I have to start off with, this is my all time favorite camp site, ever! I camped back in this campground years and years ago. The price has doubled since I last stayed there from $8 to $16 and there are many many free sites around but I am more then happy to pay the $16 for this site!
To get here you have to take the highway that goes between Buffalo and Ten Sleep. The turn off is Ten Sleep Drive, there is a resort of sorts there on the corner, you are only about 10 miles from Ten Sleep, so almost on the other side of the mountain from Buffalo. The road is all dirt and a bit wash board but it's in good condition. Slow going though, lots of dust. You'll drive a good 6 miles or so until you come to Deer Park Campground. I have seen big motor homes up here but the campground is really suited for tents, although two motor homes were parked there the night I was there. There are maybe 7 sites in this little campground.
They have made big improvements (maybe the reason for the higher price) to this campground. Years ago the toilets were awful. In fact, I wouldn't even use them, I'd rather drive down to Ten Sleep then set foot in those smelly vault toilets. But now, they are still vault toilets but they are clean, they don't smell, the building has been upgraded as well. There was plenty of toilet paper while we were there. They also have added a water pump that pumps fresh water. This is great, we were on day three of a five day road trip and the water was a welcomed bonus.
So, why do I like this site so much? It backs up to a marsh area and then a giant open meadow. It's a great place to see wildlife and enjoy the sun setting as well as some magnificent star gazing. The site is good sized (too small for a camper but plenty big for a tent). A lot of campgrounds you'll hear lots of traffic noise or people partying but it's quiet here! So quiet that my kids were probably making the most noise and I tried to keep them quiet as well. There is a creek that you can fish just across the road and it's doing quite well. If you know what your doing, I'm sure you can pull out some nice fish. Years ago, the creek was super low and we pulled out barely minnow sized fish (amazing we could even catch them) but now it's much higher and there are lots of eddies and big rocks for hiding places. I can imagine it would be fabulous. There is also a big lake another mile or so past this campground and the trout are eager there. We did catch nice fish there years ago. Didn't make it to the lake this year. There are photo opportunities around every turn. It is absolutely gorgeous!
I have never visited this area with out seeing a moose and this time did not disappoint! I woke up around 6 am and stepped out of my tent to see a nice bull moose out in that very meadow that is so scenic. He walked through and with in about 500 feet of our site and then just kept going. Beautiful creature.
I don't have any downsides, unless of course you get sick or injured. It is a ways back out. Even Ten Sleep is going to take you 30 minutes or so to get to with the slow moving dirt road out. While there we did have a small injury, my 4 year old fell in to a tree branch and cut his head, so make sure you bring a suitable first aid kit in case of small emergencies. I can't say enough about Green Goo products, which is what we put on his head after we cleaned it up. They are extremely reasonably priced and their natural products WORK! Totally worth adding to your first aid kit. This particular product (Green Goo First Aid) also helps with mosquito bites. We camped in many areas with mosquitos (here included) and I put a little First Aid ointment on them and they were gone by morning. Helps relieve the itching too.
I will always return to this site, hands down, my favorite place on earth!
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