Palisades Wilderness Study Area
Managed by United States Forest Service
3,552 acres2.9 mi of trail
Cabin Creek TrailDog Creek Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
C+Outdoors
Outdoors in Hoback
More than half of Hoback’s land is conserved: 86%
86% of Hoback’s land is conserved, about 23,767 acres. 48 miles of mapped trail cross Hoback, 1.1 per square mile of land. The biggest trail networks: Palisades Wilderness Study Area (2.9 mi).
Ahead of 44% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Conserved land
86%
23,767 acres · of 43.5 sq mi of land
Trails
48 mi
1.1 per sq mi of land
Near a park
under 1%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
18 mi
7.1 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Hoback?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Hoback have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Hoback is ahead of 44% of U.S. towns. Conserved land holds the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
C+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Hoback’s overall grade.
Conserved land86% of the land · typical WY town 9% · U.S. 4%A+Trails1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (48 mi) · WY 1.2 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land0.0 acres of park per 1,000 residents (0 acres) · WY 21 · U.S. 13DParks close to home0% of residents within a half mile of a park · WY 91% · U.S. 72%D−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 44%
LessMore
Wyoming towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 9%; the U.S., 4%), so Hoback’s 86% is ahead of 100% of Wyoming towns, while its trails per square mile lead 46% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B+. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Palisades Wilderness Study Area, with 2.9 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Gros Ventre Wilderness
Managed by United States Forest Service
309 acres0.3 mi of trail
Horse Creek Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Who protects it
23,767 conserved acres
86% of Hoback’s land. Who manages Hoback’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
U.S. Forest Service22,644 ac
State land board535 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits331 ac
State fish & wildlife326 ac
National Forest · 22,644 acState Resource Management Area · 535 acState Conservation Area · 326 acOther Easement · 302 acRanch Easement · 29 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 277 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 6 of 13 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teton National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 18,995 | Open |
| Targhee National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 3,649 | Open |
| State Lands 1111125406 State Resource Management Area | State land board | 535 | Open |
| Horse Creek Wildlife Habitat Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 263 | Restricted |
| South Park Wildlife Habitat Management Area State Conservation Area | State fish & wildlife | 63 | Restricted |
Things to do
7 places to go in Hoback
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Boat launches in Hoback
Pritchard Boat Ramp
DirectionsPlus 1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Hoback
4 peaks without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Campgrounds in Hoback
1 campground without a name on the map.
Trails & water
8 named trails and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 18.2 mi
Palmer Creek Trail4.1 mi
Horse Creek Trail2.6 mi
Cabin Creek Trail2.0 mi
Dog Creek Trail0.6 mi
Game Creek Trail0.5 mi
Little Horse Creek Trail0.3 mi
Rodeo Wall0.2 mi
Game Creek Access Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
18 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
7.1 mi
off-road bike paths
11 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
3Tennis
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Bridge over Snake River-Structure DEYStructure · listed 2022
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Hoback: May to September
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.3 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 15.4 | 15.1 | 13.9 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 9.6 | 9.0 |
| High (°F) | 27 | 32 | 41 | 49 | 60 | 70 | 79 | 78 | 68 | 54 | 38 | 27 |
| Rain (in) | 2.8 | 2.4 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 2.5 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 2.8 |
July is the driest month (1.0 in) and the warmest (highs of 79 °F). 2.8 inches fall in December, the wettest month. The climate in Hoback →
Next door
Hoback and its neighbors
Hoback has the most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hoback | 86% | 1.1 | under 1 | under 1% | C+ |
| South Park | 18% | 1.4 | 24 | 42% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Hoback
Where can I hike in Hoback?
The longest trail networks: Palisades Wilderness Study Area, 2.9 miles; Gros Ventre Wilderness, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Hoback is conserved land?
86% of its land, against a typical 9% for a Wyoming town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Hoback’s trails?
Palisades Wilderness Study Area and Gros Ventre Wilderness don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Hoback?
18 miles of bike routes are on the map: 7.1 of off-road paths and 11 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Hoback?
21,671 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Hoback or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 2,624 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Hoback have?
Ahead of 44% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Hoback neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →