Medicine Wheel Passage is 47 miles west of Sheridan in north-central Wyoming. It follows a 27-mile segment of US 14A, a two-lane paved road suitable for all vehicles. Medicine Wheel Passage is usually open May to mid-November.
The Medicine Wheel Passage scenic byway provides an alternate route for those traveling the Bighorn scenic byway. It also provides an excuse to complete the other scenic drive and then make your way around to drive this byway. As with the sister scenic byway, Medicine Wheel takes you through the beautiful scenery known as the Bighorn Mountains. The mountains are covered with lodgepole pine, alpine fir, Engelmann spruce, and ponderosa pine.
A large parking area adjacent to the byway at Bald Mountain provides breathtaking views of the northern Bighorn Mountains. Be sure you have enough film in your camera. This area marks the center of gold mining activity during the late 1880s. To the northeast are the remains of Bald Mountain City, a gold mining ghost town.
Not far from the Bald Mountain overlook is Medicine Wheel National Historic Landmark. Believed to have been built by prehistoric Indians, this giant wheel is made of limestone slabs and boulders. It measures 245 feet in circumference. This wheel is recognized by Native Americans as a sacred site. The reason for its construction remains a mystery. If you want to continue exploring this area, find FSR 11/14. It will take you to the trailhead for Bucking Mule Falls National Recreation Trail. The trail is eleven miles long but the first three will take you to a viewpoint of the thundering Bucking Mule Falls.
Camping opportunities along this stretch of US 14A are not as extensive as its sister byway, the Bighorn. North Tongue has eleven sites while Bald Mountain provides fifteen.