Mule Creek Junction, Wyoming
Encyclopedia
Mule Creek Junction is an unpopulated locale in Niobrara County, Wyoming
at the junction of US 18 and US 85.
proper. US 85 is a major route connecting the Front Range
of Colorado with the Black Hills; travelers to Deadwood and the Northern Black Hills continue on US 85, and travelers to Wind Cave and other attractions in the Southern Black Hills, as well as trucks en route to Rapid City, South Dakota
continue (turn) east on US 18 to Edgemont and Hot Springs.
A Wyoming Department of Transportation rest area, reconstructed in 2007-08, is located on the northeast corner of the Junction. The southeast corner of the site has been occupied by various service stations and truck stops, the last of which was demolished in the late 1990s. The large hardstand area together with the rest area is used for short-term parking of long-haul trucks and occasionally RVs. The junction is located a short distance south of the Cheyenne River, and is in a typical Wyoming High Plains setting. Several historical and scenic markers at the rest area describe the setting.
alignment is located about six miles to the east, and was used as the original alignment of US 85, until 1957—58, when the present alignment was constructed. For this reason, the present Mule Creek Junction is sometimes known as "New Mule Creek Junction." A former route, Alternate US 85, used to begin at the original Mule Creek Junction and followed today's US 18 alignment into South Dakota. US 85A (shown on some early maps US 85E) followed US 18 east to Hot Springs, then headed due north via the current US 385 to Custer and Lead through the Black Hills. U.S. 85A was deleted when U.S. 385 was commissioned in the 1940s. US 18 is one of the original 1926 U.S. routes. It began at US 85 in the original Mule Creek Junction, about four miles west of the South Dakota state line. In 1938, US 18 was paired with the then-new Alternate U.S. 85, which was commissioned to provide an alternate route for US 85 travelers into the Black Hills.
Major intersections in the Black Hills are frequently named, whether there are communities at the locations or not. See also Three Forks, South Dakota
, Four Corners, Wyoming
, Maverick Junction, South Dakota
, Keystone Wye, South Dakota
, Cheyenne Crossing, South Dakota
, Four Mile, South Dakota
, and Carlisle Junction, Wyoming.
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
at the junction of US 18 and US 85.
| Direction | via | Destination | Distance from Mule Creek Junction |
|---|---|---|---|
| North | US 85 | Newcastle, Wyoming Newcastle, Wyoming Newcastle is a city in and the county seat of Weston County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 3,065 at the 2000 census.- Geography :Newcastle is located at... |
33 miles |
| East | US 18 | Edgemont, South Dakota Edgemont, South Dakota Edgemont is a city in Fall River County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 774 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Edgemont is located at .... |
22 miles |
| South | US 18/US 85 | Lusk, Wyoming Lusk, Wyoming Lusk is a town in Niobrara County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 1,447 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Niobrara County. The town was laid out in June 1886 by engineers working on the Wyoming Central Railway. It was named after Frank S... |
46 miles |
Geography
The Junction is located on the southwest corner of the Black HillsBlack Hills
The Black Hills are a small, isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, USA. Set off from the main body of the Rocky Mountains, the region is something of a geological anomaly—accurately described as an "island of...
proper. US 85 is a major route connecting the Front Range
Front Range
The Front Range is a mountain range of the Southern Rocky Mountains of North America located in the north-central portion of the U.S. State of Colorado and southeastern portion of the U.S. State of Wyoming. It is the first mountain range encountered moving west along the 40th parallel north across...
of Colorado with the Black Hills; travelers to Deadwood and the Northern Black Hills continue on US 85, and travelers to Wind Cave and other attractions in the Southern Black Hills, as well as trucks en route to Rapid City, South Dakota
Rapid City, South Dakota
Rapid City is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of South Dakota, and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek on which the city is established, it is set against the eastern slope of the Black Hills mountain range. The population was 67,956 as of the 2010 Census. Rapid...
continue (turn) east on US 18 to Edgemont and Hot Springs.
A Wyoming Department of Transportation rest area, reconstructed in 2007-08, is located on the northeast corner of the Junction. The southeast corner of the site has been occupied by various service stations and truck stops, the last of which was demolished in the late 1990s. The large hardstand area together with the rest area is used for short-term parking of long-haul trucks and occasionally RVs. The junction is located a short distance south of the Cheyenne River, and is in a typical Wyoming High Plains setting. Several historical and scenic markers at the rest area describe the setting.
History
The routes have been in use since the discovery of gold in the Northern Black Hills (at Deadwood) in 1875. The original Cheyenne-Deadwood Stage RouteCheyenne-Black Hills Stage Route and Rawhide Buttes and Running Water Stage Stations
The Rawhide Buttes Stage Station, the Running Water Stage Station and the Cheyenne-Black Hills Stage Route comprise a historic district that commemorates the stage coach route between Cheyenne, Wyoming and Deadwood, South Dakota...
alignment is located about six miles to the east, and was used as the original alignment of US 85, until 1957—58, when the present alignment was constructed. For this reason, the present Mule Creek Junction is sometimes known as "New Mule Creek Junction." A former route, Alternate US 85, used to begin at the original Mule Creek Junction and followed today's US 18 alignment into South Dakota. US 85A (shown on some early maps US 85E) followed US 18 east to Hot Springs, then headed due north via the current US 385 to Custer and Lead through the Black Hills. U.S. 85A was deleted when U.S. 385 was commissioned in the 1940s. US 18 is one of the original 1926 U.S. routes. It began at US 85 in the original Mule Creek Junction, about four miles west of the South Dakota state line. In 1938, US 18 was paired with the then-new Alternate U.S. 85, which was commissioned to provide an alternate route for US 85 travelers into the Black Hills.
Local communities
A number of ranches are located in the vicinity, but there is no townsite or concentration of houses in the area. The ghost town of Riverview, Wyoming was located approximately 3 miles north, on the present US 85 alignment. The town of Redbird, Wyoming, now a ranch, is located approximately 8 miles south, at the junction of the old and new alignments of US 85 (Cheyenne-Deadwood State Route).Major intersections in the Black Hills are frequently named, whether there are communities at the locations or not. See also Three Forks, South Dakota
Three Forks, South Dakota
Three Forks is a small unincorporated community in Pennington County, South Dakota, United States. It lies at the intersection of U.S. Routes 16 and 385, just north of Hill City along Spring Creek. A small general store featuring fuel is open year-round and other businesses are open seasonally,...
, Four Corners, Wyoming
Four Corners, Wyoming
Four Corners is a small unincorporated town in Weston County, Wyoming, United States. It is located in the Black Hills of northeastern Wyoming, at the intersection of U.S. Route 85 and Wyoming Highway 585. It is located north of Newcastle, southeast of Sundance, and southwest of Lead, South Dakota...
, Maverick Junction, South Dakota
Maverick Junction, South Dakota
Maverick Junction, South Dakota, is a small, unincorporated community located in Fall River County, South Dakota at the intersection of South Dakota State Highway 79 and US Highways 18 and 385, approximately 5 miles southeast of Hot Springs...
, Keystone Wye, South Dakota
Keystone Wye
Keystone Wye is an interchange of US 16 and US 16A located in the Black Hills, featuring two unique structural glued laminated timber bridges. The Keystone Wye is a trumpet-style three-way interchange for the two divided highways, constructed in 1966-67 as part of the project by SD Department of...
, Cheyenne Crossing, South Dakota
Cheyenne Crossing, South Dakota
Cheyenne Crossing is a populated place in Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. The name was collected by the United States Geological Survey between 1976 and 1980, and entered into the Geographic Names Information System on February 13, 1980.-References:...
, Four Mile, South Dakota
Four Mile, South Dakota
Four Mile is an unincorporated community in South Dakota, located four miles west of Custer City at the junction of US 16 and the Pleasant Valley Road ....
, and Carlisle Junction, Wyoming.