Blacktail Ponds Overlook

Blacktail Ponds Overlook sits at 6,514 feet along the Wyoming Centennial Scenic Byway, with the land dropping 52 feet within 600 meters of the site. The view takes in a Rock Face to the south at 0.4 miles (6,659 ft), Glacier Overlook to the northeast at 2.0 miles (6,643 ft), and the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve to the southwest at 4.8 miles (6,411 ft). From this point, ponds and wet meadows along the Snake River mark the wetland community, with terraces rising to sagebrush flats across the valley floor. Lodgepole pines grow on glacial moraines ringing glacial lakes, while aspen and conifer forests cover the lower mountain slopes, and an alpine community holds to rocky ground at the highest elevations. The site is named for "blacktail" deer, now known as mule deer, that frequent the area. Jackson lies 13.3 miles to the south-southwest, Wilson 14.6 miles southwest, and Alpine 38.3 miles south-southwest. Mormon Row Viewpoint precedes this stop on the byway, and Flat Creek Overlook follows. Sunrise and sunset vary by season, from a 05:42 sunrise at the June solstice to a 16:49 sunset at the December solstice.