Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Centennial, WY

We drove to Medicine Bow specifically to camp here. The pictures don't do it justice! 

We arrived on Wednesday morning to find all sites occupied. So we drove around for a little while before heading to Brooklyn Lake. 

Sugarloaf is easy to reach. Just take 130 from Centennial and turn right on USFS Road 346. No 4x4 or high clearance necessary, we watched a few cars make the trip in/out. 

Dont have much to review since we didn't stay the night, but the scenery is excellent. Even the drive in on 130 was one of our favorites. 

We will definitely try this one again in the future.

Campground Review

This campground is located in the Poudre Canyon area of Colorado. This is a private, 420-friendly campground. While many will be drawn to that allure, there is a lot of other features this campground offers that makes it a lovely place to stay. There’s communal fire pits, a jungle gym for kids, and hiking trails into and up the Poudre Canyon. It’s also a good place to bunk if you like to fish, with access into the rivers just across the road and so many other spots just a short drive away. Across the road is a general store for any last-minute camping supplies, munchies, booze, and ice. There’s also the Poudre Canyon Grille – a tiny, well-kept trailer serving up burgers, fries, and other fast food sandwiches. Near the office, there’s a large covered patio that has a cell and WiFi booster and in the summertime is a lounge area with a TV. There are two areas that have a bathroom with shower – both single use. When there are nearby music festivals, Canyonside has been known to shuttle festival goers to and from areas of greater access to help you enjoy the show. Speaking of shows, there are sometimes laser light shows where the hosts reflect their displays off the rocky canyon walls, and up the canyon there is also a small ampitheatre.

To learn more about what may be going on near the time of your stay, just call the campground. Which is also what I suggest you do before you book, especially if you’re interested in renting one of their really cool themed cabins (there’s a few, are different sizes, and each have a unique décor theme and were all incredibly clean). There are a few factors like the day of the week, amount of people, and amount of dogs you have that will affect your nightly rate. Ask about the dog policy when you call too, as not all sites allow for pets – like the tent sites – and there is a pet waiver that should be read.

One thing I noticed that was neat for tent dwellers was that one area of the tent sites (there are two sent site locations on either side of the park) had a hammock or swing chair and access to water to do dishes (there is also communal dishware) in addition to your typical flat plot, fire pit, and picnic table. There is also poured concrete sites for RVs with electric and water hookups, but I don’t remember seeing a dump station.

Not sure you want to go all the way in on a cabin but don’t want a tent site and you don’t own an RV? That’s OK as there’s also a pop up trailer on site that can be rented as a “glamping” option. It was a pretty neat little place, but due to the size and chance of trapping pet dander, dogs aren’t allowed in there either.

The hosts are very accommodating and want to help you enjoy your stay. They are approachable and can point you to resources to help you make your stay a 420-featured one, if that’s your thing. I understand they’re looking to add more tent sites and shaded areas and continue to tweak their internet to help it cover more of the grounds. I look forward to returning to see how the place evolves. I do like that there’s so many ways the hosts are there to accommodate you, and one thing that I would love to hear about is that they’ve added drinkable water access. Water is there for you but bring your own drinking water on site.

I want to give this place a 5 out of 5 because of how nice the hosts are, how well kept the grounds are, how many camping options there are, and how many activity options you have, but it gets a 4 out of 5 from me because of the water access, pet restrictions, and add-on fees (pet, extra guest), plus possible fines for any ‘dog infractions’. If you plan your trip ahead, you will have a great time here and really enjoy the atmosphere. 

Product Review

As part of the Dyrt Ranger program I am given camping gear to test from time to time, and today I was reviewing a new kind of spork, the Morsel Spork XL. This company makes 3 kinds: The regular sized spork, then the XL, and a spoon XL. I have the morsel XL spork. No better place to review a munchie-curing tool like a 420-friendly campground! I’ve used a lot of sporks over time, and there were three things about this one that I really liked. 

• it is long. At first I was like, “Why do I want a spork this big?” until I started using it with my rehydrated meals. I eat those right out of the bag and when you get near the bottom, with other sporks being shorter your hand starts picking up the juices/sauces from the dish when you start to really dig deep into the bag. This spork kept the pasta sauce on the food and away from my hands. 
• It had a flat edge end on the spoon side. I’ve seen this feature before and it’s an important one because it helps you dig down into the bottom of those bag meals better than a rounded spoon. May not seem like a big deal, but when you’re backpacking and those foods are your fuel, every morsel (see what I did there?) of food counts and a utensil that’s doing a better job than another is the one I’ll want to pack. 
• The rubberized outer coating. This creates a spatula-like effect and – again – helps with getting the most food on your spork, but also now has an argument as to why it could be used when cooking. I wouldn’t want a plastic spork stirring my eggs in case that thing melts into my food, but I’ve been using this morsel one on the stove top to mix simple meals and it does the job better than my JetBoil folding spatula because its rubberized and not as flimsy. 

These sporks are nowhere near the lightest sporks on the market, but their added weight gives them more durability. They aren’t indestructible, but they won’t snap when they get shoved in your pack either. It is technically also a knife because of the ribbed edges of the fork, but I didn’t have a lot of success cutting with this. I love how it’s dishwasher safe and BPA free! Their versatility for camping makes them a better all-around solution for satisfying your hunger than what you’re using now. 4.75/5 because of the whole knife thing not really working super great.

This review is for the abundant dispersed camping, not the two official camping loops.

I love this place. With an asterisk. This seven mile dirt road is filled with sprouts of other dirt roads that is stunningly beautiful and fairly quiet. Beautiful spots to camp and you can tuck yourself away behind a rock formation and far from your neighbors. 

Great rock formations for climbing, mountain biking, abundant Aspen trees for your hammock and right on the edge of Curt Gowdy State Park, which has a broad network of wonderfully maintained mountain bike and hiking trails and plenty of motorized and non motorized water sports. Showers and flush toilet bathrooms and a camp store can be found in here in non-COVID days. 

The animal life is great too. We've had moose and pronghorn deer right at our campsite. And that gets me to…the asterisks. Not only are moose around, but so are mice. In 2 of my 7 visits here we have taken on mice. The last time it was a lot of mice. I mean a lot of mice. I now carry mouse traps with me because of this place. We had tens of mice inside our camper for two days straight. Eating our food and gnawing on wood. Ended up bringing some of them home with us too. The cat got 3. I trapped another 5. Our garbage can was like a Civil War photograph for mice. Also, this place has become popular and can get a little overrun on the weekends with people running generators, shooting shotguns and running around on OHVs. Hard to be more annoying. Last, Wyoming is synonymous with wind. So be prepared for that possibility.

Leave no trace (and run no generators)

We visited Curt Gowdy when multiple fires were burning nearby, so all our pictures are tainted with smoke. This facility offers campers two lakes and several different types of sites. Some are full hook-up and others are no hook-up. We had the latter, but were so happy with our spot. The park is primarily composed of dirt roads. There are so many different types of sites, from those with several trees, lake side, open, or group spots. Water is available for filling bottles, but not campers. No dump stations are open here, but Wyoming has dump stations at its rest stops along the interstates/highways for free. Cell service is unavailable away from the beautiful visitors center. Our campsite sat by itself, on a ridge next to the furthest away lake. It was beautiful and a worn trail at the campsite ended at the water's edge where we could store our kayak in the trees for the weekend. A small beach allowed for chairs to be set up at this spot as well. The lake offers fishing and kayaking. The real draw, though, is the IMBA mountain biking trail system that weaves throughout the park. The trails are well-marked and maps are easy to follow. Hiking is abundant as well. This park sits near Medicine Bow National Forest and has similar typography with awesome rocks, evergreens, aspen and creeks. Hiking is a pleasure in this environment. Our campsite was pull-through with a fire pit and table. There was a fire ban (for obvious reasons) during our September visit.

Curt Gowdy is the perfect campground for all ages and all types of campers. The best part is the plenty of activities they offer and you'll have access to. Bring your water toys, bow (for the archery course, which is super cool), hiking gear, bikes...you name it! There's a little store on site in case you've forgotten or run out of something. They have parks for kids and pets are allowed on leashes. Some sites are more covered in shade than others. The downsides are that you have to book to reserve super early in the year since they fill up fast and they only allow two structures per site unless you get a group site. That makes it hard to invite friends to come along unless you can commit up to months in advanced.