Curt Gowdy State Park — Attraction in Laramie

This was my first trip to CGSP and it was a trip for scouting out a local place for tent camping (I am a new resident to southeastern WY). The PROS - Close to Cheyenne and Laramie. Has electricity and/or water hookups at most campsites, good for RV's. Easy access to the shoreline in most places. Several campsites are right next to the shoreline. Appears to be well maintained and safe. The visitor center is top notch with friendly/helpful staff. The CONS - Not much shade or natural shelter from the wind/rain. The campgrounds are primarily developed for RV's which equals hardpacked surfaces making tents somewhat impractical. The spacing between campsites is very tight, which is common for RV campsites, but is far less than ideal for tent campers (Noise that will not travel through an RV's walls is easily heard in a tent). A PRO or a CON, depending on you - reservations are required for campsites. If you decide you have the time to escape with the family for a weekend, you will likely find there are no feasible campsites and this will be a CON. If you plan your annual trip to the lake out months in advance (and you are familiar with the campsites), you will likely find this to be a PRO by being able to secure exactly the campsite you want.

To summarize, I found just 4-5 campsites that would be acceptable for tent camping (40-60 feet from the nearest campsite, level ground, decent vegetation around to add a little privacy, not right next to the road). For RVing, there are far more options, depending on how close you want your neighbors. I rate it as average (3 stars) simply based upon the obvious preference towards RV's at the detraction of tent campers. Of course, the park needs to pay for it's upkeep with seasonal revenues and RV's will admittedly offer greater revenue than tents simply based upon the lower privacy expectation of RVers, allowing more campsites.

The lakes themselves are tiny and with swimming being forbidden (I only assume they serve as drinking water reservoirs for Laramie County) it makes them little more than look pretty fisheries.

BUT, I did leave CBSP, turn left onto Happy Jack Rd and go into the Medicine Bow National Forest about 7 miles away. I went onto one of the national forest roads (that quickly turned into what was nearly a 4X4 track - I did have to lock my pickup into 4 wheel low to climb one very rutted up hill on the road). I was very pleased to find it was all dispersed camping with literally hundreds of excellent tent camping sites, or opportunities for sites within 100 feet of the road. A lot of locations with neighbors 1/4 mile away, excellent tree cover for shade and wind protection. Excellent day hiking opportunities. And the bonus? 15-20 minute drive to CGSP if I want to go fishing. Downside - no services whatsoever so you have to bring all the water you need. Upside? The road is inaccessible to all but the most hardcore off-road RVers.

So, what was a letdown for tent camping at CGSP turned into a tent campers paradise in MBNP, with CGSP being a nice day use area from the...

I'd like to give the mountain biking 5 stars but everything else about this place is nothing special. I've gone here a lot and this is a great biking spot, the trails flow nicely and don't seem busy even on busy days. The trails were built for biking. Unfortunately, they could really use a complete revamp of the park. There is a lot of potential for this place. With some minimal development they could use some of the vegitated terrain to layout some attractive camp sites. A dirt road and basic clearings for 2 or 3 dozen tent sites can't be that expensive. There's also tons of room for trail expansion. WY gets a lot of federal funds for state use, other states seem to manage excellent parks, not sure why they can't here.

As busy as it has become with no apparent interest in expanding smartly, you may be better off looking for a place to pitch a tent in one of the many nearby/some free areas and day using the park. That or reserve one of the good spots for your summer trip as soon as reservations start in the spring.

The bad: -Customer service, especially one Ranger already mentioned. These guys could really use customer service training from National Park employees. Exact change for entry fees? And I can answer basic questions better than some of the folks I've seen and called in the visitor center.

–The people. A lot of people in this part of Wyoming have a genuine dislike of out-of-staters, especially CO. A local bumper sticker said: COLORADO: Wyoming's Mexico... says it all. Just read some resident reviews here.

-Camping is very mediocre. Most sites are completely in the open and no sense of privacy or nature. The park is definitely geared toward RV camping. Several sites are completely impossible to pitch even one tent at. If you try to put one down anywhere else they'll be right on you. 10 person sites but only two tents per-site?

-Cost. $34 for 1 car/1 tent to camp in a hot parking lot from 3pm-10 am next day is too much. A second vehicle pays again for the site. Little has improved with the fees over the years.

-Signage. Not great on the trails. Several junctions with no wayfinding. We have run into several lost people...

I am actually sharing with you a review of a hike to Hidden Falls . . .

Started this trail at o9:2o from the Hidden Falls Trailhead located at the North Causeway parking lot and it was already warm. Thank goodness some of it is in the shade and got cooler as you got closer to the water stream. Rock lovers would find this place pretty awesome with the cool rock formations of coarse granite. There is the Chameleon Rock where trad climbers can go and some bouldering nearby. We took several outer more challenging loops than the straight forward Crow Creek Trail to get more ice cream points for the day😂. The trails are all well maintained and easy despite the label of "extreme" and/or "moderate", and the highest elevation gain only 650 ft of that. This place could be a trail runners paradise 👍

The trail becomes Crow Creek and we followed the outer more "difficult" to Mo Rocka, to Foxtail, and finally arrived at our destination Hidden Falls at 1o:45 with only several folks getting there so wasn't as crowded yet. The falls can be viewed from a corner but one must get in the waters to get the full experience up close! The water was surprisingly cold and pleasant; not freezing! The water level today varied from the ankle to my thighs (I'm only 5'2") and the deepest near the falls up to 7' deep apparently returning from it. I did not attempt getting too close to the falls as it did look deeper and I did not want to take my chances getting swept under😜. It was nice to soak the feet and legs whilst enjoying the view and snackies 😂

People and kids started piling up so it was then time to skidadle! It was also starting to get really warm. Darted off of there at 11:25. We followed the Crow Creek Trail to Pinball to Stone Temple trail towards the Aspen Grove parking lot. The trail connects to Shoreline trail that returns to our start. Keep in mind this trail is out in the open with NO shade! The view of the Granite Springs Reservoir is picturesque and enticing enough to keep the mind cool on this hot return hike🌞

Sorry to disappoint but I didn't run into any moose today 😂

Stay cool on the...