Bow River Campground (WY)

Overview

Bow River Campground hosts 13 campsites and is located on the upper Medicine Bow River. The campground is located next to Bow River in a wooded forest of Lodgepole and Spruce pines and some young Aspen. The campground is quiet and tranquil. This is a pack-in pack-out campground. No trash service in the area. 

OHVs can explore the Campbell Lake Loop after July 1, approximately 9 miles south of the campground. Pick up a motor vehicle use map for free at the Ranger station in Saratoga or call to have one emailed to you. 

Nearby hiking trails include Rock Creek, Sheep Lake, and Crater Lake.

Recreation

The Snowy Range offers endless recreational activities for any kind of visitor. Specifically, the Snowy Range contains a network of hiking trails suitable for day hiking and for extended, backcountry trips. Additionally, Streams and over 100 lakes in the area provide a variety of challenging recreational-fishing opportunities in the area. Popular attractions near this campground include Silver Lake, Lake Marie Falls, Mirror Lake, Medicine Bow Peak Trail, French Creek Canyon Trail and Miners Cabin Trail. Winter activities in the area include snowshoeing and skiing.  

Facilities

Bow River Campground has sites able to accommodate tents, trailers and RVs. Sites are equipped with picnic tables and campfire rings. The campground also offers vault toilets, and potable water. 

Natural Features

This High Elevation and remote campground is surounded by lodge pole pines, alpine firs, & sprous trees. campground is also home to deer, elk, moose, beer, mountain lions etc. Bow river campground is a quick to Bow river where the name of the campground comes from. 

Nearby Attractions

The Snowy Range rises from sagebrush and lodgepole pine forests in lower elevations to spruce-fir forests and alpine areas in the high country. The area offers views of rugged peaks over 12,000 feet, gorgeous snow-melt lakes and stunning displays of native wildflowers

Charges & Cancellations

If I book this reservation today, what are my options to change or cancel?

Please remember that reservations at these facilities prevent other visitors from using these sites. Planned changes to your stay should be made as far in advance as possible. You can make changes to your reservation ahead of your arrival date in My Reservations.

Changes

If your new stay dates are completely different from your original stay dates, there is a $10 change fee (per reserved site). There are no additional fees for:

  • Adding or removing nights to your stay.
  • Changing to a different campsite.
  • Balances will adjust based on your new stay's nightly rate.

Cancellations:

You can cancel the reservation any time before the date of your scheduled arrival. You will receive a refund for your stay, minus the following fees:

  • $10 cancellation fee
  • Any reservation fees (only if paid when booking)
  • Any previous change fees
  • Late cancellation penalties may also apply

What is “Late”?

For individual campsites, a late cancellation applies starting from midnight 1 calendar day before your scheduled check-in. For cabins and group sites, a late cancellation applies starting from midnight 14 calendar days or fewer before your scheduled check-in.

Late Fee

In addition to the fees listed above, a late cancellation will also subtract your first night's recreation use fee from any refund owed. As of the expected check-in day, cancellations or changes to your stay are not possible through My Reservations. It is at the facility's discretion to support additional Late Cancellations, No Show, or Early Departure updates – on-site personnel may not be able to assist. These changes carry penalties and may forfeit recreation use fees. 

Camp site features

Across 13 camp sites:

  • Pets allowed: 12 of 13 sites
  • Largest party: 8 people

Fees

There will be a few site that can be reserved on Recreation.gov, only those can be paid with card first come first serve will use the self pay service at the campground and there you will be able to use Cash or Check $14 per night per site. Self Services Fee area. Cash & Checks only Please make Checks out To: (USDA Forest Service)

Directions

Directions: From Saratoga, WY take the Snowy Range Highway east 20 miles to Forest Road 100. Turn onto Forest Road 100 and drive approximately 20 miles to the Bow River campground. This is a slow drive. From Elk Mountain, WY take Carbon County Road 101 south to the National Forest boundary. Continue on Road 101 to Forest Road 100, approximately 2 miles. Turn onto Forest Road 100 and watch for the campground in less than .5 mile.

Stay Limit

Check in from 2 PM, check out by 12 PM.

Reviews

7 reviews
5 stars
2
4 stars
2
3 stars
1
2 stars
2
Sarah H
Loop:A
Site:
Reviewed 4 months ago
#1 issue: We had reserved a site for three nights. Drove three hours with our three kids to get there, only to find people set up on our reserved site. After telling them about our reservation, let's just say they were not the nicest people and refused to move. Luckily one of the first come first serve sites was open, so we set up there. There is no cell service in the area, and even if you happen to have star link or find decent humans with it who share (like we did), the rangers aren't available over the weekend. We left a voicemail on Friday evening, and I got a call back Monday. I will say, the ranger I talked to was very apologetic and recognized the problem, saying it's been an issue this summer. We were issued a full refund. It would have been quite the headache had that one site not been available though. The actual campground is nice with a river nearby. The vault toilet is gross, but it's what I'd expect. The water pump is really hard to get anything out of, and the water is brownish when it does come out. We went for a walk and saw a black bear, so those are definitely in the area. Beautiful spot. Just beware of people not respecting reservations and being horrible humans.
Adan V
Loop:A
Site:
Reviewed 4 months ago
Pros: The campsite location is pretty remote. You will not hear highway traffic at all at night. Excellent location for star gazing. Lots of wildlife activity. The river is about a 10 minute walk. Nice place to cool off. Cons: Cellular reception is minimal at best (again it’s pretty remote). The compost restroom at the back was not well kept. Some campsites don’t have any shade at all as many trees had to be cut down. It’s bear country, but there’s no bear boxes available. We were the only ones camping that day, but I can tell you don’t get much privacy. Most important, THE WATER PUMP DOES NOT WORK. Bring enough drinking water, or water filtration bag and containers so you can get it from the river.
Amanda C
Loop:A
Site:
Reviewed 2 years ago
Campground was beautiful and empty!!! Bring your own water as there is no water available aside from the creek. Also, there is poison ivy growing at the site. My kids never had a problem with it, but if you’re sensitive- wear shoes!! Otherwise, an amazing camping experience!
Lois R
Loop:A
Site:
Reviewed 2 years ago
The campground is not well maintained especially the vault toilets. Worst of all there is no potable water even though the website says there was. This was a problem for us and we left a day early. The mosquitos were terrible! It it in a beautiful location and the long dirt road into the campground is. well maintained. There is too much logging in the area so it leaves the forest looking decimated.
Melissa E
Loop:A
Site:
Reviewed 3 years ago
We had a wonderful time in an absolutely beautiful area!! We had a group of 10 at several sites and everyone truly enjoyed themselves. Thank you!
S S
Loop:A
Site:
Reviewed 3 years ago
Beautiful area. Sites were nicely spaced apart. Dark skies were great for stargazing. Outer portion of loop better than inner. Not the easiest river access. Negative...none of the reserved sites were marked as reserved. It caused problems for a few groups, us included, to arrive on day of reservation to find people in our reserved site (at no fault of theirs since sites were marked open, even though they were reserved). The few sites that were marked as reserved were for outdated reservations from three weeks prior. Frustrating for all impacted.
Availability

See the Camp Sites section below to find detailed booking availability.

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Season dates

Peak season

Jul 1, 2027 – Sep 7, 2027

Reservable online

Peak season

Jul 1, 2028 – Sep 7, 2028

Reservable online

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