hell's half acre access (Laramie: live, store, kitchen)

[Galt]

I was there at the end of September. I didn't notice a way to hike down there, but admit I wasn't looking for a way. I did see a couple go off way to the right (facing the restaurant), so maybe there was access off that way.

I took a lot of photos. I'll share a couple.

[HighlandLady]

Originally Posted by Happy in Wyoming

Does anyone know who owns Hell's Half Acre? I seem to recall that it is privately owned.

The last I had heard (2005) was that the county owned the property and since it didn't seem that there were any prospects as far as buyers were concerned; they were trying to decide what to actually do with the place.
I do know that there were some Archaeologists that were hoping to have an Archaeology Center built there.

[deanebenson]

Planning to stop there this summer and camp overnight to see sunset and sunrise - do we need permission and who would we ask - remember stopping there years ago

[GregW]

I would call the County first.

[sunsprit]

Originally Posted by deanebenson

Planning to stop there this summer and camp overnight to see sunset and sunrise - do we need permission and who would we ask - remember stopping there years ago

when I drove past last summer, the parking lot access to the old buildings was chained off and no trespass signs were posted around the buildings.

you might dry camp with an RV in the vicinity of the property and perhaps get a glimpse of the canyon, but for all intents the access to the old view site is blocked off and posted.

the adjacent properties are all private land, perhaps you could get permission from one of them to get closer to the canyon edge.

[Rescue3]

Detective question:

The history books say indians used to drive buffalo into the canyon, trap them there and hunt them. A movie company shot "Starship Troopers" there. If indians, buffalo and movie companies can get in there, how can the OP? Is there some more accessible area that isn't located next to the restaurant?

[branDcalf]

It's easier to go down into a canyon than back up and out of it.

The only difference now is the county doesn't support access and the rest of the surrounding boundaries are private.

My kids and I used to go out a few summer mornings. The kids loved playing games down in there. Lots of room to whoop and holler and race around. Lots of hiding places, too. I say summer mornings, because once it heated up, it was really hot! Kind of like the Powder River breaks country.

[purplepeach]

I just googled it on wikipedia- it says as of 2005 the restaurant and motel have been torn down. That area is fenced off but there is an interpretive sign near the old restaurant. It isn't clear if the whole thing is fenced off though....

[sunsprit]

Originally Posted by purplepeach

I just googled it on wikipedia- it says as of 2005 the restaurant and motel have been torn down. That area is fenced off but there is an interpretive sign near the old restaurant. It isn't clear if the whole thing is fenced off though....

I read this post and was wondering what I'd been looking at in more recent years ... especially since I'd wandered around the old abandoned and falling down restaurant, even in the back area with some of the decrepit fixtures and old stoves and such sitting out and rotting/rusting away. This was before they'd chained off the parking lot driveway and posted the property, but my first visit was in 2011.

The Wiki post reads a little differently than your reading:

"As of December 2005, the roadside restaurant and motel/campground sitting atop the ravine were closed. The motel and the abandoned restaurant have since been torn down.[2][3] The area is fenced off, but there is an interpretive sign west of the former restaurant."

What they're saying is that sometime after the 2005 closing of the facilities, the buildings were torn down. IIRC, that would have been in 2013 ....

[Tyster]

I was there last August. The restaurant was closed. You can drive towards the rear area, away from the main road, to see the view but it is fenced off. There is a big gap in the fence that people have been going through but it was clear from the signs they don't want anyone down in there. The terrain is EXTREMELY steep and rugged. Even if you managed to make your way down without breaking your neck I doubt you could just climb back up. I suspect you'd have to go around one side or the other, if that's even possible. BUT... you can still get lots of great pics from the fence line.