Camping near Bighorn National Forest

This quaint campground is only a mile off a main road, very easy to get to. Appears to be 9 sites, no wifi, and no cell service. Fires are permitted and wood is available for purchase. Bathrooms were clean, water and trash receptacles were available. A lot of the sites are next to the creek/river, which makes this a very unique experience at night. The campground ends at a private road, you can keep driving and chat with some locals if you're not worried about turning around.

I did not stay the night as there were no available spaces. Traffic appeared to be minimal. Fees may be different than posted on here, be sure to read the self-pay instructions.

Turn onto Circle Park Road and the dispersed camping spots start about a half-mile down an easy dirt road. The road is about 3 miles long and ends at either a campground or a trailhead parking area depending on which way you go. The campground is paid, but the entire access road (Circle Park) is dispersed. Multiple off-shoots of various dirt roads, most accessible with 2wd, some requiring more.

About a mile from the entrance is where the "established" dispersed sites start, you'll easily tell by the gate entrance. It was open, but does appear to close occasionally. The first fork you come to you can go left which will require 4wd, or you can continue right on the road. About another mile or so you'll reach the second fork. If you go right the dispersed camping ends and the entrance to the campground begins. If you go left it ends at a trailhead, but has some great dispersed spots before that. No matter what vehicle you drive there are multiple spots for you to enjoy.

A decent amount of traffic due to the campground, I saw about a dozen vehicles an hour on average until the sun set. Cell phone reception is hit-or-miss depending on your location and carrier, Verizon had 0-1 bar of 4g where I stayed. There is water available at the campground if you absolutely need it, though I would slip a couple dollars in the self-pay box as a thanks if you do use it.

Lots of awesome established and rough trails depending on what you're looking for. Lots of birds, and there's a couple of fox families living in the rock formations.

It can be a bit noisy depending on where you stay, but the mountain views during sunset are absolutely stunning. I wouldn't hesitate to stay here again.

This is a review for the Campground, which costs to stay at. Currently the price is $20 per night and $10 per extra vehicle. A cash or check self-pay dropbox is available at the entrance. Firewood available for $6 a bundle at the host site. 10 sites total, there is a map at the entrance to show the sites. There is dispersed camping along the access road for free, and a separate Dyrt entry for that type of camping.

The campground is about 3 miles off of paved road. The first 2/3rds of the dirt road was great, last little bit might get tricky after a rain. I can see this campground becoming muddy. With that said, my fwd vehicle made it with no issues. No electric or water hookups, but there is public drinking water and toilets. Cell service is 0-1 bar of 4G on Verizon on a good day, don't plan on having service. It's a no outlet loop road so there is some quiet traffic that ends at night, I saw about a dozen vehicles an hour on average during a beautiful Friday afternoon.

As other reviews have pointed out, this is a great location for kids to explore and enjoy nature. A short hike quickly gets you away from any noise. The snow-covered mountains in the backdrop are truly stunning. The sites are mostly shaded and uneven, but there is a decent variation to choose from. There were 3 sites available mid-afternoon on Friday.

Due to how easy it is to access, everyone should have this campground (or the dispersed camping along the road) on their to-visit list!

This wasn’t our first stay at Deer Park Campground (CG), but it was our first time arriving from the west. We took the first Buffalo exit, which matched up with both RV Life and Waze GPS directions, and easily made our way to the CG. Check-in was quick and smooth. We were guided to premium pull-through site 104. There’s not much “premium”  about this gravel site—aside from its generous 80-foot length, which was more than enough for our 40’ fifth wheel and F-450. The site included a picnic table, and the utilities were centered on the pad. We were able to position ourselves well between the two black tank dump outlets. Water pressure was decent at around 40 psi, and the 50 AMP electric service worked without issue. However, the grass was in desperate need of mowing. Right after we arrived, one of the workers began mowing the sites behind us. Those sites weren't filled the two nights we stayed. Since we had reservations, and they knew which site they were putting us in, it would have been nice if they had mowed the sites that were actually filled. We had two bars on Verizon and four bars on T-Mobile. While there are mature trees throughout the CG, satellite reception should be possible at most sites—especially if you can adjust your antenna. There are several “Deer Run” WiFi networks available. I connected to the first one I saw and got a surprising 279 Mbps upload and 119 Mbps download—an enormous improvement since our last visit about two years ago. Our T-Mobile hotspot also performed well, clocking in at 125 Mbps upload and 22.6 Mbps download. Sites are decently spaced, offering a bit of breathing room between neighbors. You can hear I-90 from the CG, but it’s far enough away that the noise isn’t bothersome. One of our favorite features was the nature trail near the front of the CG—about a half-mile loop—where we spotted several deer. A peaceful walk and a nice touch to the stay. We noticed that while the price per night has increased by $20 since we stayed in site 105 in September 2021, the facilities and the grounds haven't changed.