Trail Overview
This 40-mile trail starts in Kaycee, Wyoming, right off of I-25, and takes you to the canyon rim overlooking the Hole in the Wall Valley and Hole in the Wall Pass. You can stage in Kaycee and take Old Highway 87 south on the pavement to the underpass, which goes under I-25. From there, this track starts and is fully on dirt and/or rock. You take county roads through some beautiful mountains and plains and then turn north on West Willow Creek Road. The trail includes an easement that goes across part of the Willow Creek Ranch. It then moves onto State of Wyoming and BLM land.There are a few rocky inclines and declines, but it's an easy trail.At the end of the two-track trail, we left a waypoint where the hike begins. We explored a bit and found the best place to access the canyon rim. Our waypoint takes you to the best place. We hiked about 825 yards total, down 86 feet onto the saddle between the canyons and up 55 feet on the other side. We hiked it to be able to view the valley from both sides of the canyon rim. We also wanted to see the end of the canyon where the outlaws rode their horses down to the bottom. You can take a longer hike and go clear down to the valley floor if you're really ambitious.The views are spectacular. We saw bald eagles, antelope, and deer. The only predators in the area are rattlesnakes. We didn't see any on our hike, but the locals say if you do get bit, get to a place where a helicopter can land, and call Life Flight with your coordinates. Wyoming has a fund to pay for the helicopter ride.
Difficulty
This is primarily a dirt trail, with only a couple of rocky inclines and declines. There are a couple tight turns, but it's mostly very easy.
History
The history of the Hole in the Wall is this area was used by outlaws in the 1800s. Butch Cassidy's gang, called the Wild Bunch, included Butch, Sundance Kid, and a few others, and the Hole in the Wall Gang, included Jesse James, the Roberts Brothers, Jack Ketchum and others. These outlaw gangs shared this area to hide the spoils of their bank and train robberies and cattle rustling. There isn't an actual cave here, or hole in the rock wall, but the area is called "Hole in the Wall" because an earlier settler told the mail delivery person to put his mail "in the hole in the wall by the cabin". The area adopted the name, and so did the outlaw gang called "Hole in the Wall Gang." There is an Outlaw Cave, not too far away, which we will preview in another ride. It is an actual cave where outlaws hid.Here at the Hole in the Wall Valley, the outlaws built cabins to live in and corrals to keep their livestock. One of the cabins has been relocated to the museum in Cody, Wyoming.
