Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Evanston, WY

Location- 39 miles south of Evanston, Wy in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest of Utah. It is on the east side of Hwy 150 and sits at 9,100'.  There are 15 single site and 6 dbls sites. Reservable with water, sometimes (had it when we were there) and vault toilets.

Some sites aren't level and some sites can become lakes in heavy rain (our friends were in #3 and we almost had to get out the boats!).

Hosts were nice and kept the facilities clean.

Pretty area with the Hayden Fork of the Bear River on the east side of the Campground. Whiskey Creek Trailhead across the Hwy from the CG. Trail leads to Bourbon Lake (yes- this is Utah!).

Beautiful drive from Evanston. Ranger station is about 5 miles north of the CG. Just beyond that is a dump station. Don't remember if there is a sign but it's a hundred yards or so down a little forest road east of 150.

We tried fishing the river by the CG and below the confluence with the East Fork. Caught nothing and saw nothing. 

This is one of those places where you want to have everything you need with you.

 Evanston and Kamas are 40-ish miles away.

The town has a lot of history and you can tour all the old building from the fort. The rv park itself was quite with very clean facilities. Only wish they could add a dog park and kids play area (they have the room).

We went during the summer and had a great time. The views were perfect and the lake is active with choice of water fun rentals. The site is standard with a small lawn area and a pavilion. Bathrooms are onsite as well as showers. Pet friendly but need to be on a leash at all times. Great for RV’s as power and water is present on each site.

Ledgefork sits on the south side of the Smith and Morehouse Resevoir in the Uinta National Forest. The resevoir itself is small, but beautiful, and we love the fact that motorized boats are not allowed, which helps keep the noise factor down. The resevoir is popular with anglers, as well as kayakers, canoes, and paddleboarders.

Ledgefork, as well as Smith and Morehouse campground (which sits at the north edge of the resevoir), are both popular family campsites, especially on the weekends and holidays, so I would recommend making a reservation if you can. Both campgrounds do have walk-up sites available and can be paid for with cash only. Sites are $21 per night.

Ledgefork is the trailhead for the Smith and Morehouse Trail which can take you to the Erickson Basin (5 miles), Island Lake (7 miles), and Crystal Lake Trailhead (10 miles). The trail is available to hikers, mountain bikers, and horses. However, when we visited the trail it was still closed due to fire in the area last year, so make sure to double check and see if it's reopened if the trails are what you're interested in.

Picnic tables, fire grills, vaulted toilets, drinking water, and garbage service are all provided. Pets are also permitted, as long as they are leashed.

Pros:

• Plenty of services, and the nearest town, Oakley, is only 14 miles away
• Lots of recreational activities in the area

Cons:

• Trails were still closed due to fire
• Resevoir was packed due to the holiday weekend (Pioneer Day)

All the basics are here! Spotless bathrooms inc showers. Little but completely fenced dog area. Heated pool (in season). Wifi. Just about a mile S of I-80. Extremely nice manager. Very little shade and it's Wyoming, so "breezy"😉 $40+tax for power and water. (I'm not sure if there's an extra charge for sewer since my tiny camper isn't so equipped and my site doesn't hv it available.)

Stayed here over the weekend for 2 nights in July 2022. Great campground with super clean vault toilets (they got a bit smelly during the afternoon but overall very clean). We stayed in site 19 as it was the last one available when I booked a week prior. Would’ve preferred a different site because 19 is right next to site 20 which is a double site. There was a big family group there who were very friendly, but left their generators running ALL night for their big trailer. I was in a small pop up trailer with my dog & boyfriend. My boyfriend & I hardly slept. It was clearly posted on the camp entrance sign that you can’t run generators from 10pm-6am. Other than that, great campground close to the creek & a good jumping point for hikes in the Uintas. Lots of other dogs there too which made my dog happy.

Campground Review: Dispersed Camping at Pyramid Lake, UT

Pyramid Lake is another gem of a mountain lake found in the Uinta Mountains of Utah. It is a small-medium sized lake you can drive to (with a small walk in) and has lots of National Forest dispersed camping. This area, while on National Forest, does require a recreation pass. A three-day pass is $6 which you can get at the various self-serve stations found along the main Mirror Lake Highway or it is free if you have a National Parks pass. It is on the honor system. So before I go into the camp area a few notes on getting there. Once you turn off highway 150 towards Murdock Basin, you have 6 miles of dirt/rock road ahead of you. A car can make it the first four miles, but a vehicle with at least 18” of clearance (and recommended AWD/4WD) is required as the road turns into sections of just really large rocks. You can stop and camp anywhere along that forest service road, but to get to either Pyramid or Echo Lake, you need the higher clearance.

The camping area and lake: it is dispersed camping so it is very primitive. No running water (either bring your own or a way to filter lake water), no pit toilets (bring a spade to dig a cat hole and bury or pack out your TP), tent or hammock camping (a pull behind trailer won’t make it the last few miles), scattered fire pits (practice extreme fire safety and make sure you fully put out any fire you start), and no garbage service (pack out whatever you pack in), aka typical backcountry camping. I loved it! The lake is beautiful and there is a trail you can walk around it. I did bring my inflatable paddleboard but didn’t end up breaking it out because it was too windy. But I will definitely return to paddle the lake another day. Multiple people were fishing and I could see the fish jumping as well. There is also a large boulder field on the South side of the lake which is fun to scramble around. I have decided my dog is part mountain goat. I chose a small spot about 50 meters from the water—halfway between the lake and where I parked the car. It was small and perfect for just one person and dog.

Downsides to the lake: While visiting a small mountain lake is always fun, there was a few things that didn’t meet my expectations (which are relatively low). The biggest thing which surprised me was how busy it was considering how rough the road was. It is really fun to see lots of people enjoying the outdoors but there were two larger groups of twenty-somethings that were really loud the whole night. I think one group played music and stayed up all night long and randomly walked down to the lake loudly with flashlights (which was really not necessary considering it was a cloudless, full moon night). They had dogs barking and generally seemed to not take the other people camping at the lake into consideration. Granted it was a killer spot for a group campout but it definitely affected by enjoyment of the evening. Overall, I really enjoyed the area and will return to camp again.

Gear Review: Matador Transit30 Duffle

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get the opportunity to test out gear for our awesome partners from time to time. I was given the privilege of testing out the Matador Transit30 packable duffle bag in grey. This bag, when stuffed is shorter but thicker than my phone but when unpacked is a full 30 liter duffle bag. For those who don’t speak liter size it is about the size of a typical medium Adidas duffle bag. It is made up of water resistant ripstop material, has one seam sealed zippered pocket, and the main pocket is accessed by a two-way seam sealed zipper. 

Pros:

• It is super lightweight, which is what Matador is known for, and unstructured. This allows the bag to mold to whatever is inside and be able to fit itself inside another bag. I took this bag filled with my overnight camping stuff when I hiked by paddleboard to another lake and I was able to keep my camping stuff contained while fitting it in my SUP bag.
• The zippers are seam sealed which help with water resistance, overall durability, and versatility of the bag.
• It fits so much stuff!
• It only has hand straps, no shoulder strap (depending on your preferences this is both a pro and con). If you don’t every use shoulder straps why have to keep track of something you never use? The straps are long enough to put over your shoulder and you can wear it as a backpack.
• The stuff sack is attached to the inside so it is a bonus pocket for small items when the bag is not stuffed inside.
• There is a front small zippered pocket for important things such as keys, wallet, etc.

Cons:

• It is super thin and durable material but I am still nervous about puncture potential. I am really hard on my gear and I guess time will tell if I rip and hole in it or not.
• I am trying really hard to think of something and I am coming up short.

Overall, I am very excited to use this bag for quick overnight camping trips and overall general duffle bag usage. I can see myself including this bag when I travel in case I need extra storage space. If you have a slight love obsession with gear bags (as I do), this is a must addition to your packing arsenal. Its versatility and weight are unmatched and time will tell on the durability (but I have a feeling it will hold up just fine!).

Gorgeous location right next to the lake. It was very quiet and open. We were the only campers there!

No shade or amenities where we stayed. There was lots of room to play around with the dog.

I would stay here again. We enjoyed the sunrise over the lake and watching wildlife. We were able to spot many species of birds as well as deer, sheep, & prairie dogs. Only complaint was loud neighbors.

I only stayed here one night, but it had everything I needed. Kind, attentive hosts, squeaky clean restroom including showers, a small, fenced in area for dogs to be off leash, and plenty of space between campers. There are cabins there as well as tent areas.

Great, quiet campground with super clean pit toilets. This campground has nice big sites with shade. The Bear River runs right next to the campground. We enjoyed the hummingbirds flying through camp. There are sites with shade but being some shade because it can get rather warm. We'd definitely come back. The camp hosted, Randy and his wife are super nice! They are dog friendly so bring your canines to camp.

You need to reserve sites here well in advance as it fills up for the entire Summer as soon as the reservation window opens. It is very clean and well maintained! We loved that we could bring the jet skis right over to the beach at the campground and also that they have a dog beach. We had a fantastic view from our site.

A good campground, but for a price. I prefer BLM camping even though there are less luxuries and amenities. Dogs are allowed on leash at the campground only, not on the beach. There are operators riding around on golf carts frequently throughout the day. The market provides foods and necessities including wood but it’s all pretty over priced. Overall we had a good time, the place is nice. Camp areas are all pretty close together, not very private.

This is a hike in area of camping. Luckily the park provides free wagons so that you can pack up and hike to your area. The hike is about a quarter mile to the general area where there are lots. This area is tent camping only. The views are great and the water is great! It is dog friendly with a leash. Each lot has a paved area with a picnic bench and fire pit. Really enjoyed this place!