Looking for the best horse camping near Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area? Camping with horses is a beautiful way to experience nature. You're sure to find the perfect site for your South Dakota horse camping excursion.
Circle Park Campground is located about 15 miles west of Buffalo, Wyoming, on the east side of scenic Cloud Peak Skyway, near the Cloud Peak Wilderness Area. Part of the Bighorn National Forest, the area offers a wide variety of activities, including hiking, fishing, scenic driving and a number of historic sites. The administering organization is Gallatin Canyon Campgrounds; e-mail: gccampgrounds13@gmail.com
Scenic off-road driving is available on nearby Elgin Park, Pole Creek and Crazy Woman Canyon Roads. Hiking and mountain biking are allowed on these roads as well. High Park Lookout, a short hike east of Meadowlark Lake, is an old fire lookout offering panoramic views of the area. There is fishing at nearby streams and lakes including Tie Hack Reservoir, a non-motorized lake, and Meadowlark Lake for rainbow, cutthroat, brown, and brook trout. Many additional hiking trails are available in the Cloud Peak Wilderness.
The campground sits at the edge of a meadow tucked in a dense forest of lodgepole pine and aspen with widely spaced sites. Circle Park Trailhead leading into the Cloud Peak Wilderness is nearby.
The adjacent Cloud Peak Skyway provides for scenic driving. Many additional hiking trails are available in the Cloud Peak Wilderness. Fishing is popular in the campground and nearby streams and Tie Hack Reservoir.
Refunds: Refund requests made through www.recreation.gov will be charged a $10 processing fee. This cancellation processing fee is retained by the reservation service contractor along with the non-refundable reservation fee. All requests for the return of the non-refundable reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee will be declined by the campground concessionaire as they did not receive these fees (these are the fees retained by the reservation contractor, a different entity).
$19 / night
Hunter Trailhead is a campground constructed with the equestrian camper in mind, but available for all users. The campground is located in Johnson Country, Wyoming, just two miles off the Cloud Peak Scenic Byway on Highway 16. The winding drive to the campground travels two miles west of U.S. Highway 16 on Forest Road 19 and is an easily accessible gravel road offering views of wildlife, mountain streams, and abundant wildflowers.
Rising between the Powder River and Big Horn Basins, this scenic country offers year round recreation connecting visitors to a land rich in history and solitude. For centuries, the mountain landscape has provided renewal for Native Americans, homesteaders and modern day explorers creating a human connection with this spectacular place. The Hunter Trailhead provides numerous hiking and horse friendly trails to access front-country, the Cloud Peak Wilderness as well as the Rock Creek Recommended Wilderness Area. The surrounding Bighorn National Forest offers a wide variety of activities, including hiking, fishing, scenic driving, wildlife and a number of historic sites.
No region in Wyoming is provided with a more diverse landscape - from lush grasslands to alpine meadows, from crystal-clear lakes to glacially-carved valleys, from rolling hills to sheer mountain walls. The campground is situated high in the Bighorn Mountains in northern Wyoming, at an elevation of 7,800 feet, so be prepared for all types of weather. A dense forest of lodgepole pine is the dominant vegetative cover.
Tie Hack Reservoir is a 15-minute drive southeast of the campground. The scenic lake offers a great location for canoeing and fishing. Anglers there cast for rainbow, cutthroat, brown and brook trout.
$22 / night
Doyle Creek Campground is located 30 miles west of Buffalo, Wyoming, on the east side of scenic Cloud Peak Skyway, near the Cloud Peak Wilderness area. Located in the Bighorn National Forest, visitors to the area enjoy a wide variety of activities, including hiking, fishing, scenic driving and a number of historic sites. The area offers excellent habitat for a wide variety of wildlife species. The administering organization is Gallatin Canyon Campgrounds; e-mail: gccampgrounds13@gmail.com
Scenic off-highway driving is available on nearby Elgin Park, Pole Creek and Crazy Woman Canyon Roads. Hiking and mountain biking are allowed on these roads as well. ATV trails are adjacent to camp. Many additional hiking trails are available in the Cloud Peak Wilderness. Fishing is popular in the campground and nearby streams and lakes.
Scenic off-highway driving is available on nearby Elgin Park, Pole Creek and Crazy Woman Canyon Roads. Hiking and mountain biking are allowed on these roads as well. ATV trails are adjacent to camp. Many additional hiking trails are available in the Cloud Peak Wilderness. Fishing is popular in the campground and nearby streams and lakes.
Located at 8,100 feet in elevation, the campground is situated in a densely forested area of lodgepole pine. Campsites are located on a creek and meadow in a peaceful and remote setting. Temperatures can drop significantly once the sun goes down. Summer daytime temperatures range from the 60s-90s, with nighttime temperatures down to the 50s. June is sometimes rainy while the rest of the summer has fair, clear, sunny days. Thunderstorms and snowstorms can arise at any time. Autumn temperatures are cool with frosts by mid-September.
Scenic driving on Cloud Peak Skyway.
Refunds: Refund requests made through www.recreation.gov will be charged a $10 processing fee. This cancellation processing fee is retained by the reservation service contractor along with the non-refundable reservation fee. All requests for the return of the non-refundable reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee will be declined by the campground concessionaire as they did not receive these fees (these are the fees retained by the reservation contractor, a different entity).
$19 / night
If you're looking for a campground that's small and remote, Little Goose Campground is ideal. Several small streams are nearby.
Provides access to: Coffeen Park Trail - #592 which accesses Cloud Peak Wilderness . Ample parking available.
Traveler
44°35'22.4"N 107°07'30.4"W
These are from Google Maps..
Scout
Found it closed, no idea if indefinite. 6 Sept 2023
GuideCircle Park is an awesome spot. It’s so close and easy to get to from Buffalo, and there are plenty of different spots so you can find something you like. Shaded areas, more sunny spots, more private or close to the road. My family and I stayed here for about a week in late July. Nice spot to go when it’s super hot in town.
RangerFound a great site with a Boulder yard nearby that the kids spent the entire afternoon playing on. Good views and quiet. Some sites might be tough with bigger trailers. Mosquitoes got pretty bad.
Guide-free dispersed camping -secluded areas -no water/restroom at dispersed camping areas but there is in all the campgrounds. -surrounded by beautiful hikes and scenery -saw a moose
TravelerThis campground is an amazing off grid location for those looking to escape for a little while. The directions in the description is correct, however the GPS coordinates are not, so I will try and fix that through Dyrt. I was able to cross reference the name of the campground with USFS maps on OnX to find the actual coordinates, this led us down a nice easy dirt road that eventually lead to a pretty rough Jeep trail. You wouldn’t want anything less than a stock Wrangler or equivalent to take this road. In our rig we bottomed out a few times, and by the time we made it to the campground we weren’t sure how we would make it out if it were to snow or rain.
However, that being said, we had the whole campground to ourselves, in a beautiful creek filled with trout. A vault toilet with his and her designations was on site, and nice little hiking trails followed the river. It was a wonderful place to stay for a few days off grid.
I would totally recommend this campground for anyone who is overlanding or has a camping setup that is capable of four wheel drive. There are about 3 sites available for truck and trailer (our trailer is 12ft and is the biggest I’d ever consider bringing down this trail, I will also note it has 33” off road tires and high clearance). As well as a number of tent sites, all with either rock fire rings or metal fire rings with cooking grates.
We were able to crawl our way back out of the camp area after an overnight steady rain, we kept in in 4 low and made it safely.
RangerLoved it here. The best advantage over dispersed was with dedicated fire rings we were permitted fires during a fire ban. Firewood was $6. Campsites near the bathrooms are near a meadow animals visit at dusk. Our site had some morning visitors on the ridge. Very neat site.
TravelerCircle Park Campground is beautiful with private sites. Numbers 4 and 5 are next to the pit toilet, for those who care about that. Site 2 is steep, so be aware of that if you are reserving and have a trailer.
There is also beautiful dispersed camping on the way in, so it is a great destination even if you don't have a reservation.
GuideBeyond stoked to have found this spot. Amazing dispersed camping. Was out in the first week of October and that’s all they allowed. Was able to have a nice fire and camp right next to a beautiful creek. The hikes and views around are unbelievable, totally worth the drive.
TravelerAwesome camp spot. Host was super nice and helpful when we arrived. Stunning mountain views and lots of areas to explore. Water and bathrooms were available, fire ring and picnic table at each site spot.
Guide
Lot of space which you may share with a wandering cow from rangeland. We loved it here. Beautiful country with room to wander after dinner with the dogs!
TravelerWell-managed site in ponderosa stand with scenic drive .. very scenic quiet trail along Doyle creek starting from backside of campground that turns into a loop through meadows and ponderosa. No services only water and clean loo. Nice campground
RangerSmall but beautiful campground located in the Bighorn Mtns of Wyoming. Off hwy 16 a little ways this campground is big on scenery if not amenities. Although tree covered they are rocky and small. However the equestrian area at the back has some beautiful spots.
ScoutWe've stayed here a few different times, the last time being in May and the first in early August. There are some great dispersed sites throughout the road to get to this campground... Quite a few people bring their horses and/or off road toys. Great mountain views! Worth the trip every time.
LegendWe stayed at the Circle Park Camp for two nights on our western US tour last summer. The site is about 20 miles west of Buffalo WY off Highway 16. You take circle park road north and the campsites are in and along the tree lines. We opted for a beautiful open site between to wooded areas. The pictures don’t do it justice. It is an incredible site. The road going in is gravel and dirt with some rough areas. We observed deer and elk in the area which is popular with local hunters. The site does not have any facilities. So you need you need to pack everything into the site. The dispersed site has trailers, RVs, and vans. Some of the campers appear to be long term. The shear beauty of this spot makes it a good option for those who like dispersed camping and no camping fees. Not far from Cody WY which is a great place for fly fishing rods and tackle.
Travelerthis campground is great! There is a stream for good fly fishing and we always see a bunch of wildlife!
TravelerStayed here multiple times with friends and family and loved it! There is a ton of area to hike and spots to fish all over!
LegendThis is a tiny campground in the Cloud Peak Wilderness area near the popular Circle Park Trailhead. There are only 10 sites that are bordered by aspen groves and meadows, with a few nice trees in each site. There’s a pretty little brook that runs across the back of the campground. The vault toilets were clean, each site has a picnic table and firepit with grill ring, and the campground hosts had firewood for sale. Because this is about a mile or so down a forest service road, it was really quiet. My neighbors saw a moose with twins on the edge of the meadow the morning I showed up, but I never saw them. However, the wildflowers and birds were plentiful. If the campground is full there is plenty of free dispersed camping along the road to the campground, and lots of people took advantage of that. The Circle Park trail is incredible, with a hike up to a great lake (several fellows were hooking decent sized fish). The campground is not far from the cute town of Buffalo, WY, home of the largest free public pool in the state.
RangerWe saw lots of wildlife, even moose, since the campsites are right in the forest. There weren’t too many sites and there are no reservations so don’t expect to pull up late and get a campsite (we didn’t get a site in July at 4pm but were ok for September at 6pm). Sunsets were incredible and we did a lot of hiking nearby with this as a “basecamp.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area is Circle Park Campground with a 4.6-star rating from 12 reviews.
What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area?
TheDyrt.com has all 5 equestrian camping locations near Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, with real photos and reviews from campers.
