Camping

If you are headed to or from Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, your Wyoming camping site should be on Togwotee Pass. Staying on Togwotee Pass provides a perfect break in your driving and a little bit of breathing room and a slower pace you won’t find when you cross out of Wind River country.

Brooks Lake has its own campground or you can continue about half a mile to the Pinnacles campground. There you can settle into a site surrounded by trees, in the woods, on a creek or near the lake. The Falls Campground provides easy access to Brooks Lake Falls. The campground has 54 sites surrounded by mature pine and fir trees. There are also bear boxes. Proper food storage is required when camping on Togwotee Pass.

Learn more about Togwotee Pass.

If you are looking to stay in town, there are several campgrounds, in or on the outskirts of Lander, Riverton and Dubois. These feature hook ups, RV spots, pull thrus and tent sites. They also include amenities like hot showers, restrooms, laundry, dump stations, stores and even wireless internet. Plus you are already in town, so you can explore the shops, restaurants and museums. You can also camp for free in Lander’s city park.

Only a few minutes from town you can set up camp in Sinks Canyon State Park. Here you can listen to the river, hike on nearby kid-friendly trails and easily get back into town if you’ve forgotten anything. There are 24 sites at the Popo Agie campground, which are not conducive to large RVs, and four spots at Sawmill. Cost is $11.25 for Wyoming residents and $20.25 for out-of-state visitors per night. Camping is reservation only from May 1 to September 30, and first come first serve from Oct 1 to April 30. Yurts are reservation-only year-round.

If you head up the switchbacks beyond Lander’s Popo Agie campground, what is known as the Loop Road will take you to several public campgrounds. Louis Lake, Worthen Meadows and Fiddlers Lake all have campsites, without hook-ups, but near water for fishing and boating. These ideal Wyoming camping spots provide fresh mountain air and plenty of space to play and explore.

If you are staying in the Dubois area, the Double Cabin Campground offers 14 spots on the border of the Washakie Wilderness. Two trails leave the campground and head deep into the wilderness. One trail leads to southern end of the wilderness boundary while the Frontier Creek Trail leads to a petrified forest. Water is available. The maximum spur is 32 feet and this area is not accessible for those with mobility impairments.

If you want to get truly off the beaten path, dispersed camping onBureau of Land Management (BLM) or Forest Service land is the best fit for you. With thousands of acres of prairie managed by the BLM and thousands of acres of woods under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Forest Service, Wind River country is a great place to try dispersed camping. This means setting up in an unmarked area without amenities like bathrooms and picnic tables—for free.

You can set up anywhere, as long as it isn’t marked as a no-camping spot or too close to a water source or trail. It’s a great way to truly rough it and create the adventure you want. Be sure to pack up all your garbage and leave the area like you found it. For recommendations on where to go, check with local agencies.

Some of my favorite memories, both as a child and as an adult, involve camping. As a kid, camping provided an incredible adventure: new places to explore and food cooked over a fire. Looking back, I understand that car camping is the perfect way to introduce kids to the outdoors. You can look up at the stars, climb on boulders, and roast marshmallows, all while keeping the convenience of a car stuffed with items for every contingency—weather, bugs, illness tantrums.

As an adult, the appeal is much the same. Dinners can be almost gourmet with over-packed coolers and big camp stoves. Layers can be easily shed and stored with the weather, and there’s always an easy escape with the car. I’ll admit it. I’ve been in a constant torrential downpour and instead of struggling to shield the stove, my party and I opted to drive to a nearby town and eat pizza.

No matter what stage of life you are in, or what kind of camping you are looking for, Wind River Country has it.

Full-service commercial campgrounds, remote sites off the beaten path, and everything in between await to match your Wyoming camping style.