On the western side of the Wind River range, tiny well-to-do PINEDALE on US-191 offers unrivaled access to the mountains. Once a major logging center, it now attracts second-homeowners and hikers. The excellent Museum of the Mountain Man, 700 E Hennick Rd (May-Sept daily 10am-6pm; rest of year by appointment only; $4; tel 307/367-4102), commemorates the town’s role as a rendezvous for fur trappers in the 1830s.

A sixteen-mile road winds east from Pinedale past Fremont Lake to Elkhart Park, from where trails lead past beautiful Seneca Lake and along rugged Indian Pass to the glaciers and 13,000ft peaks; the Pinedale Ranger Station office at 29 Fremont Lake Rd (June-Aug Mon-Sat 8am-5pm; rest of year Mon-Fri 8am-5pm; tel 307/367-4326), can give information on good hiking routes.