Gretchen B.

Powell, WY

Joined August 2016

I love camping, hiking, cycling, and world travel. I'm winding down my Medical Technologist career so I'll have more time to goof off and enjoy life.

Pretty little campground along a scenic road

I've camped here for years, with good reason. It's in a beautiful area and offers the chance to base a camp near Cody, WY, Cooke City, MT, and the Beartooth Hwy. and take day trips or hikes. The scenery is dramatic and the altitude (about 6500 feet) makes it a terrific escape from summer heat. The facilities are basic but clean, and the campground is suitable for tent and RV campers. I do advise having bear spray for hikes and to keep in your tent at night "just in case".

Gorgeous small campground

This was the prettiest campground we stayed in during an extensive road trip through Idaho. It was only half occupied during the end of June, so we enjoyed privacy and numerous bird songs. Care and creativity were used when building the sites; ours had tent sites on 2 levels, and another had little stairs carved into the dirt. Our site was very large and had very stately evergreen trees and a trail heading out. Sites for RVs seemed nice, too. There were clean vault toilets and a pump for potable water…all for $6. There's a nearby site (4 miles away) where garnets can be sluiced For at a Forest Service site. We didn't go there but maybe next time, as we are eager to return!

Pretty campground but noisy road

We checked out campground and the giant white pine but decided not to camp there due to its proximity to a busy road. Lots of logging trucks made it awfully noisy for tent camping. Might be OK in a RV. The 14 sites are spacious and pretty, and only $8 per night. No electric hookup available. There was a network of trails for hiking and biking originating from the campground.

Another terrific Idaho campground!

Excellent campground with large sites, beautiful and huge Ponderosa pines, and very clean and odorless vault toilets. We heard an owl hoot twice. The hike to the Goose Creek falls, as mentioned by others, is great. It's 2.8 miles to the Falls and another 0.2 miles to a neat bridge. The water was wild in June and so were the flowers. The trail is exceptionally well designed and has boardwalks over muddy stretches. I highly recommend both the campground and hike!

Great for people with horses

Elk Fork campground sits about halfway between Cody, Wy and the east entrance to Yellowstone Park. There's a corral and access to good hiking and riding from the campground. Elk Fork only has about 8 sites so it's extremely low key and often has sites available when campgrounds are full. Also, it allows tent camping, which isn't allowed closed to the Park. There's no potable water so bring your own!

Camp next to a ghost town!

Bannack is a ghost town that has been designated as a MT State Park. The 1860s mining town's buildings have been stabilized but not restored. It's fascinating. The adjacent campground would be handy but is $28 for those who are not Montana residents. The sites are closely spaced but do offer a few large cottonwoods for shade. A creek runs through the campground, and all was well maintained.

3.6 Star campground near fishing

This is a very small pleasant campground but is nothing spectacular. There are 8 sites with no electricity but there are vault toilets. It would be a great option for fishermen, as the blue-ribbon Lachsa River is right by the campground.

Beautiful campground adjacent to blue ribbon fishing

Great 34 site campground with electric and non-electric sites. Some are reservable, while others are first come, first served. The spaces are large and have many huge trees so a sense of privacy exists; some sites are right on the Lochsa River. The bathrooms are fancy; there are flush toilets and sinks. There are even logs at each site to split for campfires. Really a nice spot. Highly recommended.

The nicest Idaho campground I've ever seen!

This large, wooded CG offers separate electric and no hookup loops, with a total of 91 spacious clean sites. The Lachsa River runs along the campground. Sites are $14 and $20 and are more than worth it!

Good location but Overpriced

This is a small campground near a neat grove of giant cedars (about 10 miles). All sites have electricity and cost $20, which is expensive by Idaho standards if you have a tent. The campground has some large trees which provide shade and separation between sites. There is good dispersed (read free) camping on the same road leading to the cedar grove park, which is well worth visiting. The dispersed sites have fire rings and there are outhouses ever couple of miles.

Near east gate of Yellowstone

This campground has pros and cons. It lacks trees, but has neat craggy rock formations surrounding it. There are both sites with and without RV hookups and a river flows past the campground. From the campground it's only about a 15 minute drive to the east gate of Yellowstone National Park. In the other direction, Cody, WY and its world-class museum are about a 45 minute drive.

Small Idaho gem near the Tetons

This campground and the adjacent Falls were recommended to me by a local, and what a find! The campground was very small(9 sites, I think), quiet, and beautiful. The outhouse and campsites were extremely clean. All sites had electric hookup available; camping fees were $30 with hookup and $15 without. The campground is located on Mesa Falls Scenic Byway, near Ashton, Idaho, and is a short walk to The lower Falls. I will definitely return to camp at this tiny gem.

Ranger Review: Showers Pass Women's Rogue Hoodie at Eagle Creek Campground near Yellowstone, MT

Campground review: This is a small, clean campground very close to Gardiner, MT. Each site has a fire ring and picnic table, and sites are level and grassy so tent camping is comfortable. The campground is open and free of snow quite early in the spring, providing a camping option about a 15 minute drive from the north entrance to Yellowstone Park. The campground is up an all-weather gravel road just outside Gardiner, MT, which offers a grocery store, Yellowstone Forever Educational store (which sells bear spray), and cold beer. Be aware that every time I've camped at Eagle Creek CG, there have been several bison that wander through camp as they graze and rub their heads on the picnic tables. Give them room; they can be dangerous animals. They do usually leave around sundown.

Product review: As a Ranger, I was offered the chance to test the Women's Rogue Hoodie made by Showers Pass. Opinions and delight expressed are strictly my own! I absolutely love this jacket; it's amazingly well engineered in the small details (the zipper pull is easy to use while riding with its rough texture, the hood fits over a helmet but can be cinched to fit well without, and the zipper color has just enough contrast to look sharp). This weatherproof, breathable jacket is ideal for cycling as it's cut longer in the back and includes a back pocket. There are wrist gaiters with thumb loops for cool weather riding, and the sleeves were long enough when leaning over handlebars, but can be snapped to keep them wrist length for street wear. The reflective trim increased visibility tremendously. I chose the chili pepper red jacket for maximum visibility when riding shoulder-less roads in Wyoming; the jacket is also available in black and dark indigo. I highly recommend the Rogue Hoodie for cycling, hiking, and street wear.

Launching site to glorious mountain hiking...

Sugarloaf campground is small (16 sites) with no amenities other than a hand pump for water, and its high elevation means it doesn't open til quite late in the summer. That being said, it's worth the wait! From any site, there are terrific views of the Snowy Range, and numerous trails in the area offer great hiking to lots of pretty little lakes. There are so many wildflowers and little cascades that even a short stroll with children is rewarding. If I remember correctly, the fee is only $10/night, which makes staying for several nights an affordable getaway and chance to observe millions of stars. Consider driving to the little town of Saratoga on your way home to soak in the hot springs there…icing on the cake!

Beautiful small campground in a lovely area!

This is a great campground that has much to offer. There are only 24 sites, none with hookups, so staying there is a more mellow experience that encourages listening to birds and chilling out. Nearby are hiking and ATV trails, history in the form of remnants of an old flume used to transport logs from the surrounding forest, and both river and lake fishing. Camp sites are large and wooded. Due to its elevation, the campground is refreshingly cool in the summer. A very nice campground if you enjoy a restful experience…stay a few days!

Between Cody, WY and Yellowstone Park

This campground is about equal distances from the east entrance to Yellowstone park and Cody, WY. By Wyoming standards, it's a large campground (40 sites, many with electric hookup). The campground does permit tent camping, which the campgrounds closer to the east entrance do not. That being said, it lacks the intimacy and atmosphere of many Wyoming campgrounds. One must endure the sounds of generators and the highway. It's definitely a good place to camp while getting from Point A to Point B, but much better options exist for a relaxing camping trip.

Great camping with so much to enjoy nearby!

This campground has it all… on a pretty creek, nice campsites for both tent campers and RVs, very clean bathrooms. No RV hook ups. Less than a mile from the campground, and easily accessible by bicycle, there is a very nice waterfall. Slightly beyond that is a public hot spring that was made into a pool by the CCC in the 1930s. There are changing rooms and a couple of picnic tables, but no concessions. I think that it was $8 to get in. You are outside looking at the mts. while soaking…aahhh.

A nice campground with a good creek to play in...

Porcupine Campground is quite popular because it is clean, has nice large sites with trees, and is a good base camp for hiking, 4-wheeling, fishing, and visiting the Medicine Wheel Archaeologic site. As my title mentions, there is a creek that runs through camp and is low enough by midsummer to allow kids to play and fish in it. Bathrooms are very clean, which is typical for Wyoming campgrounds. If the campground is full, there is dispersed camping nearby, down most of the dirt roads.

Windy and cows wandering through!

This Forest Service campground might be OK in the heat of summer since it sits at 9100', but it's very windy and cold any other time. The sites are suitable for RVs and tents, and the toilets are clean, but there is the issue of the cows… Ranchers have grazing allotments in the Bighorns, which is fine, but you'd think the campground would have cattleguards to keep them out. When I was there, there were about a dozen wandering through the sites, and rubbing up against the pump and outhouses. I'd forget this campground and go to Porcupine, just down the road on the other side of HWY 14A.

Great campground for tents and tiny campers

This is a beautiful little BLM campground. The lower campsites are primarily for tents, and some require a short walk on pathway to access. They are right beside a pretty little creek. Farther up the road are several more sites that would lend themselves to small RVs. They aren't as pretty, as they are more exposed, and you can't see or hear the creek. The big drawback for some will be the very narrow, extremely switchbacked and steep road up to the campground (no guardrails). It really is fine for a car or truck and a short little (think Casita or Scamp), but a sign says no vehicles over 24' and I wouldn't want to do it with anything close to that! Probably for this reason, the campground is usually less than half full and offers a restful visit. The namesake waterfall is less than a mile hike from campground, and is well worth the hike, especially early in the summer.