Limestone Mtn Rd s(u) by Bicycle - Velo

This is a two way summit with an optional out and back to the top of Limestone Mountain. The two way summit has two very different approaches. One is a good, fast gravel road with enough matriculated rocks to be usable in pretty much any weather. The options on the other side either dead end or in the best case lead back to pavement to form a loop, using barely used, hardly rideable, difficult to walk ranching tracks in many places.

1.START-END SOUTH:jct Wy28 - lower end of Red Canyon Rd
2.jct Wy28 - upper end of Red Canyon Rd
3.profile turns right onto Limestone Mtn Rd
4.TOP, 8810ft
5.jct Limestone Mtn Rd - FR326
6.FR326 s(u) of Little Popo Agie River
7.jct indistinct trail - Red Canyon Rd
8.START - END NORTH: jct Wy28 - Red Canyon Rd

Approaches

From South. The profile includes about 2/3 of the paved southern approach to South Pass. On a first ride up here, one is tempted to to believe that the turnoff onto signed Limestone Mountain Road is actually at the top of South Pass.

It is not. Continuing on Limestone Road, a gradual steady climb on well matriculated, somewhat rocky gravel road quickly exposes the error of the initial assumption. From up here you can see clearly that Wy28 too keeps on climbing to about the same elevation. Any vistas of peaks in the high Wind River Range are very limited. A turnoff up to the top of Limestone Mountain, labeled as some sort of parking area, looks much more promising in that department. Two of the pictures on this page are from that road, but only a few hundred feet distant from the junction with the profiled Limestone Mtn Rd. The road summits at a traverse in the trees.

From North. (described downwards) A fast descent leads into a forested basin, surrounded by picturesque distant cliffs and forests on three sides. The reason for this relatively good surface ( a litte bumpy maybe- very comparable to the European cobblestone experience) soon becomes obvious. A private road leads to closed off developments: Pass Creek Rd. The large, bleak modern houses can be seen from a distance. The backcountry road seems to peter out at a real estate investment site.

After this the profiled road surface takes a big dive, figuratively speaking The next jct is only labeled with two numbers: FR353 going north and downhill or FR326, heading direction somewhat closer to pavement and civilization. FR353 descents to a low point at a crossing of the Little Popo Agie River. There is no bridge, but in September the water is not very high. I have not tried the trail that attempts to climb out of this basin on the south side, but it looks like it might take forever.

The decent down to the Little Popo Agie is not included in the profile, but it is part of the loop in the dayride below. The profile climbs up the next summit on the original gravel road at the jct to FR326. The description continues on that page.

Dayride with this point as highest summit:

( < Green Mtn Rd - Mine Acess Rd(sh) | FR300 Louis Lake Rd s(u) > )

Limestone Mtn Rd s(u) , FR326 s(u) : upper jct of Red Canyon Rd - Wy28 > up Wy28 > up Limestone Mtn Rd > Limestone Mtn Rd s(u) > jct FR352 - FR326 <> out and back down FR352 << turnaround point at lowest point where it crosses Little Popo Agie River > FR326 north > FR326 s(u) > FR326 north > down unmarked track some distance north of canyon of Little Popo Agie River > Red Canyon Rd north > Wy28 south back to starting point at upper jct of Red Canyon Rd - Wy28: 36.5miles with 4570ft of climbing in 5:51hrs (garmin etrex32 23.09.06)
Notes: I don't remember 36 miles being this hard. But admittedly, there was a strong headwind on the way back up Wy28 towards South Pass, and coming down FR326 s(u) involved a lot of walking.