Best Campgrounds near Smoot, WY

We were lucky enough to get into this campground during the week. The weekends are booked solid. This is a newer site with vault toilets (new and well maintained) dumpsters, canopies over picnic tables, electrical hookups, and water. The beach at this location is sand and a very short walk . The small store sells firewood, ice, and souvenirs and the owners are very nice. Campground is very low impact camping and was a nice break from dispersed. By the way Bear Lake is still absolutely beautiful and clean but with the growth it's experiencing it likely won't remain so.

This is about Cottonwood Campground, not just the group site. It's pretty small, about 16 (?) sites. It's about 8 miles up the road from Hwy 89. The road is mostly one lane, though a little wider in some spots, so if you are towing, hope you don't encounter someone coming the other direction. There are some potholes all along the road, so if you're towing, it's slow going. 

The campground is about 1/4 mile or less from the lake. Group camp is up the right hand fork (not towards the lake). The Group site is large, with room for several tents. When I was there a church group of about 18 people with 5-6 tents was there. The sign says it requires reservations. There are 2 pull through sites up the right hand fork; the rest are back in or walk in. The walk in sites do not have tent pads or even room for a tent so I'm not sure what you would do there. The left fork goes to an equestrian area with a couple of non-equestrian sites also.

Each site has a picnic table and fire ring. I collected a lot of trash from fires rings.

There were vault toilets that were very clean to start with, though a camper pooped on seat in one of them, so gross. I don't know why people are so filthy sometimes.

There are trailheads from the CG and from the south end of the lake.

No signal on Verizon.

I enjoyed staying here.

One night here when it first opened for the season, so there were still patches of snow and little streams here and there. It's in the spruce-fir forest with some aspens and open understory. Road is very weathered asphalt, bumpy in spots. I didn't see tent pads. There are water spigots (once it's turned on for the season). Picnic tables, fire grates, clean vault toilets. There's a trail from the upper loop that goes to the large parking area at Emigration Pass, where there are other trails. There's some noise from Hwy 36, which is nearby though not visible. I had 2 bars of Verizon. I wouldn't take big rigs in here because most of the sites aren't long enough. A person could base camp here and explore roads and trails in the area.

Stayed one night at the end of May. The road along Oneida Narrows is good graded gravel. At the base of the dam, a sign recommends against large RVs and towed vehicles so I scouted it first, but it's ok, just a little rutted in places. The campground is small, 12 spaces. I suggest not towing a camper that's longer than 20 ft or so, due to the general smallness of the pull ins and the narrowness of the road. Sites have picnic table and fire ring. Vault toilets that were reasonably clean. No water or trash service. There is access to the reservoir shore, but it has a lot of aquatic growth near the shore, which i don't like. So many fish jumping, big ones! I don't know what they were. It was about half full when I was there mid week. Quiet except when the neighbor was playing his trumpet -- are you kidding me?!?! No cell service, Verizon.  Nice shade from the maples. Surrounding ridges are scenic.

passed through this campground late May. it's very secluded, located at the end of the road. the drive in from Paris is pretty, but the campground is tucked into a brushy hollow, with dense vegetation. the road through the campground has a lot of deep potholes. the sites are small; some are pull through. i don't think i'd tow a camper longer than 20 ft through there. a person can do some exploring in the area while camped there. there are picnic tables and fire rings. vault toilets. Because of the dense brush, it didn't appeal to me but that's personal preference.