Run the Red Desert

Run the Red Desert - South Pass City, WY

Run the Red Desert is an annual trail event organized by the Lander Running Club in partnership with the Wyoming Wilderness Association to highlight Wyoming’s Red Desert and nearby historical sites. The event emphasizes the area’s Wilderness Study Areas, migration routes, and historic mining landscape. Distances offered include:

• 50K point-to-point course, Whitehorse Creek Overlook to South Pass City
• 30K point-to-point course, Whitehorse Creek Overlook to South Pass City

The 50K course begins at the Whitehorse Creek Overlook at the boundary of the Whitehorse Creek Wilderness Study Area. Runners traverse canyon rims, cross a small valley, loop around Pacific Butte with views of Oregon Buttes and the Wind River Mountains, then join the Oregon National Historic Trail to cross the original South Pass. The route includes a footbridge and a short water crossing at the Sweetwater River, a climb toward the Fish Creek granite domes and the Ironhorse Aid Station, rock hopping sections, two-track running, and a final descent into the Willow Creek Drainage past historic mining sites to the finish in South Pass City.

The shorter course follows similar early sections, cuts across to the Oregon Buttes County Road, crosses the Sweetwater River, and then follows the climb and rock-hopping sections into South Pass City.

Registration opens January 1. Rollover credit from prior cancellations can be applied by re-registering with the same account or email before the event reaches capacity. For planning, the nearest gas stations are about 35 miles north in Lander or 45 miles south in Farson. Visit the organization's website for the most recent information.