North Fork Campground

Buffalo Bill State Park is just west of Cody along the road to Yellowstone. Stop in Cody and get gas and do your shopping before heading out to Yellowstone. If you have time to mess around in Cody there is lots to see and do there. We stayed at the North Fork camping area, without any hookups, site 47. Water is available at a central location and there are pit toilets that were kept clean. For a shower house and hookups stay at North Shore Bay. We liked North Fork better because the sites are a little more secluded, further from the road, and closer to the river. The other sites are pretty too because you are on the lake, and they also have some shade. It can get very windy in this area but didn't on our stay. It was mid-May, rainy and cold part of the time, but enjoyable nonetheless. The Buffalo Bill Dam Visitor Center is nearby and totally worth the hour or so it takes to see the artifacts and displays.

Buffalo Bill State Park has a couple campgrounds - we stayed in the water/electric loop of North Fork. I prefer this location as the sites are very well spaced and the place has a feel of vast openness ... even though it isn't. Most sites have access to huge grassy areas, allowing fido to romp, chase bunnies, and soak in the sun or nap under the shade of a tree.

To my pleasant surprise, the bathrooms are incredible - yes incredible (for a state park anyway). Envision a bathroom suite that is huge and spotless, but requires uses to pump quarters for usage ... these are it.

Biggest negative to this place is the incessant barrage of Buffalo Bill you will be subjected to by the nearby town of Cody while staying here.

Tip - Pizza at Millstone Brewery in Cody is horrible.

Overall very nice campground. We chose this campground rather than North Shore because it's set further back from the main road (so it's quieter) and has more spacious site-arrangement. We enjoyed both aspects.

Sites are large pull-throughs, nicely spaced with spacious green "sitting area" and all-around excellent views of the surrounding mountains. There are 2 loops -> an "upper loop" with more views, but less wind-protection and a "lower loop" near the river with less views, but more wind protection (which can be a big deal here). We chose upper for the views and really enjoyed it. Only 7 sites have 50amp/water, with the rest being primitive only. 14 sites are reservable (in season) while the rest are first-come-first-serve. Only slight ding? The sites do not really have any privacy (this is a very open campground) and some of the sites are uneven.

On-site nature hiking trail and plenty of space for doggie. Very easy drive into Cody to see the museum (which is excellent) or have a few brews at Pat O'Haras. Great cell signal.

It can be very windy in Wyoming and I chose the upper area with more wind but with great views. The lower area may be less windier but with limited views. Either way, the Buffalo Bill SP, North Fork area, is a nice State Park with good access to Cody, Wy or the Buffalo Bill dam area. My site was non-reservable and also without electric and water. If you want those things (electric/water) you should try to reserve if more than for one night. Was here during Memorial Day weekend and although the park was busy, I don't think it was totally full. Clean, spacious, private, pay showers (minimal), gotta love it.

We stayed a couple nights at the KOA in Cody, about 15 miles away, and after passing by the North Fork CG on our way into Yellowstone we decided to extend our stay in the area and book a site there. For the reserved sites, you must book 2 days prior to arrival online but there is a small loop of first come first serve sites that have electric that you can take your chances on if coming in before the 2 day window, which we had to do for our first nights stay.
We booked site 51 for Monday through Thursday (check out Friday) and headed to the CG on Sunday to snag a site for the night. We tow our smart car behind our Class C but since we were only moving 15 miles, we did not attach our toad. I was ahead of the motorhome in the smart and pulled up to the gate house. The attendant was helpful by telling me I could go loop through and pick a first come first serve site because our reservation, which she had in front of her didn't start until the next night. She then said that I would owe $22 for that night and an additional $17 per day (the cost of a primitive campsite) for the smart car for the entirety of our stay. This is when I saw a few stars and immediately said "Huh? Nope, that's too much, we can't do that." The attendant was shocked at my reaction and I looped around to give my husband the bad news.
We decided to go back a couple miles to the State Park Headquarters to try and get a refund. We pulled up to another small gate house and I explained the situation to the attendant. She immediately asked if the smart car was our tow car and after I confirmed she made a couple phone calls. After hanging up she asked me to pull back around behind my husband in the motorhome and wait for the superintendent.
The superintendent pulled up and gave us a 5 minute speech on how they charge each vehicle driven into the park $17 a day but had we attached the smart car to the RV for the initial entry into the park the smart car would have been granted a Tow Car pass for the entirety of our stay, avoiding the extra charges. He then said that if I had even been driving behind the RV in the smart not attached, the attendant may have seen the tow kit and given us the Tow Car pass. He then went on and on about the other various charges for hikers etc that had nothing to do with us in our situation but finished by telling us that he would allow us to go back to the CG unattached and get our Tow Car pass.
We felt weird about the whole thing but turned around and went back to the CG. The attendant was very nice about the the awkward situation and said she should have asked if it was a tow car. I said I should have thought to tell her upfront although we had never dealt with that sort of situation in the 9 months we have been on the road.
Our site was good, all of the sites are paved pull thrus with only minimal leveling needed. The views are gorgeous and we enjoyed the bird watching and walking along the river. We didn't have any interaction with the CG Host and the name card on the site pole wasn't updated from the last guests that left our reserved site.
Thursday morning (day before checkout) at 9AM, we received a knock on the door. It was the same superintendent. He said, "someone has booked this site for tomorrow so I will need you to leave in time for them to check in." I said, "ok, we saw the 11AM check out when we booked this site." He said, "you didn't book this site." We then went back and forth, him saying 3 more times that we hadn't booked the site and that he hoped we payed at the booth for each day we had been there. He said he had no evidence that we had booked any site. I then realized he thought I was standing there lying about the booking and was maybe even squatting so I grabbed my computer and pulled up the reservation (thankfully our Verizon worked). I showed him and he said, "yup, it says you booked it." He then said something about how our visit has been an interesting one for us. There was no sorry, or thank you for your patience, or anything.
The moral of this long story is: really really poor and offensive customer service and idiotic rules on campsite companion vehicles.

This park is well maintained with amazing views! Bathrooms have coin-op showers but they are clean. Firewood provided for a donation!

Great easy to access State Park that's clean, quiet and the landscape is amazing!

Sits on the North Fork of the Shoshone River where it meets the Buffalo Bill Reservoir. RV sites are all level pull thrus, easy in and out,have a picnic table and firering. 1st loop has water and electric, these are reservaton only. 2nd loop has electric only, walk in only, 3rd loop is dry camping, walk in only that includes a tent area. There is also a nice lower loop that is dry camping, walk in only. There is also a nice reservable group area with camping sites that have electricity and a large covered pavilion.

Each loop has pit toilets and there is a shower house (fee) across from the host site with 4 large shower rooms with toilet/sink/running water/mirror and electricity, clean and spacious. Each loop has a large green space in the center, spaces are large and spaced well. Firewood was available for a donation. Drinking water is avalilable throughout the park, there is a 2 bay dump station on site and drinking water for filling tanks.

About 20 miles to Cody and about 30 miles to Yellowstone.

A good place to stay near Cody. Great views of the surrounding hills and mountains. Windy, but that's how it is in northwest Wyoming.

The western edge of Cody itself is approximately 15 minutes to the east of the campground.

There are several types of camp sites: Water and electricity, electricity only, no hookups, and tent-only. Some sites can be reserved in advance and some are first-come, first-served.

There are three bathroom buildings spread roughly equally through the campground.

There is a dumpsite with potable water near the campground entrance (bi-directional; 2 RVs can use it at once in different directions).

We were here last year and enjoyed our stay very much. This year we came here to get out of Montana, lots of bad happenings there. Great views here. Good place to regroup and fix minor things. Can get items shipped to the UPS store in Cody. Pay showers but very private and clean. Good hot water.

I enjoyed my stay here, and there is an abundance of good sites. However, if it’s early in the day, I recommend going just a little bit further to North Shore Bay campgrounds. Really incredible sites there for the same price (though they’ll be windier).