Wonderful little campground with a few trails and a rare geological feature.

Wyoming allows booking day off. Wyoming uses the 

There is no extra entrance fee, your camping fee covers the entrance. Wyoming residents get 50% off the camping, day use, and online reservation fees.

Wyoming sells an annual camping pass for residents and annual day use permits for residents and non-residents.

Wyoming

Sinks Canyon State park

A great option for base camp if you can't get a campsite in Yellowstone although it's about a 45 minute drive to the east entrance.

Buffalo Bill State Park has all the basics - showers, water, dump, and bathrooms. The campsites are well spaced and fairly level.

We would stay here again if we travel through the area.

This is an inexpensive state park for residents of Wyoming.

The weather in Wyoming tends to be hot and dry during the summer. Most days will be a bit windy (we joke that Wyoming is where the wind is born).

Not a lot to do at this park but it is a good base camp as noted above. If you plan to spend significant time in the park you'll need to bring your own activities.

North Fork campground has large grassy areas inside the loop circles. They are big enough to play volleyball, soccer, etc. 

On the banks of the Buffalo Bill reservoir.

There are two campgrounds at this state park. Both are well taken care of and have large grass areas.

Lake Shore campground is smaller and on the banks of the lake. 

North Fork campground is much larger and on the banks of the river. All of the sites here are pull throughs, some with hookups and some without.

The sites are gravel and fairly level. All seem to have a fire pit and a picnic table. There are a few trees but most sites are very sunny.

All of the amenities were clean and well stocked during our visit. The facilities looked well taken care of.

The 4 showers in the park are located in the North Fork campground. All are private with locking doors. There is a flush toilet in each shower room as well.

The showers are paid and accept quarters. We were there for two days and the change machine was out of service the second day, so bring quarters. Showers were hot though.

Pit toilets are located throughout the campgrounds and were pretty good for pit toilets.

Water spigots are also located throughout the campground. There was a large dump station near the pay booth at the North Fork campground.

A bonus amenity we have not seen before is a park library located in the North Fork campground near the showers. The library had an assortment of books, puzzles, and DVDs.

The reservoir allows boating and fishing. 

There is one very short trail in the North Fork campground labeled "Nature Trail". It leads from the parking lot to the river bank and you'll need to use your imagination a bit.

 has a Walmart, fast food, and lots of touristy but quaint shops. It also boasts a rodeo every night.

 east entrance is about 45 minutes from the park. This entrance leads to the Fishing Bridge area on the main Yellowstone loop. It's a bit of a hike to stay outside Yellowstone but it is doable when you can't find a campsite inside.

 has a free visitor center where you can learn about the history of the dam and reservoir. It's worth stopping for an hour if you like historical sites.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

 has a free visitor center and museum located in Cody dedicated to early pioneers of the Big Horn Basin. The visitor center features a hand painted mural on the domed ceiling of the rotunda. 

 is located in downtown Cody. This is a large museum about the settling of the western US. The museum does charge admission.

Beautiful views of the lake and surrounding hills. This is a nice but basic state park just outside Yellowstone's east entrance.

Buffalo Bill State Park

This park is close to I-25 and I-80, just 45 minutes from Cheyenne and 30 minutes from Laramie. It's a great jumping off point for exploring southeastern Wyoming, including the Snowy Range of the Medicine Bow Moutains.

The park is open year round and ice fishing continues throughout the winter.

Curt Gowdy State Park is a great location for a short stop over while traveling I-25 or I-80 or for a longer stay to allow for fishing and hiking.

: If you plan to put your boat, kayak, paddle board, blow up inner tube, etc. in the water in Wyoming, you'll need to have it inspected and you'll need to purchase an AIS sticker. The inspections are usually setup at rest areas near the state borders. AIS stickers can be purchased at Walmart and other sporting goods stores. This is all to stop invasive mussels from infecting the waterways.

: There is a 15hp limit on the reservoirs.

Not specific to Curt Gowdy State Park, but Wyoming allows overnight stays at rest areas and there is usually a decent set of services available at the rest areas. For instance exit 4 on I-25 has potable water, dump station, space for big rigs and a visitor center with bathrooms.

If you don't plan to boat or fish, there are enough trails to hike or bike to keep you occupied for a couple days.

Cheyenne Frontier Days is held each year in the mid to end of July. It's a very popular rodeo, parade, concert and carnival type event. Campsites and even hotels are very hard to come by during this time, so plan accordingly. 

The campsites are a mix of dry camping and sites with electrical so check the site listings carefully when making a reservation. 

Those with big rigs will probably want to stick with the sites on the north side of the main reservoir since the road between the north and south sides is a bit narrow and steep. 

There are potable water stations scattered about as well.

There are flush toilets and showers at the visitor center, but the rest of the park has pit toilets scattered throughout. They are usually clean and well maintained.

I believe the showers at the visitor center are the paid type that require quarters but they do have individual locking doors. 

There is a lot of wildlife that can be viewed in park, but you'll mostly see mule deer and birds. The main attraction at the park is the reservoir for boating and fishing. 

Hiking all the trails in the park may take a few days and have nice views of the hiils and lake.

Cheyenne is only 45 minutes away and has all the services you would expect from a small city. There are two Walmarts (which allow overnight stays), a Home Depot and a Lowes. There are also lots of fast food and non-fast food restaurants. 

 is worth visiting if you are in town in July. 

Cheyenne is a historic Union Pacific city and is home to the only working Big Boy steam locomotive (#4014). You can also visit another Big Boy (#4004) sitting in Holiday Park. 

Laramie is only 30 minutes away to the west and is a smaller city, but still has great restaurants and services. 

The Snowy Range is close by for some great hiking in the Medicine Bow Mountains.

Wonderful state park just 45 minutes from Cheyenne with hiking, biking, boating and fishing. A great base camp for visiting the Snowy Range.

Information for Wyoming

Booking

Fees

Reviews for Wyoming

Sinks Canyon State park

Buffalo Bill State Park

Curt Gowdy State Park