Agency-listedUSFSFee
Lake Owen
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · WY · 41.14578, -106.10073
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 Lake Owen
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 8,975 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Lake OwenNIFC · 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 Lake Owen · Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest · WY
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- @Mail11 mi
- FFuel22 mi
- GGrocery22 mi
- WWater26 mi
- MMechanic27 mi
- DDump28 mi
- EVEV fast charger28 mi
- RxPharmacy28 mi
- +Urgent care29 mi
- HHardware29 mi
- LLaundry29 mi
- AAir-up29 mi
- OOutfitter30 mi
- ShShower41 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 26-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 22 mi out.
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 — Lake Owen
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
8,975 ft
State
WY
Coordinates
41.14578, -106.10073
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around Lake Owen · Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest · WY (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureLake Owen (water) · nearby
- Nearest townAlbany · ~3.1 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~21.8 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~27.9 mi
- GroceriesPilot · ~28.4 mi
- PharmacyFamily care clinic · ~29.3 mi
- Hospital / clinicAlbany County Public Health · ~28.6 mi
- HardwareHomeBase · ~28.9 mi
EV charging — from Lake Owen · Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest · WY — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger28.0 mi straight-line NE — 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 · 3 within 50 · 118 within 100 · 363 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS30.7 mi — Laramie GM Auto Center, Laramie
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO60.3 mi — MAVERIK SB SPRINGS PL1, Steamboat Springs
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)27.1 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
- 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 Lake Owen · Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest · WY — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletLake Owen · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletLake Owen · ~0.2 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletKeystone Cabin · ~8.0 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletRob Roy · ~9.1 mi NW · USFS
Open Lake Owen elsewhere
Other camps near Lake Owen
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Forbes/Sheep Mountain WHMA — Forbes Camping Area~2.4 mi
- Jelm WHMA Campground~6.5 mi
- Bobbie Thomson~8.1 mi · fee
- Rob Roy~9.3 mi · fee
The unit that manages Lake Owen
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Lake Owen 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 Cinnabar Park at 9,670 ft, about 9 miles away. It sits about 695 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 — Lake Owen
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. | Fee 2026-08-26: $20 per night per site. The forest gives the season as 6/07 to 9/15, open seasonally and weather dependent. Source: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r02/mbrtb/recreation/lake-owen-campground.
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 Lake Owen
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 — Lake Owen
When the high country opens →Winter vs summer roads →Camping near a reservoir →Gear & rig loadout →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 →