a hotel that offers fine dining and has a saloon, but no air conditioning. We went for lunch. Cold beers and sandwiches were good on a hot day.
Bella’s Bistro, Saratoga
Bella’s is a delicious Italian restaurant that also didn’t have ac, just fans on a 90F day.
Lazy River Cantina, Saratoga
It was recently reopened. What we like about this bar is that it’s where the locals eat. They had great prices, are open most days of the week, no reservations required, and they had ac! The crab dip was amazing.
Deer Haven RV Park, Saratoga, Wyoming
Deer Haven RV Park had 50-amp electric, good water pressure, sewer and marginal internet. Our Verizon data varied depending on the time of the day. It is a small RV park. The sites were very tight and there were too many vehicles and people at each site. Just to back in and pullout of our site we had to have people move trucks and ATVs to clear a path. Nearby there was a sawmill that started work at 7am on weekdays. Our site backed up to the North Platte River.
Each day we saw something different. A huge bull moose less than 50 yards aways crossed the river and took his time in the morning sun.
A small buck crossed the river too.
We were treated to a few good sunsets. Osprey fished the river, but we couldn’t get a good photo of them.
Medicine Bow National Forest
It encompasses over 1 million acres and was created in 1902. There’s even a chapel in the woods.
Snowy Range
The Snowy Range pass is at 10,847 feet. Medicine Bow Peak is the highest in the Snowy Range at 12,013 feet. It is a very scenic mountain range that gets very little tourism. Even though there are black bear, there aren’t any grizzlies, so camping and hiking are fairly safe.
The mountains are stunning. We went on a few short hikes which Jake really enjoyed, since this is National Forest and he can go on the hiking trails.
We came across a female moose, but struggled to get a good photo of her.
Returning the next day, in hopes of a better photo, we came across three bull moose. They were all standing in deep brush. Eventually, an obnoxious driver came by with a barking dog scaring the moose. Well, it did help with the photos, but we weren’t happy about it.
On the way back there we saw deer, pronghorn, and a coyote.
A windmill and an old wagon depicting Wyoming in days gone by.
