Warren Peak Webcam, Bear Lodge Mountains, Wyoming

The Warren Peak Webcam looks out from the top of the Bear Lodge Mountains in northeastern Wyoming, a 2,024-meter (6,640-foot) summit in the Black Hills National Forest about 9.5 kilometers (6 miles) northwest of Sundance. NewsCenter1, the Rapid City television newsroom, runs it as one of its tower cams. Facing roughly southwest, the camera looks down over open grassy slopes that fall into a wooded draw, then across ridges of dark pine to plains that run flat to a hazy horizon. Sky fills about half the frame, so cloud, haze and passing storms over the plains are a big part of what you see. Autumn is the time to look in, when groves of aspen among the pines turn gold against the tan grass.

About Warren Peak

Warren Peak is the highest point of the Bear Lodge Mountains, a small range in Crook County that forms the northwestern corner of the Black Hills. The range sits inside the Bearlodge Ranger District of the Black Hills National Forest, about 81,000 hectares (200,000 acres) of forest on the Wyoming side of the hills. The peak takes its name from Gouverneur K. Warren, who led an expedition in the Black Hills. Ponderosa pine and mixed-grass prairie cover these highlands, and groves of aspen often separate the meadows from the pine forest. That patchwork is the whole picture on the camera: tan grass in the foreground, a stand of pines and aspens in the draw below, and unbroken forest on the ridges behind.

The summit has a long history as a lookout. The Civilian Conservation Corps built the first fire tower here in 1938, a 3-meter (10-foot) structure with a live-in cab. It came down in 1959 to make room for Sundance Air Force Station, a Cold War radar post whose 731st Radar Squadron served from 1960 to 1968. The station’s radars were the first in the United States to run on nuclear power. A replacement metal lookout, 16 meters (54 feet) tall, went up in 1960 slightly east of the original site.

A road climbs to the top, where there is a small parking area, a pit toilet and an interpretive sign at the base of the tower. Travel Wyoming puts the lookout about 6.4 kilometers (4 miles) north of Reuter Campground on Forest Service Road 838 and describes the view from it as a panorama over both South Dakota and Wyoming. Sundance, the county seat, sits about 580 meters (1,900 feet) lower at 1,444 meters (4,738 feet), and Devils Tower rises roughly 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) to the west-northwest.

Weather and Climate on Warren Peak

The summit runs noticeably colder than the towns below it. Averaged over 2016 to 2025 at the peak’s elevation, January and February highs come in around 24 F (-4 C), with overnight lows of 5 to 8 F (-15 to -14 C). Sundance, far lower down, averages 207 centimeters (81 inches) of snow a year, and up here the open slopes in the foreground can stay white for long spells in winter, with the pines standing out dark against them. Spring arrives slowly. April highs average about 42 F (5 C), and May is the wettest month, with around 100 millimeters (3.9 inches) of precipitation and lows still close to freezing.

Summer is short and mild at this height. July is the warmest month, with highs around 75 F (24 C) and lows near 54 F (12 C), and August is only a little cooler. The meadows are typically greenest in early summer after the spring rain, then dry out to the tan and gold they wear in autumn. September highs average about 64 F (18 C) and October about 47 F (8 C), with October nights dipping just below freezing. In early autumn the aspen groves on the slopes and in the draws turn yellow and gold, the most colorful time of year on this camera.

Things to Do Near Warren Peak

The lookout itself is the obvious first stop, reached by road from Reuter Campground. Cook Lake Recreation Area, on the same ranger district, has a 35-site campground beside a lake that holds rainbow and brown trout, sunfish and catfish. Boating there is non-motorized only, and the lake has an accessible pier and a picnic area. From Sundance, the way in is west on US 14.

Devils Tower National Monument is the big draw in this corner of Wyoming. President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed it the first national monument in 1906, and the tower rises 264 meters (867 feet) from its base. The paved Tower Trail circles it in about 2.1 kilometers (1.3 miles). Back in Sundance, a town of 1,032 people on Interstate 90, the outlaw later known as the Sundance Kid was arrested for a theft he committed there in 1887 and took the town’s name as his nickname.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

More cameras in the Black Hills and the mountains of Wyoming:

• Deadwood Webcam
• Custer Webcam
• Grand Targhee Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Warren Peak located?

Warren Peak is in the Bear Lodge Mountains of Crook County in northeastern Wyoming, inside the Black Hills National Forest. It lies about 9.5 kilometers (6 miles) northwest of Sundance as the crow flies and about 6.4 kilometers (4 miles) north of Reuter Campground on Forest Service Road 838.

What can you see on the Warren Peak Webcam?

The camera faces roughly southwest from the summit. Grassy slopes fill the foreground and drop into a draw holding a stand of pines and aspens, with forested ridges beyond and flat plains stretching to the horizon. The upper half of the frame is open sky.

What is the weather like on Warren Peak?

Cold in winter and mild in summer. January highs average about 24 F (-4 C) with lows near 8 F (-14 C), while July highs reach about 75 F (24 C) with lows near 54 F (12 C). May is usually the wettest month.

How high is Warren Peak in Wyoming?

Warren Peak stands 2,024 meters (6,640 feet) above sea level, the highest point in the Bear Lodge Mountains. That puts it about 580 meters (1,900 feet) above the town of Sundance.

Is Warren Peak part of the Black Hills?

Yes. The Bear Lodge Mountains are one of the ranges that make up the Black Hills region, and they are managed as the Bearlodge Ranger District of the Black Hills National Forest. They lie in the northwestern part of the hills, on the Wyoming side of the state line.

Can you drive to the Warren Peak Lookout?

Yes. A road leads to the summit, about 6.4 kilometers (4 miles) north of Reuter Campground on Forest Service Road 838, and there is a small parking area, a pit toilet and an interpretive sign at the foot of the 16-meter (54-foot) lookout tower.

Who runs the Warren Peak Webcam?

NewsCenter1, the KNBN newsroom in Rapid City, South Dakota, streams it on its YouTube channel and lists it among the tower cams on its weather page under the label Warren Peak, WY.

Source: NewsCenter1