North Fork CG, Wyoming

[sleach]

Went to North Fork CG as part of an AOC rally. Just a few miles west of Centennial, WY, and 30 miles west of Laramie, this is a short run for Colorado Front Range residents. There are 59 sites spread among two loops and along a road beside the North Fork of the Little Laramie River. As is sadly the case in most CGs north of Interstate 70, most of the trees were killed by the mountain pine beetle (ips pini) and have been removed. However, wildflowers are thriving in the sunlight! While vault toilets are adequate in number and well located, several are an old design and not so well ventilated. There are hand pump water points, but none were working, so dry camping is the order of the day. The campground host was very helpful to our group.

The real attraction here is not the campground, but rather the Snowy Range of mountains just a few miles further west on a WY Scenic Byway. The Snowies are an uplift of 2.5 billion year old white quartzite. Hiking ranges from an easy stroll to a somewhat strenuous trip up 12,000 foot Medicine Bow Peak. There are myriad lakes in the area, and many creeks and streams. Fishing is good for brookies, browns and cutthroats.

The small town (pop 270) of Centennial has gasoline and a small store for supplies, fishing gear and licenses. There are several restaurants; we had a group dinner at the Beartree, my steak was good local beef. Further afield- about 45 miles west over the range- is the town of Saratoga, famous as a fishing destination, and for free public hot springs.

There are many other campgrounds in the area, mostly small, and out of the way.

 

[Firehawk068]

Very Nice!
I'd like to get up to Wyoming for some camping.
My Wife's best friend lives in Cheyenne, and our families have talked about a joint camping adventure for some time now. Just need to get out and do it!

 

[kcsa75]

I've heard about this area. We're heading to Red Feather Lake, Colo. in a couple weeks and thinking about a day trip to this area to look around.

Only hesitation I'm having is I'm not sure if once in Wyoming I'll be able to keep the F-150 from just driving itself on to the Wind River Range, Grand Tetons and Yellowstone.

 

[rocksncactus]

We enjoyed Wyoming. We went there in 2013 to the Green River area. The only down side was the wind we had for a while, which didn't bother us but terrified the dogs. Blowing sand outside, flapping and shaking inside.