Guernsey and Snowy Range Ski Area (Cheyenne, Casper: for sale, 2010, to rent)

[Snow365]

Anyone here familiar with the Guernsey area? I did a search and didn't come up with much on Guernsey itself but found a lot on Torrington. From the map looks like a pretty small town. Spouse is applying for a job in that area and just curious to know a little more. We currently live in the Seattle, WA area and I'm very over the traffic and congestion, along with the unfriendly folks; we've been considering a move out of this area for some time now. I grew up in Seattle, however we lived in a small town in eastern WA state for 15+ years, pop. 1500. We always liked the feel of the smaller town we lived in - people were friendly without being nosy. With both of us being introverted types, friendly is good and less nosy is also good! We are both hard workers and can easily entertain ourselves (we are not interested in malls and things of that sort, have only been to the mall here about 2 times in 4 years and both visits were under duress!).

However, we are both into skiing (me) and snowboarding (hubby) and up here we go just about every weekend - skiing keeps me sane. We are both at the intermediate level and certainly don't require anything fancy, a chairlift or two along with a some good runs works great. I've read some here about Snowy Range - is it opening every season? I read some old posts here the ski area was for sale and possibly the bank was running the resort? I don't know, old info?

What about Terry Peak in South Dakota? Still operating?

Anyhow, just trying to learn more about the area. Just a couple of friendly, hard-working introverts that will be looking to rent at first and the best place in that area to do so ~ with our three dogs (small, all 3 are pugs), good internet service, and a ski hill. Any advice/insight is much appreciated! Last but not least, wind factor in that area??

Thanks!

[ElkHunter]

You can find a little info HERE about Guernsey.

[Snow365]

Thanks, Elkhunter, great information!

[WyoNewk]

Casper Mountain would be the closest downhill ski area, probably a 2-hour drive. I've never skied it nor Snowy Range, but my guess is that Casper Mountain has better facilities. Both are "local" slopes. Terry Peak is still going strong and would beat either of them, but it's about as far from Guernsey (3 or 3.5 hours) as are several Colorado Front Range ski slopes, any of which would put Terry Peak to shame.

[mtlogger]

Snowy Range Scenic Byway

[jdavid93225]

Well, I'm certainly no expert on Guernsey, but I did go through there about a year ago to do some fishing at the reservoir. What I found in town was that it was fairly small, and didn't have much in the way of amenities. For example, at least according to the phone book ('06-'07 edition), Guernsey only has one grocery store and one hardware store, and only four restaurants. When I went through there last year, I was looking for someplace to eat, and only found one place that was open at the time. It was a burrito place (I think), and my kids didn't particularly want to try it, so we ended up driving to Torrington before we ate. There may have been other places that were open at the time, but I didn't find them when I drove through town.

For anything but the most basic necessities, you would probably end up going to Wheatland, Torrington, or Douglas. For the things those places don't offer, you could go further to Casper, Cheyenne, or Scottsbluff (Nebraska), all of which are less than two hours away by car (in decent weather). Fort Collins and Denver are about 50 to 100 miles further (respectively) than Cheyenne, in the event you need a bigger city for something, such as a major airport, or major league sporting events.

[skiameyer]

Snowy range ski area is being ran by the interstate bank in Laramie for the 2009-2010 season. Season passes are on sale at the bank or at a few other locations around town for 175 dollars. Its a pretty small hill with 4 lifts and a carpet lift for the bunny slope. Last years conditions were pretty sad... saplings were common on the runs and grooming was pathetic but the runs have already been cleared for this year and grooming should improve (i hope) but for 175 for a pass it cant be beat. Its a great little hill without much traffic and generally friendly people on the slopes.

[speckledbird]

Hi There...My husband is from guernsey. It's about 800 people and about 2 hours from Snowy Range Ski Area and Hogadon Ski Area (Casper). Guernsey is a great little town there is plenty to do in the summer. They have the lake just 5 miles from town the North Platte river runs right through town and you can float it from Guernsey Damn to Whalen Damn. The temperature in the summer can reach 110 degrees, but with the lake and river the temperature is very bearable. Guernsey has some of the best weather in the state all year round. You are only 3 hours or so from Denver and within an hour of some great mountains. Hope this helps with your search.

[mortisha]

Hi, I live between Lingle and Ft. Laramie, about 30 miles east of Guernsey. You will have to drive about 2 hours either to the Snowy Range or Casper Mtn. skii areas. Casper Mtn has a great cross country skii trail system. For some reason I always liked downhill skiing best at the Snowy Range area. Terry Peak is good but usually crowded. There is great cross coutry skiing in the Black Hills. One good outing is an old rail road track trail with a gradual but long climb. Once you get to the top you can use your telemarking skills to go down a skii area slope.

Something to consider when thinking about driving to these skii areas is Wyoming road conditions. Wind, blowing snow and black ice can often make you think twice about setting out on the roads.

This is one of the best places to bicycle though. You can find lots of highways with little traffic and tons of dirt roads to explore on moutain bikes. The Laramie Peak area just west of Guernsey is a good place to go for more challenging moutain biking as is the Gurernsey State Rec area itself.

There is one grocery store in Gurernsey, nothing in Ft. Laramie, and 2 in Torrington. We go to Scottsbluff for our big shopping trips. No there is no mall life anywhere around here - even the mall in Scottsbluff is pretty much dead. When we feel the need for a good meal and maybe some music or a movie we usually go to Ft. Collins or Boulder.

There are no health services in Guernsey (maybe a PA clinic with business hours, I can't keep up with whether it is open or not), a few GP's in Torrington and small hospital. I'm not sure of the status of the Wheatland hospital. Ambulance and fire services are not staffed full time, people have to be called in and it can take time to get help.

Face it, you have to be willing to drive to get to anything around here. If you are content with very small town life, little by way of diversity, and can entertain yourself for long periods of time you'll do O.K. Remember this is the poorest county in one of the poorest states. Another thought, the state is going to open a medium security prison next year in Torrington. The impact on this area's infrastructure, social services, and housing is a big question mark. If I could choose to live anywhere I could find somewhere better than here.