Best Equestrian Camping near Cheyenne, WY

Curt Gowdy State Park, Cheyenne Wyoming 

Located between Laramie and Cheyenne, about 25 miles to each. We stayed at the Tumbleweed Campground. If you enjoy stargazing,  you'll be amazed. There are no campground lights to interfere and campers keep lights to a minimum. We had a cloudless clear sky to enjoy the heavens. One of the most awesome night skys I've seen. Would love to be here for meteor showers! 

This area has electric and water. The sites are gravel and mostly level. Each site is totally separate with great views of the reservoir. There's a nice picnic table and firepit. Vault toilets. Really nice tiled showers (takes quarters) and flush toilets are available 24/7 at the Visitor Center up the road. Boondock and tent campgrounds also available.  Staff super friendly. Camp store has the basics. Nice mountain bike and hiking trails. Popular intermediate hike to waterfall, 4 miles rounddtrip. Fishing, picnicking, kids play areas. 

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 State Park is a peaceful spot situated between Cheyenne and Laramie. The park features a number of amenities for those looking to enjoy hiking, biking, fishing, and water sports. Trails are abundant as is the wildlife that surrounds much of the park.

Sites are mostly dirt / gravel with a few concrete pads depending on which loop you choose for you stay. We camped on Silver Crown which has no hookups, but was a great spot for capturing plenty of sunlight on our solar panels.

To put it plainly, this is a great spot to boondock. We will be back.

Late season camping in wonderful Wyoming is always a risk worth taking and the wife and I were treated to a great final outing for 2020 with our first visit to Curt Gowdy State Park.  We knew we were in for a good weekend during the second weekend of October when we met the staff at the visitor center.  She was helpful, knowledgeable, and even recommended her favorite spot on the water in the Tumbleweeds Campground, one of several great places to camp in the park. 

We were pleasantly surprised to find the favored spot open since it is walk up only in the park this late in the season.  The campground had a fair amount of people at the sites, which are remarkably well spaced and spotlessly clean.  We found the bathrooms that were open in the same condition, and trash receptacles were still available and being emptied. 

Our spot was perfect in every way, with easy access to the water, and a great view of the entire lake.  We set up camp in a brisk Wyoming "breeze" of about 20mph, but the weather was warm.  By nightfall the breeze was a 40mph "blow" but the sunset was a warm orange and gold tinged with smoke from wildfires in both Wyoming and Colorado. 

The next day we spent hiking the area trails and bike paths and recommend the jaunt along Crow Creek to Hidden Falls.  By Friday night into early Sunday morning the blow had turned into a full fledged gale of about 70mph and inside our camper was akin to being in the space shuttle on re-entry!  The wife was planning escape routes should we trade wheels down to wheels on the side.  But by Saturday afternoon the wind was gone and a perfect fall afternoon and evening was served up.  Sunday Morning greeted us with freezing drizzle and a skiff of snow making our Wyoming weather experience completely enjoyable.  This place is a great visit.

Real cowboy Wyoming feel here, lots of fun nature to do and views all around. There are like a dozen different places to camp here, most require some driving on dirt and/or gravel roads to get to. Our sedan handled it ok but in the spring or muddy weather it could be impassable without 4WD. There’s only a few places for campers so if you have a tent you’ll want to bring it so can get closer to the really beautiful spots along the reservoirs. There’s an archery range so if you like to sleep in and/or not hear guns all day pick a campground and campsite far away from that. Anyway it’s an astoundingly BEAUTIFUL area.

Curt Gowdy State Park is a great camping and recreation facility just west of Cheyenne, WY. It seems to be our home away from home, since we spend at least 3 or 4 weekends here every summer. The facilities are clean and well placed. The camping spots are spaced far enough apart that you are not on top of your neighbor, but close enough that you may hear the rowdy crews later in the evening.

We love CG because it is less than 90 minutes from our house and has quite a few recreational activities that we enjoy. The paddleboarding opportunities are immense on both reservoirs, as well as across the road in the cove. The mountain bike trails are top notch and provide endless miles of well groomed and sometimes techy fun. There is an archery range that is more than the 20-60 yard standard course. Get on the trails and find the 3D targets!!!

A word of caution regarding the local youth that have discovered they can come in to the park after hours to party and then scoot out at the break of dawn. The park is big enough that is difficult to patrol and allows for these popup parties to happen.

Also, the winds in WY are no joke. Be sure your tent is well staked down and your RV awning is rolled up anytime you are not near the camper.

Don't let this stop you. The welcome center offers spacious pay showers and there are a few hookup spots. Book early, if you can't get into the park during the week or at least by Thursday afternoon for FCFS spots.