As we were scouting places to live near Cheyenne, Wyoming, we took the opportunity to ask some locals where we could find great hikes nearby.

One recommendation that piqued our interest was the Pole Mountain area of Medicine Bow National Forest, which is about 35 minutes west of Cheyenne. The 55,000-acre area has countless trails available for hiking, biking and horse-back riding (sometimes all the same trail!) as well as many other outdoor activities.

We set out on a sunny morning to complete the Pole Mountain Loop. Our hike ended up clocking in at 5.8 miles roundtrip with 726 feet of gain and a max elevation of 8,951 feet.

After reading some reviews on AllTrails, we decided to tackle the loop counterclockwise so we’d be handling the steeper sections going up rather than going down. Harder on the heart but easier on the knees!

We parked by a couple other cars on the road, crossed over some fencing and were well on our way. We didn’t encounter anyone on our hike to the summit – just blue skies for miles and the Rocky Mountains in the distance.

On the way down, we came across multiple people on bikes as well as a set of three individuals on horseback.

When you encounter others on the trail, the posted rule is that everyone defers to those on horseback, and bikes defer to hikers. I would say everyone we saw complied with the former, but the bikes were definitely not getting out of our way and we were jumping off the trail more than I would have liked. Please follow the rules so we can all enjoy this beautiful outdoor space!

We kept checking the posted signs and Gaia to make sure we were actually circling back to our car – there were countless other trails we intersected along the way. Ample opportunities for exploring more of Medicine Bow National Forest and Pole Mountain, especially as the seasons change. We’ll definitely be back!