Uncrowded Mountain Areas within 2 hours of Cheyenne? (Casper, Laramie: home, camping)

[SCentralNEGuy]

Hi all I had the misfortune July 4th weekend of going to Estes Park, CO and Rocky Mountain National Park! Misfortune not because of the mountains themselves (they were spectacular) but because there were way too many people! Hunting for a parking spot and lining up for 2 hours to get into the park are not my idea of a vacation. That said:

What is the Snowy Range like?
Is it a lot less crowded than the CO Rockies?
Is it as impressive?
What about the western part of the forest near Encampment?
Where else can I go in Southeastern or Central Wyoming (I live about 5 hours from Cheyenne so another 2 hours from Cheyenne is about the maximum I could drive on a weekend trip.)

Also looks like some mountains between Wheatland and Casper west and south of Interstate 25. I look forward to making Wyoming instead of Colorado a destination for weekend trips.

[sunsprit]

So many choices available to you for uncrowded recreational areas in this area ...

Within 30 minutes from Cheyenne are the Curt Gowdy and other county park lands up to the Veedauwoo's off of Happy Jack Road. Or, you can access the Federal lands side of the Veedauwoo's right off of that exit from I-80 ... and be in the park area within minutes (fed fee campground, very lightly used area).

Further over by Laramie, the public lands are sizable and numerous (look at Centennial or Woods Landing), and within a 2 hour driving limit from Cheyenne will put you in to spectacular ... and lightly used ... mountain areas, very much similar to the Northern Colorado mountain area you visited by Estes Park.

The mountain areas up by Encampment will push your 2 hour travel limit, but are again spectacular, accessible, and lightly used ... with the exception of 4th July weekend.

Not sure where you're coming from in Nebraska, but there are some favorite places for us that may be closer to you ... Lake McConnaughy has a lot of miles of beachfront camping, as well as the boating; I'm partial to Arthur Bay, but there's a lot of other places on both N & S shorelines ... I can find some coves to put my 22' sailboat into and generally have the cove to myself for a reasonably sheltered anchorage for a picnic or an overnight camping.

If the Black Hills are closer to you than the Laramie, consider looking into the less used areas around Custer.

In Nebraska, you might want to check out Enders Dam area. I've camped there and it wasn't crowded at all. While at a lower elevation and a bit warmer in the summer, it's more comfortably warm in the fall, especially at night. Also, Maloney Lake ... I've camped there mid-week in the summer while working a project at North Platte and had the entire place to myself for sailing and fishing.

[Wyomama2]

Snowy Range is beautiful, my favorite drive is over the range from Saratoga to Laramie, or up from Laramie and back down through Woods Landing(maps will explain better than I). And yes there are definately less people, however, the 'greenies' as we affectionately refer to the CO people do find their way up here....

[NW Crow]

The Snowy Range has very nice alpine peaks and lakes and is near the other end of the "crowded scale" from Rocky Mtn NP.

The Laramie Range has a different feel but would be another good low crowd option.

The Red Feathers area northwest of Fort Collins CO would be a pretty good option along the CO front range. Jackson County Co (with the Medicine Bow Mtns, North Park and the Park Range) would be less crowded if you were able to push another 50-100 miles.

Plenty of options to research further and try out.

[Ibuiltmine]

Damn greenies. I finally bought a cabin in the wyoming side of the black hills. I got a 1000 acres and the best part is no greenies to crowd it up. You can't even get into glendo, or granite anymore for all the colorado people.

[a42887]

Originally Posted by Ibuiltmine

Damn greenies. I finally bought a cabin in the wyoming side of the black hills. I got a 1000 acres and the best part is no greenies to crowd it up. You can't even get into glendo, or granite anymore for all the colorado people.

While I would likely have made this comment more tactfully, it is so freaking true. Aggravating to say the least. I don't mind visitors, but at least respect the area instead of trashing it like the home you left. Try working at Glendo for a summer, you'll come to the same conclusion.

[Ibuiltmine]

I gave up on glendo back in the mid 90s. I just get sick and tired of having 5 Colorado *******s up my ass behind me wanting to do 80 through the mountains on a 55mph road. And that's pretty much any where you go. Snowy range, black hills, Jackson, etc.....