Laramie Peak is the highest point in the Laramie Mountains, located in the Medicine Bow National Forest in southeastern Wyoming. At 10,272 feet elevation, it towers over the city of Laramie and offers incredible views of the surrounding plains and mountain ranges. This iconic peak has inspired many riddles over the years that challenge your knowledge of its geography, history, wildlife, and more. Keep reading to test your wit against 36 tricky riddles about Laramie Peak!
Where is Laramie Peak located?
Laramie Peak is located in the Medicine Bow National Forest in Albany and Carbon counties in southeastern Wyoming, about 10 miles southwest of the city of Laramie.
Riddles about Geography
Riddle 1: I’m over 10,000 feet high, the tallest point around for miles. Look east or west, it’s plains that make me smile. What am I?
Answer: Laramie Peak
Riddle 2: Two counties meet atop my wooded dome. I’m found among the rolling hills, far from city and home. What landmark am I?
Answer: Laramie Peak (Albany and Carbon counties meet at the summit)
Riddle 3: From my summit on a clear day, you can gaze upon range after range if you had months to stay. Snowy tops as far as you can see, from foods to basins what a view it would be. What peak am I?
Answer: Laramie Peak (You can see mountain ranges in all directions from the top on a clear day)
Riddles about History
Riddle 4: Lewis and Clark did not see me, but early French trappers gave me my name. I’m the high point now of a national preserve, no longer touched by animal or game. What am I?
Answer: Laramie Peak (French trappers originally named the peak, which is now part of Medicine Bow National Forest where hunting is prohibited)
Riddle 5: I’m found inside a forest, which honors all things medical you see. Off limits to hunters, this federal land is home to elk, eagles and me. What’s my name?
Answer: Laramie Peak (It’s located in Medicine Bow National Forest)
Riddle 6: The Union Pacific laid tracks not far below, stagecoaches once passed by through high plains snow. Now hikers amble where pioneers did tread, hoping to summit my lofty head.
Answer: Laramie Peak
Riddles about Wildlife
Riddle 7: Golden and bald, we circle high above, riding thermals in search of food and love. Our nests hidden among trees and scree, majestic fliers you may spot near me. What peak are we found around?
Answer: Laramie Peak (Golden and bald eagles nest around the mountain)
Riddle 8: My hooves crunch summer growth in alpine blooms, antlers crown my head in winter snows. I leap and bound through forests primeval, far from the scar of industry or upheaval. In what Wyoming peak’s shadow do I dwell?
Answer: Laramie Peak (Elk inhabit the forests around the mountain)
Riddle 9: Bushy-tailed and shrewd, we forage and feast, denning down when wintry winds increase. Grasses, seeds and insects sustain us here, far from plow and roadway, without human fear. Where do we thrive and breed?
Answer: On the slopes of Laramie Peak (Foxes and other small mammals live on the mountain)
Riddles about Climate and Weather
Riddle 10: Frigid blasts swirl my summit each winter day. Snow piles high, refusing to melt away. Sudden storms may blindside those enjoying my heights, sending brave souls dashing down my rocky sides. What peak causes such frights?
Answer: Laramie Peak
Riddle 11: My treeless dome wears a crown of ice and rime, glaciers once crawled slowly down my side. Though the air now grows warmer year by year, old snow clings on, holding summits dear. Name this high rocky point sublime.
Answer: Laramie Peak (Glaciers once covered the upper part of the peak)
Riddle 12: In spring I host raptors spiraling high on warm updrafts formed as sunlight kiss my side. Sharp eyes spy furry movement down below, signaling time for a lethal diving show. In what mountain’s foothills does this grand drama unfold?
Answer: Laramie Peak
Riddles about Hiking
Riddle 13: We depart in darkness, headlamps lighting the way. Up switchbacks first paved by CCC hands. Dawn finds us high among dwarf pines. If we prevail, by noon we’ll stand atop the roof of the Laramies grand. What peak do we plan to ascend?
Answer: Laramie Peak
Riddle 14: My summit offers no shelter from the sky. Bring water and lunch if you plan to stay high. And know this grand vista, on weather’s whim, can be shrouded in cloud before your eyes. What iconic peak promises such strained thighs?
Answer: Laramie Peak
Riddle 15: The day started bright, but now I spy building clouds that look ready to cry. I quicken my pace down this bald mountain dome, hoping to reach tree line before I get soaked to the bone. On what peak was I roaming before making my hurried descent alone?
Answer: Laramie Peak
Riddles about the View
Riddle 16: Plains and ranges beckon my curious eye. I glimpse the world from my summit high. Cities seem but toys strewn careless below, their streets as if trails ants travel to and fro. What Wyoming mount gives such vista to take in ere I go?
Answer: Laramie Peak
Riddle 17: Snowy sentinels stand north and west, their sharp relief a sight to behold, blessed. Peer either way see mountains galore, linked eons past, now sundered by water-worn gorge. Survey this scene from what remote majestic crest?
Answer: Laramie Peak
Riddle 18: From my height, cars crawl slowly as beetles pass below. Trails lacing my skirts see more lumbering movement, ambling herds thinning winter snow. Scan the vista revealed atop what summit I know so well?
Answer: Laramie Peak
Riddles about the Night Sky
Riddle 19: Inky heavens glow above this lonesome peak, unmarred by light pollution so stars shine crisp and clear. Scan for meteors, satellites, planets and our lone moon too while appreciating celestial vistas rare in this modern age. What remote summit gives such nightly views?
Answer: Laramie Peak
Riddle 20: We journey at night to escape city light, heading for high country dark as pitch. There we’ll recline scanning Milky Way signs, watching for streaking meteors to enrich our celestial sight. What Wyoming mount do we hike to watch stars twitch?
Answer: Laramie Peak
Riddle 21: Zodiacal lights dance across the skies. Star clusters gleam like scattered jewels to my eyes. Distinct sky glow warns rising moon draws nigh, so we pack to quit this mount ere dawn lights eastern sky. What peak offered us this star-spangled spectacle on high?
Answer: Laramie Peak
Riddles about Recreation
Riddle 22: My summit blooms brightly for a short sweet season. I lure travelers to risk wind, cold and altitide past reason. Sojourn briefly where only alpine flowers flourish, then hustle down to comforts where forests hold warmth cupped lovingly. What peak teases brave souls so cruelly yet divinely?
Answer: Laramie Peak
Riddle 23: We spy snow on lofty slopes as summer wanes. Thoughts turn to shredding white waves with sticks. Atop this summit cairn, vows are made to return on colder morrows, chasing powder between snags and thickets. What peak holds promise of frigid fun on well-waxed planks?
Answer: Laramie Peak (People ski and snowboard the mountain in winter)
Riddle 24: My trails offer solace to roam high, alone but for whiskered ones who call this height home. All who amble through alpine vastness may find peace profound, precious as gold. What storied peak draws hearts skyward to heights as-yet-unknown?
Answer: Laramie Peak
Riddles about Flora and Fauna
Riddle 25: My lofty realm belongs to thin-aired flora and sure-hooved fauna alone. Only lichen and wildflowers hardy as stone find roothold to bloom brief in my barren boulder zone. What summit do I call my own?
Answer: Laramie Peak
Riddle 26: We summer near this storied mount’s base, raising gangly calves. Come autumn we meander uphill through seasons’ turn, browsing summer’s leftover grasses. What landmark’s shoulders and skirts host our annual hooved pass?
Answer: Laramie Peak (elk migrate to higher elevations around the peak in fall)
Riddle 27: My kind thrive on isolated high terrain. Keen noses sniff out rodents we spy bouncing across bare tundra plain. Powerful talons serve us well securing summer meals. What bald peak within curving forest bounds offers ideal summer hunting fields?
Answer: Laramie Peak (Golden eagles nest around the mountain and hunt nearby)
Riddles about Rocks and Geology
Riddle 28: Glaciers left their mark as they crept across my broken stone. When the ice retreated, cirques and arêtes remained, holding fast summer’s meager snow. Such relief gladdens modern eyes. What landmark attracts hungry birds and climbers with apparent ease?
Answer: Laramie Peak
Riddle 29: Two billion years ago give or take an age, liquid rock cooled to form my granite self so excellently sage. Since then I’ve weathered ice, water, and erosive rage. Now a flower-host height, what enduring peak anchors this wind-blasted stage?
Answer: Laramie Peak
Riddle 30: Now mostly gone, ice shaped and scarred my summit during chillier eras. Glacial till litters my base mixed with boulders big that geologists muse must have tumbled from my face. What mountain, devoid of ice, still shows such cold-weather traces?
Answer: Laramie Peak
Riddles about Local History and Names
Riddle 31: French trappers called me “Cimetière” long before modern rule. Perhaps my barren heights recalled to immigrants some moor or Artic fjord I’m told. By what common English name is this Wyoming height extolled?
Answer: Laramie Peak (French trappers originally named it “Cimetière Peak”)
Riddle 32: Ranchers grazed herds where elk now roam free of fences and brands and human avarice it seems. Locals petitioned to honor a major of the Civil War age. Now hikers amble lands renamed for naturalist aims. What peak signifies this conservation victory, truth-be-told?
Answer: Laramie Peak (Originally called Major Peak, it was renamed to honor naturalist Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden)
Riddle 33: Once marked on maps as Medicine Peak, what later trapper title held brief dominance before surrendered to elegant heights of ecological aims? Answer quick now if what iconic Wyoming summit you wish rightly to claim!
Answer: Laramie Peak (It was briefly named Cimetière Peak by French trappers before being changed again to the current name)
Riddles about the City Below
Riddle 34: Prospectors dug near my feet for curious stone both shiny and bright. Their success sparked a blazing boomtown below my lofty heights. Railroads steamed in, swelling fortunes with coal, livestock and more galore. Cattle now moo where big money jingled over cards, drink and barroom fights of yore. I overlook what historic city site?
Answer: Laramie Peak overlooks the city of Laramie
Riddle 35: Scholars saunter brick paths below my stoic heights. This settlement still brims with youth despite esteemed academic legacy. What bustling center of learning languishes under my lofty alpine sight?
Answer: Laramie, home to the University of Wyoming
Riddle 36: This hamlet sprawled as rails stretched steel bands across territorial miles unending. Money flowed as cattlemen funneled stock east filled with optimism never-ending. Vice sprouted vigorously those first few decades, sin spreading stealthy as tumbleweeds. What bluff-shadowed Wyoming cow town grew more civilized with statehood guaranteed?
Answer: Laramie
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed testing your wits against these 36 riddles about iconic Laramie Peak! This challenging game highlights just some of the many unique aspects of Wyoming’s lofty “Gem Peak,” from its rich natural history to the city of Laramie that lies under its watchful gaze. Maybe you have what it takes to scale Laramie Peak yourself one day and experience its beauty firsthand. But whether or not you ever set foot on its bald dome, solving riddles about this storied mountain is one way to glimpse the allure of the wild and wonderful Wyoming landscape.
