Elkhorn Trail
- 16.4 mi
- round trip
- 4,020 ft
- climb
- 8,794 ft
- high point
- Out and back
- route
- Jun–Sep
- best months
Elkhorn Trail is a hard out-and-back hike in Wyoming, about 4 miles from the town of Shell. The route stretches roughly 16 miles, with a total elevation gain of about 4,000 feet, carrying hikers from a low point of about 4,700 feet to a high of about 8,800 feet. Summer is the most comfortable time to go. Typical averages from a nearby weather station at Burgess Junction, which sits a few hundred feet lower than the trail's high point, show July highs around 71°F with lows near 42°F, while winter highs stay in the low 30s. The Dry Horse Trail starts just 0.1 mile away, and Beaver Creek offers canoeing about 3 miles off. Shell Bench and the Sunlight Cutoff are both within about 4 miles.
- Dry Horse TrailHiking0.1 mi
- nullHiking3.1 mi
- Beaver CreekCanoeing3.2 mi
- SUNLIGHT CUTOFFHiking4 mi
- Shell BenchHiking5.1 mi
- BeefHiking5.7 mi
Shell CreekCanoeingPhoto: Clayton B. Fraser, Public domain (via Wikimedia Commons)6.1 mi- ElkhornHiking7 mi
Source: Roamze catalog (indexable pages within 10 miles, PostGIS distance)
HUDSON CREEKHiking · ~19 min drivePhoto: Bas van Oorschot, CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)- Dry Horse TrailHiking · ~5 min drive
- nullHiking · ~5 min drive
- ElkhornHiking · ~12 min drive
Prune CreekHiking · ~34 min drivePhoto: David Haile, CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)- Shell BenchHiking · ~9 min drive
- Grouse CreekHiking · ~13 min drive
- SUNLIGHT CUTOFFHiking · ~7 min drive
- BeefHiking · ~10 min drive
- West ForkHiking · ~26 min drive
Best time to visit Elkhorn Trail
Best months: June–September. Best months have typical highs of 55–85 °F, lows of 30 °F or warmer (32 °F where the station doesn't record snow), at most one snowy day and no more than 12 wet days.
Jan
30° / 8°
Feb
29° / 7°
Mar
35° / 13°
Apr
41° / 18°
May
50° / 28°
Jun
61° / 35°
Jul
71° / 42°
Aug
70° / 41°
Sep
61° / 33°
Oct
46° / 23°
Nov
36° / 15°
Dec
29° / 8°
Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Burgess Junction, WY, 17.5 mi away at 8,060 ft. The station sits about 700 ft lower than this place, so expect it a little cooler here. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.
Map and trail data © OpenStreetMap contributors
