Curt Gowdy State Park between Laramie and Cheyenne, Wyoming
We camped in a tent for a night at Curt Gowdy State Park.
We wanted to spend a night tent camping near Cheyenne, Wyoming so that we could be in Cheyenne to see the Union Pacific Big Boy come home from its trip to California.
Being our first time tent camping together, we wanted to be sure that our experience was as pleasant as possible. I did not want to set up in a busy campground with no privacy. I also knew we did not need full hookups. We have found that state parks usually fit this description, with larger sites than commercial RV parks. And state park sites seem to have more native vegetation left in place, to allow more privacy between sites.
I found Curt Gowdy State Park with a search on RV Trip Wizard on the RV Life website. From there I was able to access the park’s website and search for availability. Curt Gowdy state park is located within rolling hills, with granite outcroppings popping out of the hills in many places. It’s a very beautiful place. Visitors can experience low-lying meadows, gently rolling hills and massive steep granite formations. Wildlife abounds and bird watchers will be treated to a variety of non-native birds.
Curt Gowdy State Park is located midway between Cheyenne, Wyoming and Laramie, Wyoming. Named after the well-known sportscaster Curt Gowdy, the park was established in 1971 through a lease agreement with the City of Cheyenne and the Boy Scouts.
There are two reservoirs in Curt Gowdy State Park, each surrounded by camp sites. Crystal Reservoir is about three miles south of Granite Reservoir. If you fish, you’ll find brown and rainbow trout, and Kokanee salmon. You can fish from a boat or the shore. You can also paddleboard on the reservoir.
There are miles of trails within the park boundary. There are equestrian, hiking, and mountain bike trails. Hiking and biking trails are available in various difficulties, so you can tailor your adventure to your liking. You might also enjoy hunting, archery, or wildlife watching within the park.
Curt Gowdy State Park offers RV and tent camping sites. Cabins are available at the Sherman Hills campground with beautiful hilltop views of Granite Springs Reservoir. Two of the cabins are ADA accessible. A limited number of sites have electricity. Water spigots are also very limited, so you will be better off bringing your own water. The park does not have a dump station, so you’ll need to look elsewhere for that amenity as well. Their website recommends dump stations in Cheyenne or Laramie.
On the state park website, I found that Curt Gowdy State Park has 16 different campgrounds! With 175 possible sites, I had a lot of choices! I narrowed down my choices by using filters for the date we wanted to stay, and that we were looking for a site appropriate for a tent.
I wanted to find a site that had a fair amount of shade, because we would not have air conditioning. The reservation website showed a photo of many of the sites, but not all of them. I also opened a window in CampgroundViews.com so I could get a “street view” of each site and get a better idea of the size of the site, the surroundings, and the possibility of shade. Many of the sites on the state park website said that wind could cause trouble, so I skipped those sited right away.
I found that several of the campgrounds were located on top of hills. I’m sure those sites had great views, but they also were in plain view of all the sites around them. They also had very little vegetation, or privacy, or wind protection. So I scratched those off my list. I narrowed down to five sites that looked pretty private and shady. Then I used Campground Views to verify those details and also I removed a couple of sites that didn’t seem to have a level tent space.
We did end up with a fairly close neighbor. However, we were able to set up the tent where we felt private enough to leave the screens off the tent if we wanted to. Also, our neighbor was really nice. They had a travel trailer fairly similar to the size of our Rockwood Mini Lite 2205S. Right away the woman came over to see if we needed any help. Tony chatted with them for a while after we were set up, and I walked the short distance to the pit toilets to check them out. Other than than the neighbors were really quiet and we hardly saw them. They did some fishing, and they packed up and left before we did the next day.
We paid about $40 for our weeknight campsite reservation, as non-Wyoming residents. The campsite itself was only $18, plus the daily $12 vehicle fee, plus the $8 reservation fee, plus tax and a convenience fee, whatever that means.
Showers require quarters
Most of the campgrounds have pit toilets available. The only place where showers are available is at the visitor center where we checked in, at the north entrance to the state park. The showers require quarters, so bring your laundry money! There is a change machine outside the showers that change $1 or $5 bills. We had to go to the office to break a $10, which is all we had because I forgot the quarter container at home. Three minutes cost 50 cents. I put in three quarters, for a 4.5 minute shower. Really, that was almost too long. Tony, unfortunately, waiting his whole dollar’s worth for the water to get hot, which it did not do until he gave up and started to dry off. I had better luck with hot water right away that lasted the entire time I paid for.
