Best Dispersed Camping near Fort Bridger, WY

We stayed just outside Buckboard Crossing Campground near 41.23339 N, 109.59618 W and had an amazing experience. For most of the week, we were completely alone it was quiet, peaceful, and right along the water. Finding a level spot close to the lake can be a little tricky, but nothing too challenging. We tow a 19 ft travel trailer and had no issues getting in or out.The dirt roads in can be rough in places definitely a lot of ruts and potholes likely caused by people driving when it's muddy. That said, we saw smaller vehicles make it just fine. While we wouldn't recommend this for oversized rigs unless you're experienced, the main access road to the sites is wide enough, and a large travel trailer did show up a couple days before we left.There were some folks with off-leash dogs, and traffic picked up a bit on Friday and into the weekend with boaters and folks riding around on UTVs, but it never felt crowded. There is some scattered trash around the area left by others, but nothing overwhelming.Just down the road is the established Buckboard Crossing Campground with a boat launch, vault toilet, and what looks like a dump station and spigot, though the water was shut off during our stay. We ended up dumping and refilling at the Maverik in town, which had free services.

This campground sits right on the shore of Lake Flaming Gorge. The access road is dirt, with ruts and rocks. Tricky when wet. Scout before deciding to go down it. Camp ground has great cell coverage and stone fire rings but nothing else. Not much shade since, there are no trees. Sadly, bushes and thickets have been used as toilets and are downright gross! Wind off the lake can be furious. Try to find a spot further in, especially if you are tent camping. Generators tear through the silence of the night. Bring ear plugs! Hiking is great right out of the campground. Not sure if I’d come back. Although views and sun set are spectacular, everything else looks is not.

Very large dispersed camping area. As the starting point we chose Anvil Draw Boat Ramp. From here many roads bifurcate and you can select many other dirt roads - where to go and where to stay, by the water or on top of the hill with 360 views (google maps shows them pretty accurately). We stayed 5 nights - the longest so far and it wasn’t planned that way. But then the weather, surrounding areas and things to do made us stay longer - without any regrets. We had couple of days very strong winds. But others were hot and sunny to pull our inflatable kayak and paddle around. The waters were calm. Another day we explored to the other side of the gorge (Utah - gorge overviews, Red canyon, geological Sheep Creek Canyon Loop). There are many mosquitoes but as mentioned, they strangely don’t bite and are appearing in intervals and random places - behind protection of the wind and mostly at sunsets. Plenty of cows, pronghorn antelopes, variety of birds. Overall very quiet place with occasional sound of boat passing in the waters. Not much shade or trees around. Perfect view place to recharge and move on to next destination.

West Fork Smiths Fork is a huge area to the west of China Meadows. Campers from all over the state venture to China Meadows to hike to Red Castle, and hunters from all over the country travel here to hunt deer and elk! 

Hiking along the river will lead you south to Bald Mountain and Bald Lake. Dispersed camping is available throughout the entire area. Vast meadows are filled with various wildlife and gorgeous views! 

The simplest access for most campers coming from Utah will be coming down through Wyoming, past Stateline Reservoir. The area can also be accessed from the west via Mirror Lake Highway, but will take significantly longer due to the overall length of dirt road you'll be required to travel on from that direction.