DAYTON, WY — Tucked away in the Bighorn National Forest is a place of tranquility that awaits those willing to venture off the beaten path.
Tongue River Canyon, located just outside of Dayton, Wyo., is a moderate hiking trail that offers a roughly four-mile, round-trip hike through the canyon.
“It's a beautiful place,” hiker Saya Liu, who lives in Dayton, said on the trail Wednesday.
Watch what Tongue River Canyon has to offer:
Liu often goes to Tongue River Canyon, drawn by its natural beauty and accessible trails.
“I come here pretty much, like, every day just to take a hike,” Liu said. “This is kind of our favorite spot, come out whenever we want.”
From the sound of rushing rapids to trees blowing in the wind, visitors can absorb every piece of the canyon’s natural symphony.
“I mean the water, the sun, you know, the signature thing of the gate when we're entering. So, it's always nice to go a little higher to look down. It's really pretty,” Liu said.
Todd Burdge lives in Virginia and was doing a road trip on the West Coast in his Sprinter van.
He just so happened to stumble upon the canyon during his trip.
“I just took an exit that looked cool, honestly,” Burdge said.
While he didn’t have time to do the hike, he admired the beauty the Bighorns had to offer.
“There's so much this country (has) that's just still wild,” Burdge said.
Brian and Sophia Pugh also made the trip from Virginia after discovering the hike through a hiking app.
The family was just passing by as they were headed to Washington state.
“There's high meadows, the forest up there, the rivers changing every time you go around. And then you turn around and it's a completely different scenery behind you. It's pretty incredible,” Brian Pugh said.
The canyon offers dramatic sights around just about every corner.
“It was just one of those where the views changed every single turn that we made,” Sophia Pugh said.
