Wind River RangeRange Type | Mountain range with well-recognized name | Highest Point | Gannett Peak (13,804 ft/4207 m) | Countries | United States | States/Provinces | Wyoming | Area | 7,060 sq mi / 18,286 sq km Area may include lowland areas | Extent | 133 mi / 214 km North-South 97 mi / 155 km East-West | Center Lat/Long | 42° 49' N; 109° 13' W | Map Link | Microsoft Bing Map | Search Engines - search the web for "Wind River Range": Wikipedia Search Microsoft Bing Search Google Search Yahoo Search
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The Wind River Range is quite possibly the single most dominant range of the hundred or so that make up the Rockies in the United States. Exceptionally long, wide, high, rugged, and remote, the Winds (as they are affectionately known) are little known outside of the hiking and mountaineering communities, but to many they are clearly the quintessential Rocky mountain range.
The Wind River Mountains run for 90 miles in a straight line due northwest-southeast in west-central Wyoming. They are only connected to other mountains at their northwest end, and all along their length they rise directly from expansive flatlands. The Continental Divide runs along the entire crest of the range.
One of the most striking thing about the Winds is their remoteness. No roads cross the range, and in most places the crest is over twenty miles from the nearest trailhead. There are no National Parks or famous landmarks to draw the hordes of tourists that descend on nearby Yellowstone, so even though parts of the range can be somewhat crowded with backpackers and climbers in summer, there are almost no casual tourists or R.V. campers clogging the very few roads and towns.
The Winds are also the highest range in the Rockies outside of Colorado, with about 40 peaks over 13,000 feet, including Gannett Peak (13,804'), Wyoming's highest. Unlike the Colorado ranges, the Winds, owing to their more northerly location, harbor extensive glaciers, especially in the northern part of the range, where all but one of the thirteeners rise. Though not large by world or Mount Rainier standards, they give the Winds a decidedly more alpine character than perhaps any other Rocky Mountain Range south of Canada.
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Map of Wind River Range Click on red triangle icons for links to other ranges.
Note: Range borders shown on map are an approximation and are not authoritative. Click Here for a Full Screen Map
| Other Ranges: To go to pages for other ranges either click on the map above, or on range names in the hierarchy snapshot below, which show the parent, siblings, and children of the Wind River Range. | |
Major Peaks of the Wind River RangeTen Highest Peaks | Rank | Peak Name | ft | m | Range5 | 1. | Gannett Peak | 13,804 | 4207 | Northern Wind River Range | 2. | Fremont Peak | 13,745 | 4189 | Northern Wind River Range | 3. | Mount Warren | 13,722 | 4182 | Northern Wind River Range | 4. | Mount Helen | 13,620 | 4151 | Northern Wind River Range | 5. | Doublet Peak | 13,600 | 4145 | Northern Wind River Range | 6. | Turret Peak | 13,600+ | 4145+ | Northern Wind River Range | 7. | Mount Sacagawea | 13,569 | 4136 | Northern Wind River Range | 8. | Jackson Peak | 13,517 | 4120 | Northern Wind River Range | 9. | Mount Woodrow Wilson | 13,502 | 4115 | Northern Wind River Range | 10. | Bastion Peak | 13,494 | 4113 | Northern Wind River Range | Sub-peaks are excluded from this list. List may not be complete, since only summits in the PBC Database are included. |
Photos of Peaks in the Wind River RangeGannett Peak
 The summit snowfield of Gannett Peak looks like a cloud in this view from Dinwoody Pass (1992-09). | Fremont Peak
 Fremont, Jackson, and Titcomb Basin peaks from the south shore of Island Lake (2014-09-02). Photo by Alex Lennon. Click here for larger-size photo. | Mount Warren
 Mount Warren dominates this view of the icy grandeur of the Dinwoody Glacier area of the Wind River Range, perhaps the most ruggedly alpine area of the U.S. Rockies (1992-09). | Mount Helen
 Mount Helen and its northwest face, from Titcomb Basin (1992-09). | Turret Peak
 Turret Peak, one of the most challenging Wyoming 13ers, seen from the summit of Mount Koven, the other beast of the Dinwoody - Eli Boardman, sunlitsummit.com (2020-06-27). Photo by Eli Boardman. Click here for larger-size photo. | Mount Sacagawea
 Mount Sacagawea seen from the ridge connecting it to Mount Helen above Titcomb Basin - Eli Boardman, sunlitsummit.com (2020-07-12). Photo by Eli Boardman. Click here for larger-size photo. | Jackson Peak
 Fremont, Jackson, and Titcomb Basin peaks from the south shore of Island Lake (2014-09-02). Photo by Alex Lennon. Click here for larger-size photo. | Mount Woodrow Wilson
 Mount Woodrow Wilson as seen from Pinnacle Ridge; the Gannett Glacier is in the sun on the left, and the Mammoth Glacier is on the right - Eli Boardman, sunlitsummit.com (2020-07-27). Photo by Eli Boardman. Click here for larger-size photo. | Bastion Peak
 Bastion Peak (center bump is highpoint) as seen from the summit of Mount Koven at sunrise - Eli Boardman, sunlitsummit.com (2020-06-27). Photo by Eli Boardman. Click here for larger-size photo. | Mount Febbas
 Mount Febbas is the terminus of Horse Ridge, separated from Sunbeam by Blaurock Pass - Eli Boardman, sunlitsummit.com (2020-07-26). Photo by Eli Boardman. Click here for larger-size photo. |
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