About this city
Also known as: The Spring City
Rawlins is a historic, rugged city located along Interstate 80 in south-central Wyoming, situated atop a high, wind-swept plateau. The town sprouted overnight in 1867 when Union Pacific Railroad surveyor General John A. Rawlins discovered a crucial freshwater spring at the site. It later grew into a major frontier hub, notably housing the high-security Wyoming State Penitentiary for over eighty years. Today, Rawlins retains its historic downtown and acts as a gateway for continental divide trail hikers and wind energy workers.
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Practical Tourism Metadata
Suggested stay: 1 day
Take a guided tour through the historic cellblocks and gallows at the spooky Wyoming Frontier Prison Museum, stroll the Carbon County Museum, and drive the scenic bypass toward the Sierra Madre range.
