Sheep Mountain, WY – Volunteer Vacation 2024

Providing access to explore over 25,000 acres of BLM-administered public lands, The Sheep Mountain Trail is a foot and horse trail that winds up an impressive box canyon to the top of Sheep Mountain. This area provides abundant recreational activities such as hiking, horseback riding, hunting, wildlife viewing, sightseeing and shed hunting. The ample amount of BLM-administered public lands, unique settings and resources, and its location make it an excellent recreation resource for travelers and the surrounding communities

The Sheep Mountain trail is a popular destination due to its desirable settings and its close proximity to Buffalo Bill State Park and along the popular US Highway 14 connecting Cody to Yellowstone National Park. Volunteers will work together to reroute two of the existing trails.The first reroute is located less than ½ mile from the trailhead and will provide a safer option and less grade for hikers and horseback riders then the existing trail. This reroute will be 600 total feet on a side slope with rolling contours to resist erosion. It will be built using full bench cut to create a solid, durable tread and may require grade reversals. The second reroute is 0.8 miles up the trail and will eliminate a steep grade with erosion issues. The reroute will require 1 to 2 switch backs with rock work and vegetation removal. The switchbacks will incorporate a landing or turning platform and have a rock retaining wall or a crib wall. Smaller spot upgrades and maintenance may also be done along the trail to include slough and berm work, water bars, grade reversals and vegetation removal. If time allows, the BLM would like to start construction on a new 1-mile section of proposed trail that would bring recreational users to a scenic overlook of Buffalo Bill Reservoir. Volunteers may drive or hike to the project site. The Sheep Mountain Trailhead is located less than 1 mile from the camping location.

During this trip, Sheep Mountain’s average high temperature is  75°, and average low temperature is 50°.

There is no experience needed to join a Volunteer Vacation! Your expert hosts will provide detailed instruction, tool demonstrations, and project oversight throughout the week. All you need is a willing attitude and to be in good physical condition to participate in moderate physical activity for approximately 6-8 hours a day with plenty of breaks, at your own pace. Find out more about what it’s like to join a Volunteer Vacation and other frequently asked questions here.

AHS acknowledges with gratitude that this project takes place on the traditional lands of the Newe Sogobia (Eastern Shoshone), Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla, Apsáalooke (Crow), Tséstho’e (Cheyenne), and Očhéthi Šakówiŋ peoples past and present. We honor the land itself, the Indigenous communities who have stewarded this land for generations, their deep and sacred connection to these lands, and those who continue to steward these lands today. We offer this land acknowledgement as the first of many steps to stand as an ally and amplify Indigenous voices. We invite the American Hiking Society community to join us through continued efforts to support Indigenous communities and learn more about the history of the lands on which we live, work and recreate.

Click here for a PDF of trip details.