Red Canyon

Red Canyon is cooperatively managed by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, the State of Wyoming, the Bureau of Land Management and private landowners. , The spectacular orange and red sandstone formations you see here have been exposed through millions of years of erosion. The brilliant red color comes from concentrations of ferrous oxide, or iron, in the soil and stone. , These slopes are crucial winter range for elk. Over seven hundred elk use this area every winter. Sometimes it is possible to see several hundred elk on the open slopes to the west during winter months. , One of the main Indian trails through this region followed Red Canyon Creek in the valley below. Traces of the trail may still be seen on the face of the slope to the west. Mountain men used this same trail in the days of the rendezvous. Later, it became a wagon road and stagecoach route from South Pass City to Lander and Fort Washakie. The road was so steep that it was called the “Red Grade.”