Jack Creek Guard Station

The Jack Creek Guard Station is located southwest of Saratoga, Wyoming, offering visitors a unique lodging experience in the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests. The guard station once served as the northern ranger cabin for the historic Encampment Ranger District, and was constructed by Ranger Evie Williams in 1934. Oral history states that Ranger Williams spent most of his construction dollars on the material for the foundation and chimney, and used his own funds to finish the windows and roof. The guard station is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The cabin is typically open from mid-June through mid-October, weather permitting, and is accessible by vehicle. Basic amenities are provided, but guests will need to pack in some of their own supplies and gear. The one-room cabin is furnished with two sets of bunk beds and can accommodate up to four people. Heat is provided by a combination wood and propane cook stove — please use the propane side of the stove for cooking and heat. Basic cooking and eating utensils and propane lights are supplied; utensils need to be cleaned and put away after use. Water is available during the summer months from a freeze-proof hydrant just outside or a hand pump at Jack Creek Campground, one mile away. There is no indoor plumbing, but a vault toilet is located within walking distance. A picnic table and campfire ring are also outside the cabin. There is no trash service; this is a pack-it-in, pack-it-out facility. Items to bring include bedding or a sleeping bag, food, dish soap and sponge, trash bags, a first aid kit, flashlight, towels and washcloths, and personal items. Saddle and pack animals may not be kept within the Jack Creek Guard Station area, and campers, tents or trailers may not be set up at this facility. Please clean up after your pets. From open, high expanses to valleys and canyons that rise steeply to snowy ranges, the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests encompass mountain ranges, tributaries to the North Platte River and the Colorado River, and a mix of forested ecology with spruce, lodgepole pine, subalpine fir, aspen and shrub lands. The Jack Creek Guard Station sits in a clearing with lodgepole pine, aspen and mixed conifer forest at an elevation of 8,500 feet. Wildlife viewing is abundant in the area, including elk, deer, bear and moose. The surrounding Sierra Madre area offers lake and pond fishing, river and stream fishing, day hiking, backpacking, and viewing of wildlife, plants and scenery, with nearby trailheads, campgrounds and picnic sites including Jack Creek Campground, Bottle Creek Campground, Hog Park, the Encampment River Wilderness, Huston Park Wilderness and trailheads on the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail.