Wender·Vista
Cirque of the Towers Lonesome Lake
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileWyoming
deep in the Wind River Range, west of Lander

Cirque of the Towers Lonesome Lake

— — the lake the granite circles all day.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“The lake at the floor of the Cirque of the Towers, ringed by a half-moon of granite spires that hold their colour into the long Wyoming evening. Most people who get here walked nine or ten miles over Jackass Pass from Big Sandy. There is a rule that you camp a quarter-mile back from the water, so the shore stays quiet. Nobody talks much in the last light. — from the studio

from the studio
Cirque of the Towers Lonesome Lake
— bring it home

Cirque of the Towers Lonesome Lake, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Cirque of the Towers Lonesome Lake

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Lonesome Lake sits at roughly 10,160 feet on the floor of the Cirque of the Towers, a horseshoe of granite peaks at the southern end of the Wind River Range in west-central Wyoming. The lake lies inside the Popo Agie Wilderness on the Shoshone National Forest, against the Continental Divide. The standard approach is the Big Sandy trailhead in the Bridger-Teton National Forest, about nine miles in over Jackass Pass.

— the silence

Lonesome Lake is one of the few places in the lower forty-eight where camping is restricted to a quarter-mile back from the shoreline, a rule the Forest Service set after decades of heavy use thinned the meadows. The effect is that the basin stays unusually quiet, even in August. Voices carry off the granite. Most parties cook back in the trees and walk down to the water only for the last hour of light.

— the visit

The window is short. The pass usually clears of snow by early July and closes again with the first serious storm in late September. Most visitors come in on the Big Sandy trail from the south, a nine-mile carry with a stiff climb over Jackass Pass before the basin opens. There are no permits required to enter the wilderness, but groups are capped at ten people and bear canisters are strongly recommended.

— where
United States · Sublette County, Wyoming
— within
Popo Agie Wilderness
— elevation
3,097 m · 10,160 ft
— position
42.7667° N · 109.2167° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
1 km N
Pingora Peak
granite spire
6 km SE
Big Sandy Lake
alpine lake
2 km S
Jackass Pass
mountain pass
N
Cirque of the Towers Lonesome Lake
Pingora Peak
Big Sandy Lake
Jackass Pass
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Cirque of the Towers Lonesome Lake — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

Lonesome Lake sits at about 10,160 feet on the floor of the Cirque of the Towers, in the Popo Agie Wilderness on the Shoshone National Forest in west-central Wyoming.

The standard route is the Big Sandy trailhead in the Bridger-Teton National Forest, about nine miles in over Jackass Pass. There is no road access.

The Forest Service set a quarter-mile camping setback after decades of heavy use damaged the fragile shoreline meadows. The rule keeps the basin quiet and the soil intact.

Jackass Pass usually clears of snow by early July and closes with the first heavy storm in late September. The reliable window is roughly mid-July through mid-September.

A half-circle of granite spires including Pingora, Wolf's Head, Warbonnet, and Warrior Peaks, the cluster mountaineers call the Cirque of the Towers.

— about the piece in your home

It carries well for people with a tie to the Wind Rivers. The Cirque is a once-in-a-lifetime trip for most backpackers. A Small or Medium with a handwritten card from the studio lands well.

The greys and cool greens sit comfortably in mountain-modern, cabin, and quiet alpine interiors. It also reads well against warm wood and unbleached linen in a Japandi room.

Yes. Granite-and-evergreen palettes and high-country subject matter are a steady current in alpine-modern and slow-living interiors, especially through Mountain West design publications.

Above a standard sofa, a Large reads as a single window. For a console table or a stair landing, a four-tile Mural or nine-tile Mural carries the basin at scale.

Yes. Order the Dura Satin or Matte finish for any bathroom, shower, or kitchen backsplash. Both are scratch-resistant and built for vertical wet installations.

A microfibre cloth with plain water is enough for the glossy show pieces. The Dura Satin and Matte finishes take mild dish soap and a soft cloth without issue.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to the studio. We do not license. The Cirque painting was made for our atlas of places and is not sold anywhere else.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.