Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
North Laramie River Trailhead
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · WY · 42.20717, -105.35856
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 site. On most of their ground you can camp away from developed sites pretty much anywhere — so treat this as a known-good spot, not the only one allowed. The unit sets stay limits and how far off road and water you must be. 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 North Laramie River Trailhead
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 7,042 ft.
Fire & smoke — around North Laramie River TrailheadNIFC · 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 North Laramie River Trailhead · Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest · WY
▲ your camp. Rings are 15, 30 and 60 straight-line miles; bearings are approximate and roads run longer.
Nearest of each
- DDump17 mi
- FFuel22 mi
- GGrocery22 mi
- HHardware23 mi
- @Mail23 mi
- WWater28 mi
- RxPharmacy32 mi
- LLaundry32 mi
- MMechanic32 mi
- +Urgent care32 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 28-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 — North Laramie River Trailhead
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
7,042 ft
State
WY
Coordinates
42.20717, -105.35856
Cost
Free · no fee, per the land manager's own page (https://www.fs.usda.gov/r02/mbrtb/recreation/north-laramie-river-trailhead, read 2026-09-26)
Nearby & resupply — around North Laramie River Trailhead · Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest · WY (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureNorth Laramie River (river) · mapped within 1.6 mi
- Nearest townAtkinson Ranch · ~3.1 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~22.9 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~17.4 mi · free
- GroceriesSafeway · ~22.6 mi
- Hospital / clinicPlatte County Hospital · ~23.1 mi
Nearby restrooms — around North Laramie River Trailhead · Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest · WY — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- RestroomNorth Laramie River · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletFriend Park · ~7.3 mi NW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletLaramie Peak · ~7.3 mi NW · USFS
- RestroomRoaring Fork Creek · ~8.3 mi NW · USFS
Coming out here — North Laramie River Trailhead · Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest · WY
- Surface water mapped nearby: North Laramie River (river). That is wash water at best, and nobody has checked it for you — a creek can be dry and a tank can be mud. Filter or boil anything you drink.
- Assume no services at all. Most dispersed camping in a national forest has none: no tap, no power, no dump, often no toilet. Everything you need, you bring.
- Power: Dave carries his own — batteries or solar. A generator will run your rig and it is also the thing everybody camped near you can hear.
- Getting online: Dave recommends Starlink. He has had it since SpaceX introduced it, used it for four years living on the road, and it delivers as promised — several hundred nights out, and he can count on one hand the places he could not connect. The cable on his unit runs 150 feet, which is usually all it takes to find enough sky. Starlink → Referral link — Starlink pays Dave $100 in cash if you sign up through it, and that money funds this site and the next trip. It costs you nothing and does not change the recommendation.
Open North Laramie River Trailhead elsewhere
Other camps near North Laramie River Trailhead
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Friend Park~7.3 mi · fee
- Cow Creek Mountain PAA — Cow Creek Mountain Trail head~12.0 mi
- Esterbrook~15.2 mi · fee
- Laramie Peak WHMA — Elmer's Rock Camp~17.9 mi
The unit that manages North Laramie River Trailhead
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at North Laramie River Trailhead 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 Windy Peak at 7,890 ft, about 12 miles away. It sits about 848 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 — North Laramie River Trailhead
Area rules
No vehicles over 50" in width. Wyoming State OHV sticker required on vehicles. Closed to motorized use November 15 - April 30.
Source
public land records
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
USFS Recreation Area Activities, activity 'Dispersed Camping', pulled 2026-09-19: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/mbr/recarea/?recid=22646 || REVIEW 2026-09-26 (nightshift-verified, fire 2510): The recid URL above now 301s to the forest's recreation landing page. Live page https://www.fs.usda.gov/r02/mbrtb/recreation/north-laramie-river-trailhead (read 2026-09-26): 'The trailhead offers a parking area with dispersed camping allowed.' Trail to 3.5 miles of the North Laramie River; old Rainbow's End resort structures, some unsafe. 'No vehicles over 50" in width. Wyoming State OHV sticker required on vehicles. Closed to motorized use November 15 - April 30.' 'No fees are required for this site'. No restrooms. Page lat/lon 42.20717,-105.35856 = this pin. APPROVED: the page states camping is allowed at this trailhead's parking area. EDW NORTH LARAMIE RIVER TRAILHEAD agrees to 1 m, and the pin is 11 m from MVUM 641 'COW CAMP ROAD', which the directions name. Nothing published within 4 km. MBR alert: Stage 1 fire restrictions for Medicine Bow NF (order 02-06-00-26-205, to 2026-12-31). Open fires only in FS-installed metal or concrete pits at developed sites, so NO campfire here; gas or liquid stoves are fine | No fee 2026-09-26: "No fees are required for this site" Source: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r02/mbrtb/recreation/north-laramie-river-trailhead -- statement verified on that page (camp_type before this review: None)
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 North Laramie River Trailhead
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 — North Laramie River Trailhead
Winter vs summer roads →Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading the aerial →All field notes →