Carbon County owes much of its early history to the Union Pacific Railroad. The railroad gave names to unnamed places as it laid tracks westward over the Rocky Mountains that would eventually become the Trans-Continental Railroad. Well ahead of those tracks were Army surveyors laying out the route and marking the waterholes the great steam-locomotives would need to fill their empty tanks. When General Grenville Dodge's crew discovered a clear alkali-free spring, General John A. Rawlins made the comment, “If anything is ever named after me, I hope it will be a spring of water.” Shortly after that Dodge named this tiny oasis Rawlins Springs. The Rawlins KOA Kampground is a perfect "home base" in which to explore this rich historical region. Take a trip to the old Virginian Hotel in Medicine Bow. Travel to the Hobo Hot Springs in Saratoga. Test your Fly Fishing skills at the World Famous Miracle Mile on the Platte River. Take a scenic drive to see "Aspen Alley" - beautiful any time of year! See more attractions at: http://www.wyomingcarboncounty.com/townpages/rawlins/index.htm

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The Carbon County Museums are a great way to learn about the area! Make Rawlins KOA your "home base" and travel to the various area museums for a Western History lesson! Permanent collection on the Union Pacific Railroad, pioneers, residents and outlaws, Native Americans, agriculture, the only Thomas Edison exhibit in Wyoming and much more! Website: http://www.carboncountymuseum.org/ Quick Fact Encampment has a curiosity for the books. The two-story outhouse located at the Grand Encampment Museum was built for deep snow plumbing. To overcome the problem of deep drifting snows this andother similar outhouses were erected high atop a base of cribbed up logs approached by wooden steps leading up five or six feet.

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Located at the northern fringe of Rawlins, this magnificent geologic formation attracts scientists from all parts of the globe. Come see 500,000 years of rock layers clearly visible!

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Built in 1901 and housed prisoners until 1981 when they were transferred to the new penitentiary south of Rawlins. Built of local rock and sandstone the outside architecture is reminiscent of a castle but is nothing of the sort inside. The cell blocks have changed since 1901 and hot water was not placed into the cells until 1978. Guided tours available daily May through September. See the Frontier Prison online for further information.

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