Agency-listedUSFSFee
Bow River
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · WY · 41.51319, -106.37117
Ask an AI about this campsiteOpens Grok already loaded with this site. It reads the same records this page is built from, and links whatever it tells you.
Ask about this camp →U.S. Forest Service lists this as a developed campground. Expect marked sites, a fee station or a reservation, and the usual campground rules. The dispersed-camping freedom of the surrounding forest does not apply inside it. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Bow River
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 8,593 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Bow RiverNIFC · AirNow
Checking active fires & air quality…
Active wildfires from NIFC (within ~50 mi); air quality from AirNow. Always confirm current fire restrictions with the managing office before you go.
Everything you need — measured from Bow River · Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest · WY
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- @Mail12 mi
- FFuel16 mi
- WWater20 mi
- GGrocery23 mi
- OOutfitter23 mi
- MMechanic23 mi
- EVEV fast charger41 mi
- DDump42 mi
- HHardware42 mi
- RxPharmacy42 mi
- AAir-up42 mi
- LLaundry43 mi
- +Urgent care43 mi
- ShShower58 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 20-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 16 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 41-mi run (and back).
Not within 60 mi: Propane. Plan those before you head up.
One dot per need — the nearest of each kind, straight-line from camp. Places from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors); the EV fast charger from the US DOE station locator. Open in Google Maps ↗
The site — Bow River
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
8,593 ft
State
WY
Coordinates
41.51319, -106.37117
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around Bow River · Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest · WY (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townArlington · ~10.9 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelConoco · ~15.5 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesGrocery · ~22.7 mi
EV charging — from Bow River · Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest · WY — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger41.1 mi straight-line E — Laramie, WY - Tesla Supercharger (at a hotel) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 8 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · 5 within 50 · 46 within 100 · 305 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS44.9 mi — Laramie GM Auto Center, Laramie
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO76.0 mi — MAVERIK SB SPRINGS PL1, Steamboat Springs
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)40.9 mi — FIRE STATION 3 COL FS3 GW, Laramie, WY · ChargePoint Network · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Also listed, not counted aboveLevel 2, restricted access — Copperline Lodge, Saratoga, 23.2 mi · J1772 · hours: 24 hours daily; for guests only · AFDC lists it “Free; donations accepted”
- Pricing at the fast chargernot listed
- Power (kW)not listed by AFDC — “DC fast” spans roughly 24 to 350 kW, so ask the network.
- Read this honestlyStraight-line miles, like every distance on this site. Roads run longer than this, and you have to get back. We know where a charger is listed. We don’t know if it works today, how fast it is, or the road miles. Check the network before you commit.
Snapshot 2026-09-16 · AFDC record 102516 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Bow River · Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest · WY — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletBow River · at this camp · USFS
- RestroomCrater Lake · ~6.0 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletDeep Creek · ~6.3 mi SE · USFS
- RestroomRock Creek · ~6.4 mi SE · USFS
Open Bow River elsewhere
Other camps near Bow River
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Deep Creek~6.3 mi · fee
- Wick Brothers/Beumee WHMA — Camping Area #4~7.4 mi
- Wick Brothers/Beumee WHMA — Camping Area #3~9.1 mi
- Wick Brothers/Beumee WHMA — Camping Area #6~10.2 mi
The unit that manages Bow River
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Bow River are set by Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Sand Lake at 10,080 ft, about 6 miles away. It sits about 1,487 ft higher than this camp, so treat it as a guide rather than a reading for this spot. We do not repeat a depth here, because any number we stored would be stale by the time you read it — the station publishes today's.
How we know this — Bow River
Source
U.S. Forest Service recreation data
Confidence
Likely — The record is good enough to put a pin on, but thin in places. Treat the details as a starting point, not gospel.
How it was placed
Developed FEE campground (not free) - review | auto:usfs-fee 2026-08-20: US Forest Service developed campground, agency coordinates, agency states a fee. No dollar amount in the agency record -- expect a charge and confirm the current rate before you go. Not field-verified.
EV chargers
US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center station locator, snapshot 2026-09-16. Straight-line miles to the nearest public, open, unrestricted station; restricted and planned units are shown but never counted.
Field check
On the agency's books. The land manager inventoried this site, so its existence is not in question — current conditions are. Nobody from here has camped it recently.
What we don’t know about Bow River
A land record can put you within a few meters of a spot. It cannot tell you any of this — so check it yourself, and treat anything below as the open question it is.
- Road surface & last-mile access
- How many rigs actually fit
- Cell coverage by carrier
- Seasonal & winter access
- Current fire restrictions
- Whether any water here is drinkable
- Shade & wind exposure
- Noise and who else shows up
- Whether a listed EV charger works today, or the road miles to it
Before you go — Bow River
When the high country opens →Winter vs summer roads →Finding water out here →Reading your camp page →All field notes →
Been here? Tell us what changed. This page is built from public records, so the fastest way it gets better is somebody who has actually pulled in. Road washed out, site gone, gate locked, or it is exactly as described — all of it useful. Send a report →