Albany: Granite, Trails and Culture

Albany offers plenty of ways to shape your trip: granite formations and trails in nature, a scenic route, as well as museums and historic buildings. You can focus your stay on outdoor activities or take time to explore art, science and railroad history.

Granite landscapes and walking trails

Vedauwoo is a group of spectacular granite rock formations rising from the thin soils of Pole Mountain. The Turtle Rock Trail leads from the Vedauwoo campground through several rock formations. Along the way, it passes meadows, streams, beaver ponds and wooded areas—a varied route for anyone who enjoys spending time outdoors. Separately, the Box Canyon Trail in Vedauwoo is fully accessible to people with disabilities.

Laramie also offers opportunities to get outdoors: Laramie River Greenbelt Park stretches for 5.75 miles and includes the Laramie River Greenbelt Trailhead, as well as a trail for walking and jogging. Fishing is possible in the river. If you’d rather spend the day fishing at a reservoir, you can fish for rainbow trout and kokanee salmon at Granite Reservoir in Curt Gowdy State Park.

Mountain biking and scenery along a route

For mountain bikers, Curt Gowdy State Park has a 35-mile trail network. The trails run through granite rock, canyons, highlands and forest. In the same park, the amphitheater is available for concerts, theatrical productions and other cultural events, so nature and cultural attractions each have their own place there.

The Snowy Range Scenic Byway crosses the Medicine Bow Mountain Range and provides access to picnic areas, campgrounds, hiking trails, fishing spots and scenic viewpoints. Medicine Bow Peak lies directly beside the byway and reaches an elevation of 12,014 feet. The route and the distinctive summit offer different ways to take in the landscape: you can follow the course of the road or look to the mountain’s elevation. From Laramie, take Interstate 80 east to Vedauwoo Road, Exit 329, to reach Vedauwoo.

Prison museum and railroad history

The Wyoming Territorial Prison is now a museum where visitors can walk through the building and discover the stories behind the prison walls. The visit includes the prison building, the Prison Industries Building and the Warden’s House. The Wyoming Territorial Prison is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Ames Monument highlights architecture and railroad history. The 60-foot-high granite pyramid was completed in 1882 by the Union Pacific Railroad Company and designed by architect Henry Hobson Richardson. It stands at an elevation of 8,247 feet, on the highest point of the original transcontinental railroad route. The Historic Laramie Union Pacific Train Depot also tells the story of the railroad company’s former presence in Laramie: it is the only building of the company’s that remains there. The Laramie Plains Museum is housed in a historic residence on the grounds of the Ivinson Mansion. Hynds Lodge in Curt Gowdy State Park is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Museums, collections and events

The University of Wyoming Geological Museum has more than 60,000 fossil specimens and 50 holotypes. It also hosts the “Wyoming Rocks” and “Fossil Fish Festival” outreach events every fall and spring. Dates vary by season, so check the event dates if you’d like to plan your visit around them.

Admission to the University of Wyoming Art Museum is free. The museum presents and collects art and offers programs that encourage students and visitors to exchange ideas about different perspectives, points of view and cultures. The Annual Juried University of Wyoming Student Exhibition takes place every spring. For other cultural perspectives, the Anthropology Museum displays materials from Indigenous cultures of the Great Plains, Rocky Mountains, Southwest and Arctic.

Nature can also be explored in different ways: the Williams Conservatory is home to more than 600 tropical, neotropical, temperate and arid plant species and provides space to learn about plant biodiversity, ecology and sustainable practices. Group tours are also available. The University of Wyoming’s Harry C. Vaughan Planetarium offers another focus, with live and interactive shows.

Discover more destinations: Laramie, Buford, Sweetwater County, Big Horn, Fremont County, Carbon, Natrona, Weston County.

For the full travel overview: Wyoming.