Pinedale, WY - 14 Reasons Why it Should be Explored on Your Next Wyoming Adventure with Toddlers
This town, in our opinion, competes with Jackson! While Jackson is much larger, near a national park, and is well known, Pinedale, WY has some amazing offerings for hikes and activities, is far less crowded, and offers a lesser price-tag on restaurants and accommodations. Pinedale is at the base of the Wind River Range and is about 1.5 hours from Jackson, 6.5 hours from Denver, 2.75 hours from Idaho Falls, and 3.75 hours from Salt Lake. Here are our suggestions with toddlers along with a few other larger hikes we weren’t quite ready for with our toddlers, but would definitely suggest (and love feedback on) for older, seasoned hiking kids.
Sublette County Library
This library is seriously such a gem. It isn’t just a library - of course, there are tons of books - but this is a spot in town for events, a hang out even for the teens (with a separate entrance for scooters), a quaint courtyard, and it has a separate play space for the toddlers. Our kids rolled the shopping carts around, played with the kitchen, climbed in the tent, built Legos and Magnetiles, and more! There is a perfect mountain feel inside the building, great local photography and the employees are very kind.
Pinedale Aquatic Center
For such a small town this aquatic center is seriously impressive! There are two separate pools - one with lap swimming and another with a waterslide, lazy river, and shallow play area with a cool submarine and splash buckets for the littles. You are able to ride the slide with your littles if they are tall enough and the slide is super fast. We took both and I think it was a bit startling for our little one, but the big had the time of her life! This aquatic center also has a rock wall, fitness center including an indoor running lane and outdoor tennis and pickleball courts. Daily admission to all of these activities is super reasonable - for non-residents, the fees are $10/adults 19-59 years old, $4/youth 6-18 years old, $6/senior 60+ years old, and free for 5 and under and 75+.
Fremont Lake
Fremont Lake is gorgeous! We accessed the water at Sandy Beach nearby the Lakeside Lodge which also boasts a delicious looking meal on the water (though we didn’t make it there). The water is crystal clear and reminded me of Redfish Lake in Idaho. You can see to the bottom until the water drops quite deep. There are gorgeous views of the Wind River Range - pictures do not do it justice! We loved exploring on our paddleboards with our toddlers and they loved playing in the sand and making friends. While this lake was not super busy, it was the busiest of the lakes we recommend seeing while in this area. Don’t forget to stop at the overlooks - Fremont Lake overlook (before the lake), Fremont Overlook (towards the end of the lake), and Skyline Drive Overlook (beyond the lake and looking towards the Wind River Range).
Half Moon Lake
This lake is not quite as accessible as the Sandy Beach at Fremont Lake, but its another fun paddleboarding spot and we heard the fishing here is awesome. There is access at the Half Moon Campground or you can head to the Half Moon Trailhead and there is a little beach you may be able to get to yourself. If you opt to head towards the trailhead you’ll need to be prepared for off-road conditions. There is also a restaurant on this lake that looks like a nice spot for lunch and a drink with outdoor seating and games (we saw chess from the road), but we didn’t make it there. Provide your feedback in the comments if you’d recommend this restaurant for toddlers!
Willow Lake
We loved this little lake! We had it basically to ourselves! There are camping spots here but we only saw about two campers. We parked at a site and had a large private beach with a picnic table and great views (despite it being a bit hazy due to fires in July) to ourselves. The sand here was the most sand-like out of all the beaches in this area and the kids built a fun castle. There was a lot of cattle on the road on the way to this beach which caused us a slight delay but well worth the visit!
Sadly there was some broken glass here - so this is just our reminder to not bring glass to the beach and clean up after yourselves (or others if you have to). We always bring bags and grab trash if we see any - it’s fun to involve the kids - but this time, due to the glass, we kept them away.
Granite Hot Springs & Waterfall
Granite Hot Springs is a fun day trip from Pinedale! Google Maps says it is an hour and 15 minutes, but it took us longer as you travel 10 miles down a (reasonably kept) dirt road and we have a 22 ft long dually truck with rigid suspension. :p If you prepare your time, pack lunch, and push off nap an hour or so, this is such a fun morning with toddlers. There are actually two hot springs here. One is a concrete pool that is filled by the hot spring (and emptied daily) and the other is at the base of the waterfall.
The actual pool is at the end of the dirt road - you’ll park and walk across a small bridge up to it. The pool is $12/adult and $7/child using cash only. The water is reasonable for toddlers to soak for short durations, there are (very) light snacks offered, and clean restrooms/changing areas. The water is not chlorinated but is drained each night. They do display that bacteria could be present - we’ve been to many hot springs though and this pool felt very clean.
After visiting this pool, head to the waterfall and checkout the other hot springs. We stopped to see the waterfall, but our toddlers were ready to head home so we didn’t visit these hot springs. You’ll need to be prepared to cross the river and we had been told the water at these springs is quite hot. I still think that would have been a fun adventure in itself with our toddlers - please drop us a comment and let us know what you think if you’ve done it with your littles!
Green River Lake
Green River Lake is another adventure you’ll need to push off nap or encourage a nap in the car for! We highly recommend it though! Google Maps says this is an hour and 30 minutes, but is actually 18 miles down a dirt road so it can take much longer.
We opted to rent an ORV for this adventure - we never tried this and we decided we wanted to have a fun ride! It was SO FUN! You really have to try it! If you’ve never done it and are nervous to try with your toddlers - DON’T BE! The fact that it was a first time for all of us made it so much more memorable and the fact that cars also go down this road makes it a good first timer spot.
For around $400, we rented a four seater ORV from Bucky’s Outdoors. That pushed the budget a bit, but YOLO?! Bucky’s provides you with helmets (which aren’t required to be worn in Wyoming), a trailer to tow the ORV to the trailhead, and in our case, a hitch (as we tow a 5th wheel and don’t travel with a towing hitch). There is a large parking lot just as the road turns to dirt after Cora, WY.
We had a blast cruising down the dirt road with our toddlers in carseats, paddleboards strapped to the roof, and cooler packed! We were slightly nervous the kids would hate the wind, but even without a windshield they never complained (they sat a little low so I think they were well protected). The Green River parallels the dirt road and there are many beautiful spots to stop along the drive so plan on that.
Paddleboarding in this lake was one of my favorite spots ever - the views were insane (even with a bit of haze). The kids played with beach toys and Barbies and ate their snacks and lunches. We forgot our fly fishing gear, but saw a lot of people fishing and many guided fishing tours depart from here, so bring yours! Be sure to let your toddlers snooze in the ORV - ours totally passed out in their carseats!
Museum of the Mountain Men
This museum is a little tough with toddlers because there is a lot of things they naturally want to touch that say ‘no touching,’ but if you are prepared and pack yourself with patience, we’d definitely recommend a visit. Entrance to the museum is $10/adult (active military are free) and kids 12 and under are free. While my husband and I didn’t have a ton of time to read the exhibits, it definitely sparked an interest in both of us to explore further! It is so wild to picture life at that time and the journey’s of the men in the areas we are currently exploring - imagine being the first person to stumble across Old Faithful! While there is a lot of ‘no touching’ they really do try to create a fun environment for kids. Fort Nonsense, which is downstairs, has stuffies, clothes to dress up with, books, saddles to try out and several items the kids are welcome to touch. Upstairs, there is a movie playing about life during the time these folks were exploring and that also entertained our toddlers. The staff creates a friendly environment for them offering coins and bracelets upon exiting.
Sublette County Visitors Center
We always appreciate stepping into the local visitors center to get ideas, maps, tips and coupons for our location. The kids get excited because many times they have stamps, stickers, or other fun items. Our daughter loves putting these things in her beloved ‘treasure box’ and it becomes fun to reflect on later.
Wind River Brewery
We really enjoyed our evening at the Wind River Brewery! The staff was so sweet and accommodating to our toddlers and the environment is a lot of fun. We sat outside on the top deck and enjoyed the views of town and the breeze. The food was really great as were the beers.
Bomgaars
Living in an RV, we know there is always a need for a good hardware store and this one is not to be missed! While the Ace in Pinedale attached to Ripley’s grocery store is awesome, we definitely recommend heading out to Bomgaars if you can swing it (it’s about 10 minutes from town). The prices are phenomenal and they have so much stuff! They also sell a ton of DeWalt tools apparently so they offer great deals. We went to pick up a battery powered air compressor (we left ours with our rental home and we’ve regretted it since) and the tool came with a free battery and charger - an unreal deal! It was like 50% off! The staff also is extremely happy and helpful.
Pitchfork Fondue
This was such a fun Wyoming experience! Right by the rodeo grounds is a fenced area offering great views of the Wind River Range with pavilions and tables. They create a fun environment with bluegrass music, outdoor games and plenty of opportunities for photos. The dinner is BYOB so be sure to grab yourselves some Wind River Brewing Pilsners from Ripley’s on your way. In our opinion, the food here wasn’t as great as we expected, but the experience as a whole was so much fun!
Boyd Skinner Park & Playground
Boyd Skinner Park was a hit with our toddlers and we visited several times when we were in Pinedale. The park offers a lot of green space and large trees covering picnic areas. The park is on Pine Creek with lots of trails and bridges, there is a beautiful children’s fish pond, and clean restrooms. The mulch playground is not really under the trees and the equipment can get quite hot (especially in July afternoons), but the kids still enjoyed playing on it. The park is in a quiet area of town but is not fenced and cars encircle the playground for parking, so watch your toddlers trying to run from the playground to the fish pond and river.
Summer Music Series
During the summer, Pinedale offers a summer music series on Saturdays from 5-7pm. There are food trucks, beer trucks, and ice cream and the event is supported by the local lodging tax. Bring a ball or frisbee and your chairs and hang out at the American Legion Park for the evening while your toddlers run around. We made friends at our campground in Pinedale and the four kids had a blast exploring and dancing here. We also saw a moose! You can enter Pine Creek through a nice shallow entrance here so bring swimsuits if you are up for it!
Drop us a comment if you have other Pinedale, WY recommendations!
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