Laramie has a surprising amount of recreational opportunity during the winter months. Located just over 30 miles to the west of Laramie, Snowy Range Ski Area offers lifts to 27 trails, > vertical and > annual snowfall. For visitors that are more inclined to hike, there are over miles of Nordic skiing trails throughout the Snowy Range portion of the Medicine Bow mountains. During the spring, the Snowy Pass area of highway 130, which crests 10847 feet over the Medicine Bow Mountains, becomes popular with backcountry ski mountaineers looking for easy access to spring corn skiing conditions. Snowmobiling is another particularly popular endeavor in the Laramie area and there are several mountain lodges in the Snowy Range area that cater only to winter travelers by snowmobile. These lodges offer full service accommodation, meals, snowmobile rental and guide services to their visitors and are a novel way for many travelers to 'get away from it all' in a winter environment. Visitors should check with the local Laramie chamber of commerce for more information on specific activities and services available in the Medicine Bow Mountains during the winter months.