Ryan Park
- Right now
- Closed for the seasonOut of the season the agency publishes
- A night
- $20From, per site
- Sites
- 4834 on recreation.gov
- Season
- June 1 – September 30Open June 1 through September 30
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 2 notices
In the agency’s own words
Ryan Park Campground is located at 8,009 ft elevation on the Snowy Range Scenic Byway near Saratoga, Wyoming. The campground is next to Barrett Creek in the Medicine Bow National Forest and features 49 campsites (13 RV pull-through sites) and 1 group campsite. Sites feature picnic tables and fire grates, and toilets, potable water, and trash services are accessible during the summer season. Pets are allowed but must be kept on a leash no longer than 6 ft at all times. In addition to exploring the historic sites, visitors can enjoy hiking, mountain biking, fishing, picnicking (also available at nearby Mirror Lake), horseback riding and wildlife viewing. The Civilian Conservation Corps used this site as a prisoner of war camp in the 1930s. Although little remains, visitors can learn more from the historic interpretive signs at the campground. Keep reading
Recreation
The Snowy Range area in the Medicine Bow National Forest is located in southeast Wyoming. The Laramie Ranger District, Brush Creek/Hayden Ranger District, and Parks Ranger District manage portions of the Snowy Range. Year-round recreation uses include hiking, fishing, hunting, snowmobiling, skiing, OHV riding, camping, and biking. Primary access across the Snowy Range is by Highway 130, known as the Snowy Range Scenic Byway. Mountain Biking Areas for Mountain Biking at Snowy Range Area Bow River Campground Deep Creek Campground French Creek Campground French Creek Canyon Trail Keystone Cabins Lake Owen Trailhead Little Brooklyn Guard Station Little Laramie Trailhead North Fork Campground Pinkham Mountain Trailhead Rock Creek Trailhead Sheep Lake Trailhead Snow Survey Cabin Spruce Mountain Fire Lookout Tie Hack Lower Trailhead Tie Hack Upper Trailhead Tipple Trail Trailhead Mountain Climbing Areas for Mountain Climbing at Snowy Range Area Lewis Lake Picnic Site Libby Lake Picnic Site Day Hiking Areas for Day Hiking at Snowy Range Area Brooklyn Lake Campground Brush Creek Trails Chimney Park Trailhead Corner Mountain Trailhead Crater Lake Trailhead Deep Creek Campground Deep Lake Trail Dipper Lake Trail French Creek Campground French Creek Canyon Trail Green Rock Parking Lot Green Rock Picnic Site Keystone Cabins Lake Owen Trailhead Lakes Trailhead Lewis Lake Picnic Site Libby Lake Picnic Site Little Brooklyn Guard Station Little Laramie Trailhead Meadow Falls Trailhead Miner's Cabin Trailhead North Fork Campground Platte River Wilderness Quealy Lake Trailhead Rock Creek Trailhead Routt Access Trailhead Ryan Park Campground Savage Run Wilderness Sheep Lake Trailhead Silver Lake Campground Silver Lake Trailhead Six Mile Trailhead Snow Survey Cabin South Brush Creek Campground Spruce Mountain Fire Lookout Sugarloaf Campground Tie Hack Lower Trailhead Tie Hack Upper Trailhead Tipple Trail Trailhead West Lake Marie Backpacking Areas for Backpacking at Snowy Range Area Crater Lake Trailhead Deep Lake Trail Dipper Lake Trail Lakes Trailhead Lewis Lake Picnic Site Libby Lake Picnic Site Platte River Wilderness Quealy Lake Trailhead Rock Creek Trailhead Savage Run Wilderness Sheep Lake Trailhead Six Mile Trailhead Viewing Wildlife Areas for Viewing Wildlife at Snowy Range Area Brooklyn Lake Campground Keystone Cabins Libby Flats Observation Site Little Brooklyn Guard Station Snow Survey Cabin Spruce Mountain Fire Lookout Tipple Trail Trailhead Facilities Ryan Park boasts 42 campsites and one group campsite. The group site has 14 sites and can host up to 140 visitors. All campsites have picnic tables and campfire rings with grates.
Natural Features
The campground is situated in a mountainous area along Barrett Creek in the Medicine Bow National Forest. The surrounding forest consists of evergreen trees and aspen that turn golden in fall. The Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests and Thunder Basin National Grassland encompass nearly 3 million acres from central and northeastern Wyoming to north-central Colorado. Black bear, bobcat, coyote, elk, mule deer and moose are just some of the many animals that inhabit these rich and diverse lands.
Nearby Attractions
The historic Brush Creek Visitor Center is located 2.5 miles west of the campground and provides information on various outdoor recreation opportunities, including hiking, biking, camping, horseback and off-road vehicle riding, fishing, hunting, sightseeing and winter sports. Please Call Brush Creek/Hayden Ranger District for Visitor Center Hours. 2171 Highway 130 PO Box 249 Saratoga, WY 82331 Phone: (307) 326-5258 Fax: (307) 326-5250 Hours: 8:30 a.m. - 12 p.m., 1 p.m.- 4:30 p.m., Monday - Friday
What the agency tells you
Limit one tent per site; see campground host for additional restrictions
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
- 48 · 1 tent-only, 2 group
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 99 ft
- Accessible sites
- 15
Facilities
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…tables and fire grates, and toilets, potable water, and trash services are accessible during the…”
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, River, Creek, Meadow
- Biking
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Historic site
- Night sky · 147th darkest of 248 in WY
- Bortle 2
Nothing on the booking system for the next 30 nightsread 15:45 UTC
recreation.gov lists 34 of the 48 campsites the agency files here. The rest aren’t on its booking system, so a reservation won’t get you one.
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.
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.
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 make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 18
What you actually pay
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.
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 15:45 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
48 sites · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 31 mapped sitesAll 48 sites
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 48 of the 48 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| Center Loop: Sites 017-033 | 017 | tent only nonelectric | 32 ft | 622 ft | $20 | ||
| Center Loop: Sites 017-033 | 018 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 32 ft | 597 ft | $20 | |
| Center Loop: Sites 017-033 | 019 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | $20 | |||
| Center Loop: Sites 017-033 | 022 | standard nonelectric | 99 ft | 17 ft | 306 ft | $20 | |
| Center Loop: Sites 017-033 | 023 | standard nonelectric | 99 ft | 14 ft | 291 ft | $20 | |
| Center Loop: Sites 017-033 | 024 | standard nonelectric | 99 ft | 14 ft | 297 ft | $20 | |
| Center Loop: Sites 017-033 | 025 | standard nonelectric | 99 ft | 68 ft | 230 ft | $20 | |
| Center Loop: Sites 017-033 | 026 | standard nonelectric | 32 ft | 63 ft | 169 ft | $20 | |
| Center Loop: Sites 017-033 | 027 | standard nonelectric | 99 ft | 63 ft | 184 ft | $20 | |
| Center Loop: Sites 017-033 | 028 | standard nonelectric | 99 ft | 82 ft | 186 ft | $20 | |
| Center Loop: Sites 017-033 | 029 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | 43 ft | 257 ft | $20 | |
| Center Loop: Sites 017-033 | 030 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | 43 ft | 300 ft | $20 | |
| Center Loop: Sites 017-033 | 031 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | 56 ft | 355 ft | $20 | |
| Center Loop: Sites 017-033 | 032 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | 20 ft | 348 ft | $20 | |
| Center Loop: Sites 017-033 | 033 | standard nonelectric | 99 ft | 61 ft | 283 ft | $20 | |
| Center Loop: Sites 017-033 | 034 | standard nonelectric | 99 ft | 20 ft | 337 ft | $20 | |
| Group Sites | Group Site | group standard nonelectric | 344 ft | 898 ft | $100 | ||
| RYAN PARK | GS | group standard nonelectric | yes | $100 | |||
| Sites 035-048 | 035 | type not stated | yes | 623 ft | $20 | ||
| Sites 035-048 | 036 | type not stated | yes | 600 ft | $20 | ||
| Sites 035-048 | 037 | type not stated | yes | 537 ft | $20 | ||
| Sites 035-048 | 038 | type not stated | yes | 504 ft | $20 | ||
| Sites 035-048 | 039 | type not stated | yes | 565 ft | $20 | ||
| Sites 035-048 | 040 | type not stated | yes | 554 ft | $20 | ||
| Sites 035-048 | 041 | type not stated | yes | 552 ft | $20 | ||
| Sites 035-048 | 042 | type not stated | yes | 487 ft | $20 | ||
| Sites 035-048 | 043 | type not stated | yes | 437 ft | $20 | ||
| Sites 035-048 | 044 | type not stated | yes | 522 ft | $20 | ||
| Sites 035-048 | 045 | type not stated | yes | 583 ft | $20 | ||
| Sites 035-048 | 046 | type not stated | yes | 599 ft | $20 | ||
| Sites 035-048 | 047 | type not stated | yes | 668 ft | $20 | ||
| Sites 035-048 | 048 | type not stated | yes | 723 ft | $20 | ||
| Upper Loop: Sites 001-016 | 001 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | 16 ft | 402 ft | $20 | |
| Upper Loop: Sites 001-016 | 002 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 16 ft | 390 ft | $20 | |
| Upper Loop: Sites 001-016 | 003 | rv nonelectric | 35 ft | 72 ft | 324 ft | $20 | |
| Upper Loop: Sites 001-016 | 004 | rv nonelectric | 30 ft | 22 ft | 253 ft | $20 | |
| Upper Loop: Sites 001-016 | 005 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | 22 ft | 231 ft | $20 | |
| Upper Loop: Sites 001-016 | 006 | rv nonelectric | 45 ft | 48 ft | 242 ft | $20 | |
| Upper Loop: Sites 001-016 | 007 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | 56 ft | 170 ft | $20 | |
| Upper Loop: Sites 001-016 | 008 | rv nonelectric | 35 ft | 56 ft | 169 ft | $20 | |
| Upper Loop: Sites 001-016 | 009 | standard nonelectric | 45 ft | 28 ft | 237 ft | $20 | |
| Upper Loop: Sites 001-016 | 010 | rv nonelectric | 35 ft | 28 ft | 264 ft | $20 | |
| Upper Loop: Sites 001-016 | 011 | standard nonelectric | 35 ft | 21 ft | 283 ft | $20 | |
| Upper Loop: Sites 001-016 | 012 | rv nonelectric | 35 ft | 21 ft | 275 ft | $20 | |
| Upper Loop: Sites 001-016 | 013 | standard nonelectric | 25 ft | 15 ft | 397 ft | $20 | |
| Upper Loop: Sites 001-016 | 014 | rv nonelectric | 30 ft | 15 ft | 411 ft | $20 | |
| Upper Loop: Sites 001-016 | 015 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | 17 ft | 418 ft | $20 | |
| Upper Loop: Sites 001-016 | 016 | standard nonelectric | 30 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.
25 of 48 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions
Where it is
South Brush Creek Campground (WY)Medicine Bow National Forest · 1.4 mi
Brush Creek Work Center BarrackMedicine Bow National Forest · 1.7 miLincoln Park CampgroundMedicine Bow National Forest · 3.5 mi
Lincoln Park Campground (WY)Medicine Bow National Forest · 3.5 mi
Snow Survey CabinMedicine Bow National Forest · 5.9 miCorral Creek CampgroundRawlins Field Office · 6.1 miFrom Saratoga, Wyoming, travel south on Highway 130/230 for 8 miles. Turn left on Highway 130 and travel 12 miles east to Ryan Park Campground.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Ryan Park, WY
Typical weather
Typical June night 36°F, day 74°F.
Coldest night of the open season: typical September night 31°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or moreOutside the published season
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it
Roadless country, and what’s coming for it
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Ryan Park 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 →