U.S. Forest Service · Medicine Bow National Forest · WY

Lost Creek Campground (WY)

ReservableOut of season, no booking; January 1 opens July 1.
Book on recreation.govWe make nothing when you book
Right now
Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
A night
$20From, per site
Sites
13All of them booked ahead
8,760 ftElevation
210 ftWater · Lost Creek
23.8 miSW of Saratoga, WY
25%Tree cover
Bortle 2Night sky · 45th darkest of 248 in WY

The place

the agency’s own description · what’s there · 1 notices

In the agency’s own words

Lost Creek Campground is west of Encampment, WY on Wyoming Highway 70 and includes 13 small campsites (trailers under 22'), picnic tables, toilets, fire grates and trash service. Across the Highway the Baby Lakes Trail accesses the Huston Park Wilderness. Forest Road 811 provides ATV riding along the Huston Park Wilderness area boundary in the Battle Creek drainage. Highway 70 is an ideal scenic drive in summer and autumn. Keep reading

Recreation

THIS IS A GREAT HOME BASE IF YOUR LOOKING FOR HIKING TRAILS, BIKING, AND HUNTING DURING SEASON. YOU CAN ALSO FIND GREAT STREAMS FOR FISHING AND MANY CHANCES TO SEE WILDLIFE

What the agency tells you

Rule

Check-in time is after 2:00 p.m. on the first day of the reservation. Check-out time is 1:00 p.m. on the last day of the reservation.  If the reservation holder doesn't show up on the first day of the reservation, the campsite is released at check-in time (2 pm) the next day. There are no hookup services. Maximum length of stay is 14 days. Fires are only allowed in USFS approved metal fire rings. Campsites are limited to 8 people and 2 vehicles per site.  Only 1 RV/trailer per RV campsite. No RVs or camper trailers can park in parking spaces for walk-in tent campsites. These campsites and associated parking are for tent camping only. Dogs must be on leash. Quiet hours are 10:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. You are responsible for reading the site descriptions and booking a site that will accommodate your equipment. Check the elements -What is in the skies? Check the weather report before you leave home. When you arrive at the site, keep on eye on the skies for changes and, if possible, carry a compact weather radio. In inclement weather, take shelter until the bad weather passes. Stay dry - wet clothes contribute to heat loss. Also, keep sleeping bags and important gear dry at all times. -Are there forest or grassland alerts? Forest and grassland home pages post alerts you should know before you go. Many of our forests and grasslands also post alerts on Twitter. The latest fire information may be found on InciWeb. Survey your surroundings -Arrive early. Plan your trip so that you arrive at your actual campsite with enough daylight to check over the entire site and safely set up camp. -Check for potential hazards. Be sure to check the site thoroughly for glass, sharp objects, branches, large ant beds, poison ivy, bees, and hazardous terrain. -Avoid areas of natural hazards. Check the contour of the land and look for potential trouble spots due to rain or snow. Areas that could flood or become extremely muddy can pose a problem. -Inspect the site. Look for a level site with enough room to spread out all your gear. A site that has trees or shrubs on the side of prevailing winds will help block strong, unexpected gusts. -Pitch your tent in a safe spot. Make sure your tent is made of flame-retardant fabric, and keep it a safe distance away from campfires. Keep insects out of your tent by closing the entrance quickly when entering or leaving. -Build fires in a safe area. Your open fires and fuel-burning appliances must be far enough away from the tent to prevent ignition from sparks, flames, and heat. Never use a flame or any other heating device inside a tent. Check to know whether there are fire restrictions in place before starting a campfire. You could be fined if you start a fire in a restricted area. Be fire safe -Keep fires small and bring firewood purchased in the local area. Firewood brought from another area could also bring invasive pests. -If you have to collect firewood at your campsite, collect dead and down wood only. -Check at the local ranger station for current fire restrictions, which can change on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis. -Use existing fire rings. Scrape away litter and any other burnable material within a 10-foot-diameter surrounding the ring. -Make sure all wood fits inside the fire ring. Do not feed a large log into the fire ring. -Have a shovel, axe, and bucket of water available before lighting your campfire. -Never leave a campfire unattended, even for a few minutes or even if there are no flames present. Many wildfires start because of abandoned fires or because someone thought a fire was out. -Put out a campfire by slowly pouring water onto the fire and stirring with a shovel. Continue adding and stirring until all material is cool to touch. -Do not bury your fire. The coals can smolder and re-ignite. Be bear aware Being outdoors means being with wildlife. Many people never encounter a bear. But if you do, here's some simple advice: DO NOT RUN. *Remain calm. *Group together and pick up small children. *Continue to face the bear and back away slowly, talking calmly to identify yourself as a human. *If the bear continues to approach, try to scare it away by making yourself as large and imposing as possible by stretching your arms overhead and making loud noises. *Carry and know how to use bear spray, which is available at many outdoor retailers and can be used to deter a charging bear. Food Storage Bears are always searching for food. Bears are curious, intelligent animals that have great memories. Their eyesight is similar to humans and their sense of smell is seven times more powerful than a blood hound’s, enabling them to smell food from miles away. Those are the very traits that can sometimes get them – and us – into trouble. Most bears are wary of humans and try to avoid them. However, bears can learn to associate people with food and be tenacious in their pursuit of something to eat. Even if humans are around. Everyone in bear country must do our part to store food and other attractants in bear-resistant containers at all times, and dispose of trash in bear-resistant dumpsters.

Tents and rigs

Sites
13
Hookups
None
Accessible sites
None listed
Source: Recreation.gov campsite records · Aug 23, 2026

Facilities

Toilets
Vault Toilets
VAULT TOILETS on 7 of 13 campsite records

Around the campground

On the water
Lake, Creek
Backpacking
Biking
Birding
Hiking
Hunting
Mountain biking
Wilderness access
Wildlife viewing
Source: Recreation.gov activity records · Aug 23, 2026

Nothing on the booking system for the next 30 nightsread 15:34 UTC

Every site here is reservable, and the record lists none held back for anyone who drives up.

Every one of the next thirty nights is in recreation.gov’s record and not one site is being offered on any of them. That’s a campground closed or not yet released for booking, not a sold-out one.

Booking windowOut of seasonOut of season, no booking. On January 1, 2027 at 10 AM ET, availability opens through July 1, 2027.recreation.govAdd to calendar (.ics)
A night$20plus $8 to reserve, once per bookingthe agency’s rate schedule
A weekend$48DerivedFriday and Saturday, everything includedours, from the lines above
If plans change$10 to cancel$10 to change a reservationrecreation.gov’s schedule
Runs itU.S. Forest ServiceBooked through recreation.govthe agency’s record
Watch for a cancellation

Full? Watch it.

One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.

We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.

Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.

Free forever, no booking kickbacks.
Tell me when the season opens

Watch for the season to open

One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.

We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.

Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.

We’ll write once, when the season that starts Thu, Jul 1 2027 is open for booking.

Free forever, no booking kickbacks.
Book on recreation.gov

We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.

Every line of the receipt · 15

What you actually pay

The sign priceU.S. Forest Service
A night$20
Standard Nonelectric$20
Rates for the season the campground is in now, Oct 1, 2026 to Oct 31, 2026.
Night per site .$20
Self Services Fee area.
Cash & Checks only Please make Checks out To: (USDA Forest Service)
The booking feerecreation.gov
Reservation fee, booked online$8
One fee per reservation, however many nights you book, and it’s non-refundable. $9 if you book by phone, $3 in person.
Pass discounts only apply to the recreation (or use) fee for the facility. Other charges such as electricity or water hookups, reservation or other fees are not eligible for a discount.
What a stay costs
One nightDerived$28
A weekend, Friday and SaturdayDerived$48

Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $20 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.

If your plans changerecreation.gov
Change fee, moving to dates outside your booking$10
Cancellation fee$10
Cancelling the day before, or the day of$10 + your first night
No-show$20 + your first night

Who keeps the booking fee

The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →

How we know this receipt · 5

recreation.gov availability, read 15:34 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

The sites

13 sites · which ones have room · the site map

The sites, ranked

from 13 mapped sites
102 ftbetween you and the next site, typically
Least roomLoop A 004 75 ftLoop A 005 75 ftLoop A 003 98 ft

All 13 sites

13 of 13 sites located
Standard13
Aerial · Esri World Imagery
Up to

The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 13 of the 13 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.

Measured shade is NLCD Tree Canopy Cover 2024 (USDA Forest Service / MRLC) read at the site’s own coordinate, 27% canopy or more, and only for the sites the agency gave no Shade value. It never changes the agency’s own shaded count beside it.

A001standard nonelectric106 ft17 ft$20
A002standard nonelectric139 ft85 ft$20
A003standard nonelectric98 ft134 ft$20
A004standard nonelectric76 ft199 ft$20
A005standard nonelectric76 ft136 ft$20
A006standard nonelectric102 ft173 ft$20
A007standard nonelectric115 ft230 ft$20
A008standard nonelectric115 ft341 ft$20
A009standard nonelectric117 ft361 ft$20
A010standard nonelectric100 ft280 ft$20
A011standard nonelectric139 ft210 ft$20
A012standard nonelectric102 ft91 ft$20
A013standard nonelectric102 ft85 ft$20

OpenStreetMap has no toilet mapped within 1 km of this campground, so no site here carries a toilet distance. That’s a gap in the map, not a finding about the campground.

Getting there

the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number

The weather

the next four days

Next four days, and the thirty-year normal

Forecast

This Afternoon48°Sunny
Tonight32°Clear
Saturday53°Sunny
Saturday Night34°Mostly Clear

NWS forecast for Encampment, WY

The land, and who answers for it

what threatens it · who answers for it

Roadless country, and what’s coming for it

Roadless
Bridger Peak6,697 acres · 2 mi · inventoried roadless area
Roadless
Little Snake9,920 acres · 4 mi · inventoried roadless area
Roadless
Singer Peak10,498 acres · 5 mi · inventoried roadless area

You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.

Who answers for this land

Harriet Hageman, official portrait

Lost Creek Campground (WY) is in Wyoming’s at-large congressional district. Its representative, Harriet Hageman (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

How we know

every fact on this page, and where it came from
Right now: U.S. Forest Service publishes no season and no closure for this campground, and it takes no bookings we can read. That’s a gap in the record and not a locked gate: the number below is the only way to be sure.
Cell signal: the Forest Service’s own campground description, read as text by CAMPANAC. None of this is a measurement. It’s what the land manager published about the place, and phones, carriers and weather all disagree with each other; treat it as a warning, not a promise.
Nearest place of any size: Encampment, WY, 14.6 mi WSW. Straight line.