GREEN RIVER LAKES

AUGUST 2008, SEPTEMBER 2013 & SEPTEMBER 2014

SQUARE TOP MOUNTAIN FROM BETWEEN THE UPPER AND LOWER LAKES

UPPER GREEN RIVER LAKE

BEACH NEAR THE INLET TO LOWER GREEN RIVER LAKE

VIEW FROM THE CAMPGROUND

Green River Lakes is a popular camping, fishing and hiking area near the north end of the Wind River Mountains. There is a campground just south of Lower Green River Lake, as well as a large parking area for hikers. My family used to spend a week every summer in the Green River Lakes campground when I was growing up. We usually went the week before school started to try to dodge the mosquitoes. It seemed like about half the time the mosquitoes were dead by the end of August, and half the time they were still alive. Now days, I usually wait until Labor Day to hike the Winds just to be safe. The campground was filled with large trees back when I was growing up, but the last few times I've visited I barely recognized it, as most of the trees have been cut down due to a Pine Beetle infestation. 

Lower Green River Lake is a very large lake with a nice trail wrapping around it. Upper Green River Lake is about a mile past Lower Green River Lake, via the inlet, and provides excellent views of Square Top Mountain. There are also several lakes you can day-hike to from Lower Green River Lakes. As a kid we would often hike to Clear Lake, Slide Lake, Twin Lakes and Shirley Lake. We would usually take our canoe across the Lower Lake to cut a few miles off the hikes.