Best Dispersed Camping near Ralston, WY

We pulled off of highway 16 to just explore and found that this area has a lot of options for camping. It is a vast stretch of BLM land between Cody and Greybull. The road in is rocky dirt but easily doable in our 26’ class C. Any size rig should do fine here. The road splits many times and we just used satellite view to check where the roads lead and decided on one. 

The area we stayed in is flat and quite large with a stone fire pit. It did get very windy but died down through the night. The view is amazing. It was quiet and overall a nice place to hike or bike around. Saw some prong horns on the way in too! 

There was a group of hunters that came around to check things out in the evening, then returned the next morning and shot an antelope from the next ridge over, then took a very long time doing photoshoot with the carcass. Antelope hunting is big in Wyoming. Not sure when hunting season is but something to watch out for if you’re exploring out here. Other than that we were the only ones here. 

No water or any other amenities so pack in and pack out. The area was mostly free from litter but there were some bullet casings around which is almost a given in BLM territory. 

Good cell reception with ATT, Verizon and TMobile.

This was hands-down one of the best campsite areas I ever found. National forest so it was open and free to whoever. Several spots just off Beartooth highway from Joseph Highway west to the Montana boarder. Most turnoffs have places for three or four different groups to camp. Some with bear boxes and some without. Most are only a rocks throw from water. Crazy creek is a waterfall area across from crazy Creek Campground. Very worth the short hike. Yellowstone is only 10 or 15 miles to the west and the town of Cook City is there if you need any basic supplies.

This site about 12 miles up sunset road along a very rough washboard dirt/gravel rod. The road was extremely dusty in the summer and almost forced us to turn back. The dispersed sites are very rough and not well maintained. However, the views are some of the best we have ever seen in Wyoming. The sunset in the valley seemed to go on forever and provided light up until 10 pm. You will need 4 wheel drive or high clearance to access the best sites next to the river. If you are willing to endure the drive and don’t mind rough dispersed camping, the beauty of the site more than makes up for it. No facilities here just a stone fire ring. The site is known for grizzly bears. So you need to be an experienced camper to enjoy this area or take precautions.

We bookdocked for 14 days in this beautiful spot along side a huge canyon! There was a stream at the bottom and 5 springs running out of the mountain across from our camping spot. We also saw lots of deer, a moose and watched locals drive 900 head of cattle down the road. Yes, they said there were 900!

(October 9th, 2023) This was the perfect place to stop on our way out of Yellowstone! It wasn’t clear if there were designated camping spots, but we parked at the end of an empty plateau like some other vans we could see in the distance. Stargazing was incredible, and the views during sunrise were amazing! It was windy on top of the hills, but fine for car camping.

Had an amazing night staying here on our way to Yellowstone. Easily accessible from the main road and lots of pull offs and turn arounds. We stayed in one of the first designated spots because we had a 20ft camper and there was only one other person we saw staying a couple hundred yards down the road. Great place to stop for the night or stay for a few days, close to town yet isolated in a beautiful desert.

We’ve stayed in multiple dispersed sites across four different states and this was my wife’s favorite. We did stay in one of the developed spots and there was only one other camper in a spot where we couldn’t see them. It is ten miles down a gravel road and if you’re going to Yellowstone the road does not go through, you’ll have to go back out the way you came. However we thought it was more than worth it for the views!

We intended to stay on the other side of the road, (river side) but missed the turn. We stumbled on this trailhead/OHV site and ended up staying here for the night. There are multiple dispersed sites that back up to the Pilot Creek Trail. Plenty of spots in the grass for big rigs and trailers. We ended up near the horse coral/bathroom (vaulted toilet), not ideal but worked in a pinch. Lots of mosquitos. Some sites have bear boxes.

What a Great Spot, Camping Right on the River Surrounded by gorgeous Mountains. Across is another Huge Spot for Camping And it’s Free

Getting into the area was easy and there wasn't much there other than solitude over a vast long and wide grasslands valley and a humongous 360 degree sky view. Very little shelter from the wind, however if you set up against the small hills just right, you'll have just enough shelter when things a blowing. July 1 was dry and there were herds of deer and a small pack of coyotes wailing in the distance at night. Not too far from Cody, which has an endless rodeo in the summer, it was easy to stay here for free and be close to society too. I will stay here again in my future travels through the area.

Took goldwing to yellow stone. On way back stopped and was great. One tuck drove around us at a considerate distance. Around 9:30pm. No big deal. Was one other van parked where we first came in.

There are several spots to stay. You here a little bit of noise when u sleep in a tent. Can get windy. But amazing view. People are shooting here.

This area is huge so there’s plenty of space to camp, you may see other RVs on the distance. I love that there’s very good phone reception.

Dirt road driving in. Only one other camper on site (in view). We attempted to drive down the road to the bottom but stopped + turned around due to muddy terrain. We chose to stay on the top along the right road as you come in. Several clearings- perfect to park.

Big flat area up top, another down lower, and multiple spots as you drive down into the basin. It’s desolate, has no services, but these are excellent spots near the road, and are mostly accessible to sedans if the roads are dry.

Place was empty on a recent Tuesday eve.

Open spaces, enough room for my dog to run around off leash, cell service and quiet.

Easy access and nice view. However, its not really clear where we can stop to camp, but we just found a grassy area and stopped there. Pack in and pack out as always,

We found this spot to stay overnight before visiting Cody and the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. We got a great spot with amazing views of the sunset. The road is rough in just a couple of spots, but we saw vans and a large Class C make it up here no problem. It was very quiet at night. There is a highway to the north, but the hills block most of the noise. Verizon cell reception was poor but did work. Starlink had super fast speeds. Sites were clean and definitely worth a look.

Fantastic spot. Well maintained road. Clean. Beautiful vistas, Elk, etc. A bit windy, but no complaints here. Very minor road noise during the day, but nothing but crickets and Coyotes at night. Would definitely come again.

Quiet and peaceful setting.