Hazelton Peak of Wyoming’s Bighorn Mountain range is one of a quartet of peaks that dominates the southeast vista (below) of Powder River Pass (9,677 ft.) on Highway 16. Sharing the same basic north-south ridgeline, all four peaks rise over 10,000 feet, with Hazelton Peak as the third in line and the highest at 10,534 ft. Double-pointed Hesse Mountain (10,385 ft.) is the first peak, followed by an unnamed peak (10,372 ft.), and then comes Hazelton Peak, and lastly (and the least) Hazelton Pyramid (10,264 ft.) doglegs to the SE and finishes the ridgeline.

Hesse Mtn, unnamed, and Hazelton Peak (left to right). North Fork Powder River meandering in front. --Image by jimmyjay

With the popular Cloud Peak Wilderness stretching beyond the North side of Highway 16, Hazelton Peak and his siblings beckon to those who wish to find solitude on a quiet, lonely peak. Only hiking and light scrambling are required for those who wish to scale these mountainsides. You will easily imagine yourself as a lone brave, scaling the mountain to find peace and manhood. What piece of character could be waiting for you on the top of these rocky peaks? There is only one way to find out. But, be careful; the trail is often faint when visible at all. Most of this hike will be charted by map and compass skills. Don’t worry; your effort will be rewarded. You know that it always is.

Getting There

Coming from East or West, you will use Highway 16 to access this area.

Coming From the East: Get on Highway 16 at Buffalo, WY
Coming From the West: Get on Highway 16 at Worland, WY

Powder River Pass is the summit of this scenic highway. You will be leaving Highway 16 just East of the pass. The road is Forest Road 29 and it should be posted. As you turn off (south) onto FR29, you will descend into Canyon Park. Powder River Pass will be on your right, and Hesse Mountain will be to your left. Stay right at the first fork in the road. FR29 will follow the North Fork of Powder River for almost 5 miles. All along this road, great sites can be claimed for free camping. This road will eventually finish at a roundabout. This is the end of the road and where you will get out and start hiking. There should be a livestock corral just behind the hill and to the South.

Wyoming Road Conditions:

Red Tape

Hazelton Peak resides in Bighorn National Forest land (Buffalo Ranger District.) Backcountry Permits are not required on National Forest lands. Wyoming fishing licenses are required.

As long as the roads are passable and open, this peak is welcome to visitors. I’m not a local, so I don’t know if these roads get closed in the winter. There is a ski resort to the West, so I imagine the roads usually stay open.

Forest Service Pass & Permit info:

Camping

-Boundless free camping is available along FR29.
-Many Forest Service campgrounds are available all along Highway 16.
-Accommodations can also be found at Meadowlark Lake Resort, Ten Sleep, Worland and Buffalo.

Camping info for Bighorn National Forest:

-Firewood: Firewood is scarce around the campgrounds, but with a short walk or drive off the beaten path firewood is plenteous.

Mountain Conditions

Check the local forecast via this link to NOAA:

Check current fire danger:

Forest Service current snow information:
More current conditions

Avalanche info:

Wyoming Trails

Maps

Tips on the maps:

-The National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map of the Cloud Peak Wilderness does not show Hazelton Peak. It lies just off the page. Too bad!

-The DeLorme Atlas and & Gazetteer of Wyoming (2006) and Google Maps have the labels for Hazelton Pyramid and Hazelton Peak switched. The order of the four peaks from North to South should be Hesse Mountain, unnamed peak, Hazelton Peak, Hazelton Pyramid. (Source: USGS Maps)
--Of course, the USGS map could be the one that is labeled wrong. (Hazelton Peak looks more like a pyramid than the one that the USGS has indicated.) I will stick to the USGS labels (most people take their maps into the field) until someone can tell me for sure that they are wrong. Please inform me if you have any information on that, because this entire page would have to be renamed to Hazelton Pyramid if the USGS is wrong.

Topo Map link by Terraserver:

The USGS Maps for this area are:
1:100,000--Worland, Wy
7.5 Minute series—Hazelton Peak

Trail

Distance: 3.2 Miles oneway
Elevation Gain: 1,674 feet
(Source: A Falcon Guide: Hiking Wyoming’s Cloud Peak Wilderness by Erik Molvar).

Trailhead: No Restrooms and no water. Trail begins by crossing North Fork Powder River, so water can be treated from it.

From the roundabout follow an old, closed logging road that leads north up a hill. Stay to the left at the first fork. The road will begin to curve around to the East and take you close to the foot of the mountain. The road will continue to curve until it points in a southerly direction. After it plunges into the forest, the road will eventually end. Once again, there is no maintained trail for Hazelton Peak. There are a couple of faint trails that leave the road and lead up the slope and into the trees. The point is to hike uphill through the forest until you break through the trees onto the grassy slopes.

No maintained trail

The slope is steep enough that if you just climb up you will begin to see a rocky ridgeline (above) (10,201 ft.), which is your temporary goal. Hazelton peak lies to the SE of this rocky ridge. Once you are near the top of the ridge, contour around to the North of it. Once beyond the rocky ridge you can ascend out of the trees again and back to the ridge top. Hazelton Peak should now be to the SE of you with a grassy bowl (below) to the SW.

Looking SW over Grassy Bowl from ridge top

Just follow the ridgeline all the way up to the summit (below) of Hazelton Peak. The summit has an old USGS ID plate.
On the way down, I traversed through the grassy bowl and to the South of the ridge to avoid the talus North slope. I thought the route change was worth it. Once again, there is no trail.

Final Ascent

--See Images for more photo documentation.

Wildlife & Fishing

The page sponsor spotted an elk herd on the grassy slopes, pikas all throughout the grassy bowl just below the summit, and a golden eagle perched on the peak scanning all the pikas down below.

Bighorn National Forest Wildlife Info:

An assortment of trout can be found in nearby Meadowlark Lake to the West and Dull Knife Reservoir to the South.
-Cutthroat are the only native trout in this area

Get the current local fishing report:

External Links

This hike is also outlined in A Falcon Guide: Hiking Wyoming’s Cloud Peak Wilderness by Erik Molvar. It is available at online outlets like Amazon.com and others
A Falcon Guide: Hiking Wyoming’s Cloud Peak Wilderness by Erik Molvar.

Get topo maps at the USGS online store:

Bighorn National Forest Home Page:

Images