Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Rock Springs, WY

Closest trees to Rock Springs. I go up here for day trips and over night trips. Elk, Bear, Deer, and cows are around. Lots of places to explore and there are never many people around so I can let my dogs off the leash which is really nice.

Our Ford navigation was having a bad day and wanted us to take Exit 91 from I-80 west bound to get to the campground (CG). That exit would have you going through the middle of town, but the alternate navigation we always run(either Waze and/or Google Maps) brought us to the correct exit for the CG. We double-checked the website and verified they are located right off of I-80 at Exit 85 (east bound) or 89(west bound). When we got to the CG, another rig was checking in, so we had to sit on the somewhat busy road until we could make the turn on the street for the CG office. The lady checking us in was super friendly and we proceeded to the upper E section to pull through site 11 with FHUs. The pad was plenty long enough for our 40’ fifth wheel and our F450. The utilities worked fine but we needed a reducer as the water pressure was around 100 psi. We read reviews concerning low water pressure and they were working on the waterline in the CG so be aware. There are trees in or near most of the sites. We put our Starlink in the front part of the pad for a northern sky shot. There are 34 sites in the E section; 19 pull-throughs plus 10 small back-ins and 4 tent sites on the back fence where I-80 runs(you will hear road noise anywhere in this CG. There’s a bathhouse and a small fenced dog area. While we were here for 3 days, the poop bag dispenser was empty and the regular-sized garbage can in the dog area was 1/2 full of poop bags. The laundry facility is in the bottom section where the larger back-in sites/permanent party are located. We checked out the public river access at the end of the road down from where the office is located. You could launch a kayak, but there isn’t much parking. After trying to log into the CG WiFi several times, we connected and the WiFi was not good. We got 3 bars on Verizon. One of the transient workers started a loud diesel truck and let it run a long time before departing each morning. Unfortunately, this is a typical occurrence in these types of CGs. We were impressed with the local area brochures they gave us on local dining and the wild horses. They have 24-hour laundry and showers in the CG. In our humble opinion, the best thing about this CG was the coffee and craft beer on draft at the office. They have 4 craft beers on draft and you can get a flight for$5. The coffee and draft beers at the officer are worth checking out. Try a burger on a cornmeal bun at Broadway Burger Station in Rock Springs. This CG was okay for an overnighter or a couple of days at most.

Campground Review:

We came up here to stay for one night. Its $25 a night so for me a lil pricey but then when I walked my dog around the park I can see why it cost that much. There were like 6 bathroom facilities a boat dock and even shower facilities. There are pull through sites, tent sites, and back in camper sites. It was one of the biggest campgrounds I've been in with excellent views. They had a pavilion where we seen tons of wild turkeys. Ken came and let us know he'd seen a mtn lion in the morning and be careful with out dog he didnt want to see it harmed. He went around the entire campground to let everyone with pets know. So good customer service there. The facilities were clean when I was there and I dont know the curcumstances with the last review but I was able to stay in an "R" site just fine. The campground only had like 4 other guests though that night. I would love to go back to this campground next summer when their open again it was really great and you could walk to Flaming gorge!

Product Review:

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time While I was here I am tesed the Ledlenser MT10 flashlight.

https://www.ledlenser.com/en/products/flashlights/outdoor/mt10/

When I first received this flashlight looking at it only being 5" long I though great another silly wannabe flashlight. Except it had a warning label on it to not shine it into peoples eyes. Hmmm Maybe this lil guy might pack a punch I thought. I turned it on during the day and though wow it is kinda bright. . . but the real test came when dark fell! I was astonished at how BRIGHT this light was; it blew any other flashlight or headlamp I've ever owned outta the water! If you pull the head of it u can focus it or make it wide beam its a simple press button on and off. If you press the botton twice or three in succession it gives you a dimmer light each time you push it. It claims to be 1000 lumens and I believe it! It is charged with a plug in charger and is pretty speedy at being charged; the power button turns green when it is fully charged. My only complain is the carrying case that comes with it has to be used without the belt clip you can put on the back of the flashlight. Otherwise its to tight of fit and if your hiking with it in the case it pushes the power button because of the tightness and you'll run your battery dead, without even knowing it. I'd like to see the case fit along with the clip so that you can protect the flashlight without having to remove the belt clip. Please see pictures for brightness inside my tent and outside. FYI we had friends about 200 yards away from us that could see the beam through the trees where they were camped.

We arrived at night and found a spot pretty easily. The next morning, we tried to venture outside and the mosquitos were coming in thick swarms. We ran back to the camper trying to avoid the ridiculous amount of cow patties. The dogs were snatching the dried ones up as we ran further exacerbating the trauma. 😂. Our one dog fell 10 feet into the Reservoir because the edges are not sturdy. We had a hard time getting him out as the walls are straight up. We were afraid he was going to get sucked into the spillway. Needless to say, go further than we did if you want to stay here. Not sure what it is like, but it's bound to be better.

Forest service (dirt) road leading to Lost Dog day use area in Flaming Gorge. There are places along the road to pull off and boondock, with great sunrise and sunset views and occasional glimpses of the gorge. looks like it might be dicey after heavy rain

Easy place to camp if you live in southwest Wyoming

We got here late so it was dark and hard to navigate, our bad. The west campground had “road closed” signs and was blocked but looked like some rigs made it in. We headed over to the east side. Not sure if we stayed in an official spot or not but there was was stone fire ring. Quite a bit of trash left behind. We took it with us on our way out. Hard to find the facilities, there are many areas under construction. The view was beautiful. Lots of floating algae in the lake. Didn’t let the dogs swim just in case. Would come back in a pinch but with time, would plan to discover other areas.
Best part: the starts were amazing. There was a thunderstorm in the distance that made the sky look like a dance party. We saw an amazing moon rise!!! 😍

I have mixed review of this campsite. I wouldn’t stay here again and here’s why.

Zero cell service!
The wind was insane so spent most of our time indoors! Snowed twice! Hailed. The hours we had nice weather were wonderful as we hiked to the beaches. The views are spectacular!

The bathrooms had no soap or way to dry hands. One of the toilets wasn’t working. The shower was very small, but hot water was a blessing! No electric outlets for a hair dryer, fyi. They should install a soap dispenser and towel dispenser. With Covid, you’d think it would be a no brainer. $22/night (less with senior pass).

Stayed 5 nights, paid for 6 but with the 2nd snowstorm and high winds I decided to leave a day early!

Oh! Forgot. ALL sites are shared!! Shocking to think you’d have to share a campsite with total strangers. I also have a German shepherd who would not have appreciated a close neighbor with a dog! You literally share the same pad! Thankfully, no one else showed up next to me!

 We drove through this campground & stopped to check out the views. This is a VERY scenic place & while we were there around 2pm on a Friday, there were maybe 3 people camping. One guy was trying to stuff his humongo 5th wheel in a spot. This campground is NOT for big rigs! Tenters would be in heaven.

   They have modern bathrooms & apparently, showers which is unusual in a Forest Service campground. They take reservations & they have spots overlooking the rive r& surrounding area. You can't access the river from your site, as there is a steep drop off.

   Let's talk about the sites. I've been camping for 27 years & I've NEVER seen a campground laid out like this one. Most sites are double shared sites. You share the parking. The picnic table shelter is sort of split, but your neighbor is RIGHT THERE! This is very awkward if you don't know these people or if they have dogs or kids. Crazy. There's a few sites that are labeled "double sites" You get the whole site to yourself, but you have to pay double. It would be worth it to me to do this. I would pick site 22, since it's a double site and has a river view.

Dispersed camping on the Wyoming side is practically on a desert oasis so bring plenty of shade. Be prepared for a bit of noise from the ATVs, some dust, and a bit of fire ants during the day. Trust me, it's still so worth it. Spend both days there in the water. This rec area is amazing! Almost guaranteed to find plenty of space (well maybe not during a holiday weekend). Theres portapots by the entrance which depending on where you set up could mean a 10-15 drive so plan on hitting the bushes. Some wildlife, we saw 4 deer and a buck very close by. Cell phone service is available in certain areas. The Utah side is gorgeous but much more crowded. Maybe good to spend a bit of time here in day use and then close the day out over on the Wyoming side.

https://travelwyoming.com/flaming-gorge-national-recreation-area

https://utah.com/flaming-gorge

There are many types of camping areas with a variety of ground. This beach area was beautiful. We were greeted with a huge herd of sheep one afternoon. Lots of wildlife. Very windy but it’s Wyoming; about 11am-dusk. Lots of great rockhounding in the area. BLM land; so 14 day limit. Would definitely return.

Wanted to explore the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area as we were traveling through southern Wyoming. Booked a reservation for this campground for a few nights. We hit an extreme hot spell, but enjoyed the area all the same. It is off the beaten path, but open and peaceful. We enjoyed hiking by the Green River and watching some Pronghorn Sheep that returned each day. Had to hike the mountain across from the campground to get Verizon signal!