America's Best State Parks: Vanishing Act

Now you see it—now you don’t. The Popo Agie River pulls a fast one in this 600-acre state park, temporarily disappearing underground into cracks in the thick limestone at “The Sinks” only to reemerge at “The Rise” a quarter mile downstream. Check it out on a short, .3-mile walk, but don’t stop there; see 60-foot-tall Middle Fork Falls as the Popo Agie plunges into rocky Sinks Canyon on a quick 3-miler.

Start at Bruces Parking Area and take the Falls Trail 1.5 miles to the snowmelt-fueled cascade. For some more miles, pick up the Canyon Trail on your return for a 4-mile loop—a low price for the additional aspen-and-pine forests, sagebrush meadows, and glacial moraines.

Trailhead: Bruces

Season: Spring to fall

Permit: $6/vehicle ($4 for WY residents)