Pilot Butte Wild Horse Scenic Tour in Wyoming
Wildlife Adventure and Eco Safari in Green River and Rock Springs
Jan 6, 2009
Beginning in Green River, the tour begins to ascend White Mountain as soon as vehicles turn onto Wild Horse Canyon Road. Wildlife can be seen along the roadside from this point forward. Traveling along the high plateau, visitors may see sage grouse, bull snakes, pygmy prairie ghost rattlesnakes, coyotes, pronghorn antelope, deer, desert elk, hawks and hopefully wild horses. Binoculars are recommended.
Wild horses can be seen running through the grass and sage, grazing or resting. There are over 5,000 wild horses in Sweetwater County. These horses have become accustomed to visitors, but are still wild. Visitors should view these animals from a safe distance. Wild stallions can be dangerous.
The tour offers several pull outs with excellent views of the rugged land below. The cities of Rock Springs and Green River can both be seen from the high plateau, as well as Pilot Butte, Boar’s Tusk, Killpecker Sand Dunes and more. Pilot Butte’s color coded appearance, darker on the south side, was used as a landmark to give direction to early settlers.
Visitors can begin the Pilot Butte Wild Horse Scenic Tour in either Green River or Rock Springs, following County Road 4-53. The tour takes about 1.5 hours to complete, for a total of 24 miles on gravel roads. The tour should be taken in early morning or late afternoon hours when wildlife is most visible.
High-clearance vehicles are recommended as the roads are graveled, and the county road is only maintained from May through October. Snow can last until June or July. Vehicles should be equipped with a full tank of gas and a spare tire, as well as emergency materials such as extra water, food, blankets and other materials. Cell phone reception can be limited.
Green River Wild Horse Tour & Eco Safari
Local tour guide, Rich Nobles, gives those on the self-guided tour a 50/50 chance of seeing wild horses, while visitors on his tour have a 100 percent chance of seeing horses. Nobles’ number one rule is to “have fun”. Rich Nobles has been giving his Green River Wild Horse Tour & Eco Safari for over 5 years. His “honest tour” gives guests both sides of the story, weaving history, biology, personal experience and knowledge, to give the real story of the wild horses.
His tour covered 70 miles, inaccessible to other vehicles with the exception of ATVs, getting closer to the wild horses than anyone else. The 10-passenger Austrian made, Pinzgauer is an all-terrain vehicle that visitors can trust, maneuvering up steep hills and over rocky roads. Nobles’ passion for the wild horses is clear, as he names his horses and keeps track of them on each tour. For more information on Rich's tour, contact the Green River Chamber of Commerce, at 800-FL-GORGE.
The Wild Horse of Wyoming
The wild horses in Wyoming are actually feral animals, or freed horses. Being a herd animal, freed horses easily go with the wild horse herds. The wild horses known as Mustangs, have been bred out in this area, as most of the wild horses here are Quarter horse or Thoroughbred crosses. Stallions are being reintroduced at White Mountain, to reduce the presence of inbreeding among the wild horses.
Because wild horse populations increase by 20-40 percent each year, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) conducts a census of populations, followed by a roundup of horses occurring several times a year. At White Mountain, the sustainable limit of wild horses is 250 head. Higher populations threaten the health of the wild horse. These gathered horses are then put up for adoption, with a 20 percent adoption rate, according to Rich Nobles. The rest of the horses go to the BLM corrals for care. Visitors can see the gathered wild horses year-round at the Wild Horse Viewing Area in Rock Springs.
For more information on the wild horse tour and other adventures in Sweetwater County Wyoming, contact the Sweetwater County Joint Travel and Tourism Board.
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