Located in the Rocky Mountains, along the Bighorn Scenic Byway Highway 14, Sand Turn provides some extraordinary views of the valley below. On a clear day, these views extend for miles. In the valley, the town of Dayton is closest to the mountains, further away you can see Ranchester, and then Sheridan and on out to many more communities.
The Bighorn ( or Big Horn, depending on who you ask) Scenic Byway connects Sheridan with Greybull and includes miles of beautiful mountain driving. It is the middle route of the three scenic byways winding through the Bighorn National Forest as they cross the Big Horn mountains. The other two byways are the Cloudpeak Skyway and the Medicine Wheel Passage. The Bighorn Scenic byway provides an alternate route to Yellowstone National Park from the northeastern part of Wyoming. Along the way, Sand Turn and Shell Falls provides stops for taking a moment to appreciate some of the incredible sights.
Sand Turn is also a jumping off point for Hang Gliders. Known among hang gliders as being home to some of the best thermals in the northern Rockies. They take a quick run down this short path, before jumping off into the sky. The conditions from Sand Turn, allow aviators to climb thousand of feet in the air. From Here, hang gliders will generally travel a few miles and be in the air for about 8 to 10 minutes before landing, though with the right conditions they can travel much longer and further. Paragliding is becoming more common here too.
In addition to the view and the sports, the area is rich in geology and history. The area carved out of the hillside has geological interest. Sand Turn and nearby Fallen City are a wealth of information for anyone interested in earth sciences and the like.
To log this cache, simply take a picture of yourself or any GPS readout with the view from Sand Turn in the background. Since this is the only requirement for logging this cache, all logs without this photograph will be removed. Good luck!
I grew up in Dayton, so this was a favorite place of mine to come enjoy the view. It is particularly breathtaking on a clear night when millions of stars fill the sky and the moon shines on the plains below. Due to its busyness and the harsh exposure in winter, a physical container wouldn’t be the best here. Having received one of the Virtual Rewards 3.0 - 2022-2023, this seemed like the best possible way to share this amazing place with other geocachers.
Virtual Rewards 3.0 - 2022-2023
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between March 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 3.0 on the Geocaching Blog.