Surrounded By Mountains Is A Scenic Wyoming Town With A Rare Spring And Peaceful Camping Spots

It's easy to see why Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons are the top-draw attractions over in Wyoming. The first is a place of bubbling geysers and roaming bison herds, where you can hike epic trails to giant waterfalls. The latter has the crystal-clear waters of the Snake River, and a wall of 13,000-foot-plus peaks all gnarled, twisted, and snow-topped overhead. It's epic stuff, but don't discount the towns of the old Cowboy State, either. From Laramie to Jackson Hole, they offer college footie and skiing aplenty, besides smaller, scenic country outposts like little Afton.

Look for Afton amid the Star Valley at the extreme western edge of the state. According to the visitor's guide, it was founded by pioneers undertaking the arduous Oregon Trail way back in the late 1800s, and it still oozes a sort of frontier charm. There's a buzzing Main Street packed with galleries, shops, delis, and cafes, but the great outdoors looms largest. Not one, but two whole mountain ranges buttress up to the east and the west. They beckon with hiking along wildflower-blooming creeks, walks to glowing alpine lakes, away-from-it-all camping, and even glimpses of rare natural springs.

With the colossal 3.4 million acres of the Bridger-Teton National Forest sprawling over the slopes to the east of town, and the fir-tree-dotted heights of Draney Peak rising to the west, there's no shortage of natural wonders in the vicinity of Afton. But there is one that deserves a special mention on account of just how unique it is: the Intermittent Spring, one of just 100 rhythmic springs on the whole planet!

You'll find it about a 20-minute drive out of town to the east, at the end of a winding road and a short hike rated easy by Road Trip Ryan. It's a rather strange sight — a spurt of cold water that turns on and off, resting for up to 18 minutes at a time, before bursting back into life again. Writing on Tripadvisor, one past visitor noted that it was well worth the adventure, saying: "Nice just to sit and watch the water fade away, then after a short while reappear again. Slow TV without the telly!"

What's great is that the spring is just one part of a larger Swift Creek, which carves a whole canyon from the limestone rock faces. You can hike through the length of it, on a trail that runs for over 5 miles amid forests, waterside wildflower meadows, and secret fishing spots.

Afton might not lay claim to bucket-list-busting pitches like the ones in California's highest drive-to campground or the best-ranked campground in all of America, but it can offer simple, secluded backcountry getaways for those with the tent in tow. Take the Allred Flat Campground. It'll get you sleeping in the midst of the Bridger-Teton National Forest, under beautiful fall color displays come the autumn, or around multi-colored wildflower shows in the warmer months. There's a trailhead right there in the campground, too, promising to whisk you 1.5 miles through the hills beside a babbling creek.

Of course, you might want to bed down closer to the center of town. It's home to the world's largest elkhorn arch, after all! And that's not even mentioning cozy dining spots like Jack'Stand Restaurant, run by a maestro in all things artisan hot dogs. For that, the Kodiak Lodge, located just a 3-minute drive from downtown, is one of the top-rated options. Not only does it flaunt 4.9 out of 5 on Google with a whopping 450-plus reviews, but it's got charming cabins with hewn timber walls and warming fireplaces.

If all of this has you reaching for the boots or snowshoes, then you'll want to check flights that jet into the nearby Jackson Hole Airport. It serves the whole of western Wyoming, offering domestic links across the contiguous U.S. in Newark, San Francisco, and Houston, to name just three. From the arrivals hall, you're looking at a drive of about 1.5 hours in all, heading south from Jackson Hole to Afton on the 191 and 89 highways.