Saratoga Lake Campground — Hotel in Saratoga

We tent camped here for 2 nights in early June 2019. Tent sites are $10 per night. The campground in general is suffering from a lack of upkeep. Many tent sites are uneven, bumpy, or rutted from wear and tear. Picnic tables are dilapidated. There are water hydrants but nearby signs now say the water is non-potable due to high mineral content. There's a personal residence on the south end of the campground (appears to be a Highway Patrol officer) so UPS, FedEx, WHP, and other private vehicles transit the campground at all hours. The home occupants did some target shooting while we were there. Law enforcement patrolled the area once or twice per day. The two fishing docks are in great shape. The pit toilets are also in acceptable shape. As you can see from overhead imagery, there is almost no shade so bring your own. Free showers are available in open stalls at the Hobo Hot Springs in Saratoga. Check-in is goofy: The envelopes are available at the first kiosk. (Bring your own pen to fill out the envelope.) Then you take the envelope to the nearby toilet building and stuff it through a slit in the door on the backside of the building. One set of instructions says to put the envelope tag in your vehicle. Another set says to put the tag on your tent/RV. ORV noise is pretty consistent throughout the day as folks play in the sand dunes across the lake. A low level of persistent road noise from Hwy 130 can be heard 24 hours per day. The "paved" road getting to the campground is an absolute mess so go slow. There's an abundant variety of birds for bird watchers. We saw ospreys catching fish directly in front of our tent site, watched American storks close by, and listened to marsh wrens serenade us...

The only reason I am giving 4 instead of 5 stars is because there is no drinking water in the campground. It does have electric hookups for RVs which was wonderful and I was very grateful for it. I paid $17/day in the box that is not manned but is the honor system, drop it in the slot. I believe it's $10/day without the electric and just go primitive along the water Tent sites. The sewer dump for RVs is $5 credit card only, and just across from the park and down the road a little at the town sewage facility. Unfortunately, that place also provided no drinking/potable water. Every sign in the park and at this sewer facility says "DO NOT DRINK THIS WATER". I ended up going to the nearby Deer Haven RV Park and paid the owner for water from her sprinkler hose to fill my RV tank. Other than that, I don't know anywhere in the area potable water is made available. Saratoga Lake Campground is a lovely place, peaceful when I was there in July on WEEKDAYS. I left before the busy weekend crowd. During the weekdays I could do yoga on the dock, walk around with my two cats who are afraid of other people and dogs, and just enjoy a little time in the water. Great photo...

Nice place to stop on the way through Wyoming or when enjoying the Saratoga Hobo Hot springs. I wouldn’t want to stay here for more than a night, perhaps if I was a fisherman. The lake was full of pelicans, they are always fun to see. Bathrooms were so clean. The tables really need to be replaced, very warped and wood is dry, dusty dry area of the country. Not much shade but that meant the night sky was fully exposed and we truly enjoyed the meteor shower. Lots of room here so I don’t think you would need to reserve. Small park available for kids. Also great water spigots throughout. So close to the amazing Medicine Bow National forest, we were amazed how much it rivaled some of our favorite sites at Glacier National Park. Definitely coming back...