Medicine Wheel Passage
Medicine Wheel Passage is a State Scenic Byway in Wyoming. Within Wyoming it covers roughly 30 miles. The map below shows its route. Use “Plan a drive” to open it in the Road Sorties route planner — already routing along Medicine Wheel Passage with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.
Wyoming's Medicine Wheel Passage follows US Highway 14A for about 27 miles through the Bighorn Mountains, from the Big Horn Basin to Burgess Junction. The steep, winding road, with grades up to 10 percent and numerous truck turnoffs, meets the Bighorn Scenic Byway at Burgess Junction after passing through open sagebrush country before rising into pine, spruce, and aspen forest; heavy snow closes it for much of the year, leaving only summer and fall for the drive. Partway up, a turnoff leads to the Medicine Wheel National Historic Landmark, a pre-Columbian stone structure near the summit of Medicine Mountain with a 25-yard circular rim, 28 spokes, and six additional rock cairns. A 1972 study by astronomer John Eddy found that several of the cairns align with the summer solstice and other astronomical events, suggesting the wheel served as a Native American calendar and ceremonial site centuries before European contact. One of Wyoming's 21 designated scenic byways, the road takes its name directly from that landmark.
- Medicine Wheel National Historic Landmark
- Bighorn Mountains
- 27 miles
- Burgess Junction
- 10-percent grades
- Medicine Mountain
- solstice alignment
Plan a drive on Medicine Wheel Passage →
What is a State Scenic Byway?
State Scenic Byways are roads a state has formally recognized for their scenic, natural, historic or cultural value — each state's own curated collection of drives worth taking slowly.
Where to Stay along Medicine Wheel Passage
10 campgrounds and RV parks sit within about 5 miles of Medicine Wheel Passage.
Campsite and lodging links are affiliate links — booking through them may earn Road Sorties a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Recreation.gov links are not affiliate links.