Northern Wind River Range Hikng Map

Recently spent 5 days in the wind river range . It rained all five days and the whole time packing up and all the way out . The map held up great in the weather and dried nicely when finally into dryer climate .

Backpacking

I bought both the north and south Wind River maps because I had planned to visit the Titcomb Basin area and both maps described themselves as covering this area (they Both say "covers Elkhart Park to...."). If you would like to buy a map for hiking to Titcomb Basin via Elkhart Park Trailhead, Senaca Lake and Island Lake, you want to purchase this map and not the South Wind River map. This map has contour lines, but doesn't show milages between major landmarks. It is not the best map I have ever used, nor is it detailed enough for very specific terrain details because it covers such a large area, but it is about the best map available for the Wind Rivers that I could find.

This map and its Southern Counterpart are almost all you need to plan your trip into the the Wind River Mountains. Two maps covering the entire range gives you a great overview of what is there and where the trails are. But, beware! The marked trails on these maps are not 100% accurate. There are many red dashed lines on these maps that represent trails that do not exist - I know, I've looked for some of them! Use this map to plan, but go ahead and order the topos from USGS for the area that you plan to hike. They're much more detailed and in most cases more accurately represent the actual trail locations. All good girlie scouts use Earthwalk Press maps AND USGS 7.5 Minute topos.

This map is handy in many ways: 1) Informative details for hikers 2) made of durable materials 3) the size and format are just right for the backpack.

I used this map and the sister map of the southern range to plan and complete a backpack trip to the Winds in August (2011). This was all I used and it was quite sufficient -- I didn't get lost! The map material is very durable and will allow me to use the map for many years to come. My previous experiences with maps were that they almost always one-time use (unless you were overly careful).During my backpack trip, I found several additional trails that weren't on the map however I think the level of trails is just about right given the map size. If I wanted to have all the trails on this map, it would have become too complex and confusing. For more detail, I would have to go the USGS maps which means more maps (weight) and not have the water-proofness.

I always use a map of this scale as an overview map to do my initial research for a backpacking trip. This will get the job done. But this new version leaves off some of the trails that are on the older version (1993). And those trails are still there. I have no idea why they did that. What a disappointment. If you already have the 1993 version, I would recommend sticking with that. FYI- the north and south maps do not mate up perfectly.For any lengthy adventure deep in the wilderness, I also recommend going with 7.5' topos for their detail and checking trail conditions with the rangers beforehand.

This map is an excellent reference for backpacking and hiking in the Wind River Range. The detail is good enough so you would not need hi-res 7 minute Topos. Not all the smaller tarns and water sources are displayed and the trail from Elkhart Park to Seneca Lake appears broken on this map but is really continuous.