Dry Sandy offered the first water west of Pacific Springs. The amount and quality of water available in any year depended on the amount of rainfall and snowpack. Since the surface was often dry, the emigrants dug shallow pits or "wells" in the ground to reach the water below. The water was often heavily alkali. During the later years of the emigration, it is said that Mormons remained encamped here throughout the season, maintaining the wells and selling the water to the passing emigrants. This gave rise to the name "Mormon Wells."

The Dry Sandy swale is one of the most pristine remnants of the westward trails. The heavy pull required by the sandy landscape left a groove in the ground that is approximately 100 feet wide and six feet deep. Visitors today drive on a two-track road, originally created for freight traffic in the era following the emigration, parallel to the impressive swale.

The Pony Express maintained a relay station at Dry Sandy. The stone remains could still be seen into the 1940s but all evidence of it has now vanished.

Ownership
Private

Directions
Sublette County, Wyoming. T27N/R103W

National Park Service Comprehensive Management Plan
There are no known threats to the area. The site is not listed on the National Register.