Conditions updated for 2024

This page includes known conditions across Wyoming including closures, openings, and events that may impact outdoor recreation. For road construction and condition information, check out the WYDOT page.

Please take note that since the Fifth Edition was printed, all campgrounds on Casper Mountain, in Grand Teton National Park, and most in Yellowstone have gone to an all reservation system. See more details below.

STATEWIDE
Wyoming State Parks has a new reservation system and the website has changed to: reserve.wyoming.gov

Check the status of current wildfires here: Wyoming Wildfires

The State of Wyoming has been closing and "temporarily" re-opening the following rest areas, some of which have RV sewer dump stations. These may now only be open during the summer months:

• Greybull rest area on HWY 14/16/20
• Lusk rest area on HWY 18
• Guernsey rest area on HWY 26
• Moorcroft rest area on I-90
• Star Valley rest area on HWY 89
• Fort Steele rest area on I-80 (still closed)
• Sundance rest area on I-90
• Upton rest area on HWY 16
• Orin Junction and Chugwater rest areas on I-25

More dump stations were added to the new Fifth Edition of the book.

Campground fees keep inching up around the state. Many Forest Service camps are running between $10 and $20 per night, and national park camps are starting around $30.

Choose a specific region in Wyoming:

Northwest

Southwest

Central

North
Northeast

South
Southeast

NORTHWEST REGION
Teton Pass Collapse
WYO22, Teton Pass, connecting Idaho to Jackson, Wy slid away in a landslide. As of this writing, the detour route is through the town of Alpine and through the "Grand Canyon of the Snake River". Campgrounds along both travel corridors will be heavily impacted for at least several weeks if not months or longer.

Yellowstone Floods!
June, 2022 brought devastating floods to the Yellowstone and Beartooth areas. As of this writing, Yellowstone was evacuated and the north part of the park is expected to be closed at least through the rest of the year. Be aware that access to the Beartooths is also hindered, especially through Red Lodge, MT.

Yellowstone Road Construction
Road construction in Yellowstone continues... check out the park's website.

Grand Teton Campgrounds now require Reservations and 3 more in Yellowstone
All campgrounds in Grand Teton National Park will require an advance reservation through recreation.gov. This includes Gros Ventre, Colter Bay, Jenny Lake, Lizard Creek, Headwaters, and Signal Mountain. For Yellowstone, go to www.yellowstonenationalparklodges.com for reservation information.

Grizzly Bear activity at Brooks Lake and Turpin Meadows
Due to grizzly bear activity, the Shoshone National Forest now requires hard-sided camper units for the Brooks Lake and Pinnacles campgrounds (and nearby dispersed campsites). Tents or canvas pop-up trailers are not permitted. Likewise, tents are not permitted in the Bridger-Teton National Forest's Turpin Meadows campground east of Grand Teton National Park. Bear activity has also been very high around the Colter Bay area.

Shoshone National Forest Campgrounds (North Unit)
Wapiti Campground, a Forest Service camp west of Cody, was renovated with electric service at some sites. Fox Creek Campground also received a massive overhaul. It now includes 34 long parking spurs and electric hookups for $20, but may be closed as it's being used to house road construction crews. Nearby Lake Creek Campground may also be closed; as of this writing, it did not have a re-opening date.

Custer Gallatin National Forest (Montana)
The small Chief Joseph campground formerly located along the Montana-Wyoming border near Cooke City is permanently closed.

Grand Teton National Park Additions
If you haven't been to Jackson Hole in awhile, be sure to stop at the Craig Thomas Discovery & Visitor Center located in Moose (near Jackson). Also, the grand aerial tram at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort is operating - go take a ride!

SOUTHWEST REGION
Cottonwood Campground
As of June, 2022, the gravel road leading to Cottonwood Campground was washed out and closed.

Shoshone National Forest Campgrounds (South Unit)
Some of the camps in the Shoshone National Forest (as well as the BLM camps between Pinedale and Lander) are being effected by the pine bark beetle. You'll find that the forests have been thinned (or will be thinned). Fortunately, many of these camps have a diverse forest of aspen, spruce, and fir, so they shade can still be found.

Fremont Lake Campground
This campground near Pinedale received a recent renovation. You'll find more accessible sites, including longer pull-throughs.

Bridge Campground converted to day-use only
The tiny Bridge Campground along the Greys River in the Bridger-Teton National Forest (near the town of Alpine) is now a day-use/picnic area.

I-80 camping at Rock Springs
A common question is "Where can we camp along Interstate 80?" On the east side of the state, many choose Curt Gowdy State Park. On the west side, campers are heading to the 1200-site Sweetwater Events Complex in Rock Springs (formerly called the Sweetwater Fairgrounds). The open lots include cell service, showers, full hookups for $30, or dry camping for $10. Common routes from here include heading north to the national parks (through Pinedale) or going south to the Flaming Gorge.

CENTRAL REGION
Changes at Guernsey State Park
If you have a First or Second Edition of the camping book, take note that Spring Creek Cove campground is permanently closed and Sitting Bull Campground was converted to a day use-only area. The Sandy Beach Campground now has a row of campsites with water and electric hookups. Guernsey State Park now offers rentable yurts (sleeps 8). These are situated on a scenic overlook, have decks, and a shared vault toilet.

Changes at Glendo State Park
If you haven't been to Glendo for a few years, it's worth going back. There are new trails (foot and mountain bike) that are worth checking out, such as the one pictured below that is off the Wetlands Trail. Overall, the park has been working toward a safer, more family-friendly atmosphere, and after a recent three-day stay, I'd say it seems to be working.

South Pass City
South Pass City near Lander features a historic restored mining town, two excellent BLM campgrounds, and a newer 1.6-mile intrepretive trail. This footpath highlights some of the equipment used in the area, such as a 9-ton stamp mill, a water-wheel grinding machine, and a kiln that was used to make the local bricks. Some of the old mining equipment in the nearby Carissa Mine is started up for demonstrations. Also be aware that this sleepy area is no longer going unnoticed; campground visititation is up considerably over the last few years as well as price increases.

NORTH-NORTHEAST REGION
Our Guidebook for the Black Hills
One thing learned over the years is that a lot of Wyoming campers incorporate the Black Hills into their trip. Our 180-page guidebook focuses on the dozens of public campgrounds in northeastern Wyoming and western South Dakota. While a lot of free Black Hills campground info can be found on the web, you'll discover that it's incomplete, inaccurate, and just spotty. This book is an answer to that. http://www.campingblackhills.com

Burgess Junction Visitor Center Re-opening
The Burgess Junction Visitor Center in the northern Bighorn National Forest (interesection of HWY 14 and 14A) was closed for years, but a new partnership with Arrowhead Lodge will allow the center to open again in the near future.

Bighorn National Forest Campgrounds
In the northern Bighorns, Upper Paintrock Lake is closed for good--not a big loss considering there are two other camps right next to it.

In the southern Bighorns, Bull Creek (near Meadowlark Reservoir) and Crazy Woman Campground are now permanently closed. Sitting Bull (also near Meadowlark Reservoir), has been thinned enough that it no longer offers the private sites that it once did. But that isn't keeping visitation down; in fact, many of the camps in the southern Bighorns now fill during the main summer months.

SOUTH-SOUTHEAST REGION
Curt Gowdy State Park Campgrounds
Improvements continue at Curt Gowdy! Tumbleweeds campground, along the north shore of Granite Reservoir, now has paved parking spurs and water hydrants at each site. A newer visitor center was built on the south side of the highway (at the park's main entrance) in 2014. The park is also working toward upgrading campsites with longer pull-throughs, adding electric to group sites, and creating walk-in sites. A number of rentable cabins are also being constructed.

Medicine Bow/Sierra Madre Campground Changes
The segment leading from HWY 130 to North Fork Campground on FR 101 is now mostly paved. This greatly improves access along a stretch that was often heavily washboarded.

The campgrounds in the Medicine Bow National forest have suffered from extensive bark beetle damage and it has had a large impact on the area's campgrounds. Popular camps that have been cleared and re-opened include Silver Lake, South Brush Creek, Nash Fork (open again after many years being closed), Sugarloaf, Brooklyn Lake, North Fork, Ryan Park, Bottle Creek, Hog Park, and Rob Roy Reservoir (partially open). Campgrounds along Barber Lake Road as well as Pelton Creek and Lake Owen are intermittently found opened and closed. Boswell Creek, Haskins Creek, and Bobbie Thompson Campgrounds are permanently closed. Miller Lake is now re-opened as a dispersed camping area.

Even though many of the trees are now gone, it's good to see the campgrounds at least being re-opened. Grasses, shrubs, and aspen are taking off quickly in many of these camps, turning dirt patches into mountain meadows. As one camper from Kansas said, "A day up here, even without the trees, is better than a day back home."

Correction (First Edition only): The driving directions for Silver Lake (now closed), Ryan Park, Brush Creek, and Lincoln Park Campgrounds (pages 353-356) falsely state to drive west on HWY 130 from Saratoga. The directions should read "east."