McCullough Peaks is an area of red-rock badlands just east of Cody made up of several low summits, the tallest being
McCullough Peak at 6,547 feet with a prominence of 1,277 feet.
The whole area is BLM land, and it's a wild
horse herd management area, but we didn't see any of the horses on our trip.
There are dirt roads winding throughout the area, including one leading nearly to the top of McCullough Peak, so I'll recount our trip from where we started, since you could start from any point along the road.
We parked at the base of the peaks, before the road really started to climb, probably just above 5,000 feet, and continued on foot.
But the dirt road and relatively low elevation didn't necessarily equal a leisurely stroll. The hardscrabble on top of the road was loose and a mix of different sizes, so we had to watch our footing as closely as if we were on a single track hiking trail, if not closer. It also ascended several long and steep pitches, especially the initial climb, without the benefit of switchbacks.
The whole are is covered with sagebrush and completely exposed, with no trees in sight. From a distance, the various peaks look like they're carpeted because of the uniformity of the sagebrush.
The top of McCullough Peak is marked with an array of radio towers and a BLM marker, but we didn't make it all the way up this time. We made it within about 100 vertical feet of the summit (you could see the towers above), but after every turn, the road just kept winding into the distance, and with afternoon storms threatening, we decided the area was too exposed (both on top and along the return journey) to test our luck. Despite having to turn back without making it to the top, we still probably hiked between eight and 10 miles round trip.
Because we didn't make it to the summit, we'd like to try it again, but not until fall or next spring (or even possibly a nice winter day), since the low elevation and proximity to Cody make it a good hike for a cooler day when higher-elevation hikes have started to get snow.