Pine Haven, WY
and the
Surrounding Area

If you are traveling from the West for pleasure and sightseeing to Mount Rushmore National Memorial or traveling from the East to Yellowstone National Park along Interstate 90 a good place to stop and relax is just north of the Interstate at Pine Haven Wyoming and Keyhole State Park which has one of the largest lakes in the state, and you would only be adding 6.3 Miles to your trip to enjoy the great outdoors, sunsets and time by the lake to relax and get the necessary supplies that you need.

Spectacular scenery surrounds the Town of Pine Haven, south of "Devils Tower" with the four seasons being comparatively mild, and glorious weather from spring through fall is located on the western edge of the Black Hills in Northeastern Wyoming and Keyhole State Park being on three sides of the Town golf, camping, boating, water skiing and fishing are the favorite summer activities, and for the winter months, there is ice fishing, snowmobiling, and cross-country skiing. If you like rolling hills, stately pine trees and clean air the Town of Pine Haven is the place for you.

Early exploration revealed this area as a land of little water, making it merely an obstacle to be crossed and not enjoyed. Prairie land dominates the lower river basins in the eastern part of the state, while lush forests and glaciers blanket the high elevations in the western part of the state. Even the arrival of the white man did not denote permanence; the early hunters and trappers merely took what they needed off of the land before moving on. Few pioneers on their cross-country travels did not appreciate the beauty of this unusual State, all they saw was the hot dry prairie and the high mountain ranges that they had to cross to reach the waters and gold of California, Oregon and Washington.

In the past, Wyoming had all the ingredients of the western frontier. – Battles raged between Indians and the U.S. Army. The Little Bighorn Battlefield where General George Armstrong Custer and his troop of the 7th cavalry were killed is just across the state line in Montana. – Ranchers rode the range through dust storms and blizzards. Range wars were fought to violent extremes between cattle and sheep ranchers and between large ranchers and homesteaders. – Outlaws like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid robbed banks and terrorized small settlements.

At that time Wyoming was a desolate and unforgiving place with few settlers - but not today the Wild West is much calmer and the bucking bronco on our license plate characterizes Wyoming as the typical American West, although it was never as violent as Hollywood westerns would have you believe. The culture of the old west is still very much alive here and we extend a warm invitation for you to visit our land and our people, to enjoy the gentle rolling plains, wide-open prairies, beautiful mountains, sunsets and wildlife of Northeast Wyoming.

Wyoming is a land of contrasts, driven in a large part by its northern, inland location and the huge range in elevation. Where the Belle Fourche River flows out of the state near the Black Hills, the elevation is only 3,125 feet above sea level. Yet several mountain ranges top 13,000 feet, with Gannett Peak (13,804-foot) located in the northern Wind River Mountain Range on the Continental Divide in west-central Wyoming being the highest. Overall, Wyoming is a very high state; only Colorado to our south has a higher average elevation in the United States.

A good example of Wyoming's arresting contrasts is the United States first National Monument "Devils Tower" in the beautiful Black Hills of Northeastern Wyoming. The visitor's center located at the base of the tower is at an elevation of 4,250 feet above sea level. The tower itself rises 865 feet above this point, literally towering above peaceful pines and a boulder field created over thousands of years by columns that have fallen and broken into pieces. The surrounding countryside is home to a countless number of plants and wildlife which attracts visitors from around the world to see this magnificent rock formation that scientists believe is the core of a volcano exposed after millions of years of erosion caused by weather and the Belle Fourche River which, meanders around the base of the tower, 1,267 feet below the summit. While the name of Devils Tower may not be a household word, millions will recognize the shape of the Tower from the 1977 movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind, which featured the Tower as the landing spot for the awesome Mother Ship.

Just south of Devils Tower National Monument is where the real fun begins at Keyhole State Park and Reservoir next to the Town of Pine Haven on the Belle Fourche River, which is approximately 14,720 acres of excellent water recreation opportunities in Crook County, Wyoming. The Reservoir offers excellent fishing for walleye, northern pike, Smallmouth bass and channel catfish. Visitors also have the opportunity to view many type of wildlife including pronghorn antelope, mule deer, white tailed deer, red fox and wild turkeys. Keyhole is also a mecca for approximately 225 species of both resident and migrating birds, which can be observed in Keyhole State Park or within a mile of the park boundaries.

Pine Haven and Keyhole State Park are easily accessed from Interstate 90 by taking exit 153 if your coming from the west. Then turn right a distance of 1.2 miles to the center of Moorcroft. Then turn left and go north on U.S. Highway 14 towards Devils Tower National Monument, a distance of 5.1 miles to State Highway 113. Then turn right and go east a distance of 5.1 miles to the Pine Haven Road. Then turn left and go north a distance of 2.1 miles to the center of Pine Haven. If you are coming from the east on Interstate 90 you can take exit 165 and turn right on Pine Ridge Road and go north approximately 3.6 miles to the Old Sundance Road Then turn left and go west 4.0 miles to the Pine Haven Road. Then turn right to the center of town.

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