Mule Creek Junction, Wyoming, Rest area at crossroads in Niobrara County, Wyoming.
Mule Creek Junction is a roadside rest area at the crossing of US Highway 18 and US Highway 85, on the southwestern edge of the Black Hills in Niobrara County, Wyoming. The site has separate parking for trucks and cars, composting toilets, and covered picnic areas.
This crossing became a key passage during the 1875 Black Hills gold rush, when travelers and supply wagons moved through on their way to the mining camps near Deadwood. The route kept its role as a supply link long after the rush ended.
Informational panels at the stop describe the High Plains landscape and how this crossroads once linked communities across western Wyoming. Travelers today still use it as a natural pause point on long drives through this open country.
The stop is remote, so it helps to arrive with enough water and food, as no shops or fuel are available on site. Planning to stop during daylight hours makes navigation easier in this open and sparsely populated part of Wyoming.
A solar-powered water system, installed in 1985, supplies the stop with drinking water, but it still depends on regular truck deliveries to keep the tanks full. Without those deliveries, this spot would have no water at all, as there is no local groundwater to draw from.
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