Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
For Nordic skiers, the
Casper Mountain Trails Center
(9301 S. Circle Dr. on Casper
Mountain, 307/237-5014,
www.natronacounty-wy.gov
, sunrise-10pm daily, $10 day pass)
offers 42 kilometers of groomed trails for both classical and skate skiers, in addition to a
1.2-kilometer lighted loop. There are an additional 30 miles of backcountry and snowshoe
trails in the area as well.
For equipment rentals for just about any sport in any season, head to
Mountain Sports
(543 S. Center St., 307/266-1136,
www.wyomap.com/mtnsports.html
).
Rock Climbing
As Casper's status among outdoor junkies continues to climb, rock climbing is another
of the region's well-known offerings.
Fremont Canyon
(
www.fremontcanyon.com
)
has
world-class granite climbing for people of all ability levels, with cliffs ranging 40-400-plus
feet. To get to the canyon, which overlooks Alcova Reservoir, head south from Casper on
Highway 220 to the town of Alcova; the canyon is 10 miles farther south, accessed by the
Fremont Canyon Bridge.
To practice or to get information on other area climbs, visit Casper's in-town climbing
gym,
5150 Rock Gym
(408 N. Beverly St., 307/337-2166).
Fishing
Fishing in the cold waters of the North Platte River is something of a comeback story.
Around the turn of the 20th century, the North Platte was known as one of the great trout
fisheries of the West; as an example, a celebration in Saratoga in 1907, known as the Rail-
road Days Celebration and Fish Fry, required more than 3,000 fish to be caught in two days
to feed visitors. The river was thick with trout, and anglers flocked to the area to catch them.
As industrialization spread across the country, feedlots and oil refineries increasingly dot-
ted the landscape and polluted the North Platte until it was nearly uninhabitable. Only in
the last 15-20 years have sweeping measures been taken to restore the river, an effort that
has, by all accounts, been enormously successful. In fact,
American Angler
magazine voted
the Grey Reef section of the North Platte River the number one big fishery in the world in
2005. The area is widely considered the best rainbow trout tailwater in the Lower 48. The
largest trout caught in the North Platte, in the fabled Grey Reef section, was a 22-pound
brown trout. The average rainbows in this river weigh upwards of 5 pounds and measure 16
to 20 inches.
Today, in part because of its shallow depth and slow current, the river can be fished
for hundreds of miles, and anglers can expect to see the noses of rainbows, browns, Snake
River cutthroats, walleye, and the occasional cutbow, a rainbow-cutthroat hybrid.
