Rainbow Lake Trail
- 0.7 mi
- round trip
- 98 ft
- climb
- 9,244 ft
- high point
- Out and back
- route
- Jun–Aug
- best months
Caution at last check
Agency alerts are in effect for this area; weather is good · USFS, OpenWeather · checked 17 h ago
Is Rainbow Lake Trail open right now?
Alert in the area
The Forest Service lists an alert for Shoshone National Forest.
Morrison Jeep Trail
Agency alert covering Shoshone National Forest · USFS · Shoshone National Forest
As of · Source: USFS · Shoshone National Forest. Agencies don't list every closure — check before you go.
Rainbow Lake Trail is a short, easy out-and-back hike in Wyoming's Shoshone National Forest, within the Wind River Ranger District. The trail is about 0.7 miles long, with a low point of 9,151 feet and a high of 9,244 feet, so the climb is gentle, about 100 feet of elevation gain one way. The Forest Service manages the land, and the trail is open year-round. It is a natural-surface route, and both horses and bikes are allowed. Summer is the most comfortable time to go. Typical averages from a nearby weather station at Darwin run to highs around 72°F in July, with lows near 35°F. That station sits about 1,050 feet lower than the trail, so temperatures on the trail run cooler. Nearby, Sublette Pass is about 1.3 miles away and Bonneville Cutoff about 1.7 miles. Pinnacles Campground and Brooks Lake Campground are both within about 3 miles.
Local outfitters
- Swift Creek Outfitters24 mi away
- The Virginian RV Park44 mi away
Not on Roamze yet. Their page has how to reach them.
- Sublette PassHiking1.3 mi
- Bonneville CutoffHiking1.7 mi
- Bonneville TrailHiking1.8 mi
- Pinnacles CampgroundCamping2.7 mi
Brooks Lake CampgroundCampingPhoto: Viplav Valluri, CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)2.8 mi- South Buffalo ForkCanoeing6.2 mi
- Falls CampgroundCampingPhoto: Viplav Valluri, CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)6.4 mi
- West Du Noir CreekCanoeing7.1 mi
Source: Roamze catalog (indexable pages within 10 miles, PostGIS distance)
- Sublette PassHiking · ~2 min drive
- Bonneville CutoffHiking · ~3 min drive
- Sublette Mountain CDT AlternateHiking · ~5 min drive
- Jade Lake TrailHiking · ~4 min drive
- Bonneville TrailHiking · ~3 min drive
- Pinnacles TrailHiking · ~6 min drive
- Wolf Creek TrailHiking · ~13 min drive
- South Fork TrailHiking · ~3 min drive
- Cub Creek Canyon TrailHiking · ~6 min drive
- Spruce CreekHiking · ~14 min drive
Also worth it near here
- Brooks Lake CampgroundCamping · ~5 min drivePhoto: Viplav Valluri, CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
Breccia PeakSummit · ~5 min drivePhoto: Cactus26, CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)- South Fork FallsWaterfall · ~9 min drive
Wind RiverCanoeing · ~17 min drivePhoto: Original uploader was Billy Hathorn at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
Best time to visit Rainbow Lake Trail
Best months: June–August. 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
26° / -6°
9 wet
Feb
29° / -4°
9 wet
Mar
36° / 5°
10 wet
Apr
43° / 16°
10 wet
May
54° / 26°
11 wet
Jun
64° / 32°
10 wet
Jul
72° / 35°
8 wet
Aug
71° / 34°
9 wet
Sep
62° / 28°
8 wet
Oct
48° / 19°
8 wet
Nov
35° / 6°
9 wet
Dec
25° / -5°
10 wet
Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Darwin Rch, WY, 27.2 mi away at 8,190 ft. The station sits about 1,100 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.
