On a visit to Colorado in 2024, I had wanted to find a nice mountain spot that wasn’t too far of a drive and that had a beautiful lake to sit at and enjoy nature without a long hike (for my mom’s sake). I also wanted to explore a new place that we hadn’t visited before. After looking all over Google Maps for something within 2 hours in Colorado, I decided to expand the search and see if there was anything worthy just across the border in Wyoming. To my surprise, I found there was Medicine Bow National Forest not too far away, which had lakes that looked promising. I was also hoping to find a place that had hotel options and still had dark enough skies for stargazing and right outside Laramie was a good spot. I was thrilled and my mom was up for it!

Since I wanted to do stargazing and also wanted to go to a lake to catch a sunrise so, we stayed the night in Laramie at the Fairfield Inn. The drive to the lakes from the hotel was under an hour (43 miles) so, not too bad. I like to stay at Marriott hotels when I can as I find they are usually well-maintained and so that I can earn or use points. The rooms at this location were clean and we had a nice stay. The breakfast offered was standard, nothing special. Restaurants and coffee shops were around 10 minutes away by car.

The drive to Laramie took us about 2.5 hours. We stopped at a Buc-ee’s along the way to break up the drive a bit and get some snacks. I had never been to one before and wanted to see what all the hype was about. It was definitely a massive place and there were a lot of things to choose from inside. We picked up some Beaver Nuggets (reminded me of Corn Pops and Honey Ohs cereals) and some of their glazed pecans and almonds, among a few other things. I wasn’t impressed by the nuggets, but I loved the pecans and almonds. Lots of things smelled good and of course, the kids wanted everything. After our little pitstop, we continued to Laramie.

We got to the hotel and checked in and then headed to Mirror Lake and Lake Marie. Mirror Lake was nice and had some picnic tables, but we didn’t hang out there. From that parking lot, it was a short walk to Lake Marie, which had some beautiful wildflowers along the way. I thought Lake Marie was much more impressive though, there were more boulders to be able sit and relax around Mirror Lake. We snapped some photos at both and walked a bit and then headed back to Laramie to get some dinner. We just grabbed some pizza from Hambone’s, which was really good. This was before sticking to gluten-free so, I ate regular pizza. They don’t offer gluten-free, but there are other spots in Laramie that do.

After dinner we went back to the hotel to relax before we’d be going out at night for some stargazing. We headed back out around 10pm to Happy Jack Recreation Area, which was about 20 minutes east of the hotel. It was a great dark area to see stars. The kids weren’t super thrilled about having to go out so late and were quite tired. Thankfully, they didn’t complain too much, but also weren’t interested in getting out of the car. We pulled over along the road and hung out there for about an hour, waiting for the sky to darken more and for our eyes to adjust to the darkness. We were not disappointed. The amount of stars were breathtaking and I think the kids would have been more impressed if they weren’t so tired. I could have stayed forever, just taking it all in. We went back to sleep after that since we’d be up early to catch the sunrise!

So, we didn’t quite catch the sunrise as we were quite tired and therefore, a bit slow to leave the hotel. We still got to Lake Marie for some beautiful colors and light though and even saw a moose! I absolutely love being out early, before crowds, when the air is extra crisp, and the sun isn’t too bright. The lake and mountains were so beautiful at that time and just like other early starts we’ve done for nature, once the kids are out, they end up enjoying themselves. I just wish there were more spots around the lake sit comfortably and take it all in. Although there’s a nice trail leading up from the lake area, we just stayed around the lake, taking some photos and enjoying it all. Online photos of the views from the West Lake Marie Trailhead look amazing so, I would recommend checking it out and I would have loved to.

We left soon after and I was so happy we made that little trip. It was very beautiful and relaxing and I was so thankful the weather was perfect for the stars and lakes. It’s definitely a great spot to check out when in the Laramie area or even in Colorado. I wish I could have checked out some of the other spots and trails, but maybe another time. There’s just so much beauty out there to explore.

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