Wheatland Reservoir #1 Dispersed Camping

We loved it. It was quiet and very nice to stay.

My Cell service, though I have it logged as great, was boosted.

The first review was in August when the water was low. The lake is overfull in May. Camping is limited to the space between the road and the water. There are not nearly as many spots to choose from. Near the boat landing at the sw side there are vault toilets. No tables.

The pavement ends at the lake. Go counter clockwise to the sw and s sides. The road is rough but passable for low clearance vehicles.

This was a popular meeting place for area teenagers who spent a good deal of time charging up and down the road in trucks, jeeps, and atv's. Very noisy until dark at 9:30.

Views of the Laramie Mountains.

Great view of the reservoir. Your own private beach. Only two other RVs around the whole reservoir. Some kids drove up and down the road a few times around 7pm but then it was quiet on a Sunday night in September. Free and the pit toilets were clean.

That this place exists makes my heart happy. I don’t know how far away people come from to enjoy this lake, but what appear to be half the town are on the water, wake boarding, tubing, paddleboards and fisherman galore. But still plenty of room for everyone. Camping beneath the cottonwoods, watching sandpipers forage, a kingfisher score breakfast, and the fish are frighteningly massive! We thought they were otters at first, they blast through the water’s surface for a moment, doing some “fishing” of their own I suppose, before disappearing back beneath the liquid otherworld.

Verizon in abundance. Sunsets and rises pristine. I don’t find the local traffic annoying, I’m grateful they created this spot and allow us migrating birds and vandwellers to use it, free of charge, 5 night max stay. No issue finding plenty of elbow room between the road and water in August.

Numerous spots along the south and west sides of the lake, including pull thru's. Can accommodate rigs of any size in many spaces. Space and overhead clearance tighten up the closer you get to the beach (because of the cottonwood trees). Numerous waterfowl: seagulls, geese, coots, grebes. Heard sandhill cranes in the south field. The western shore is more attractive than the southern shore as water levels fall. Unmaintained dirt roads and 2-tracks throughout but passable almost everywhere if you take it slow.

The road coming as per google maps is about a mile long on washboard but by going slow it is worth the effort. We are in a 38foot class A towing a Jeep. There are numerous sites available for rv’s up to 45 feet towing lengthily loads. Most sites are fairly level but will require some leveling. Beware of parking to close to trees if windy as large branches can break off. As of this date the area is sparsely used. There are rigs camped on either side of us but no closer than a couple hundred yards away so it is quiet and you can run a generator without disturbing anyone. There is a boat launch for water access. The nearby town of Wheatland has amenities for shopping and laundry and fuel.

Stayed 5 nights at the end of May. Camping is allowed between the road and the water, with a 5 night limit. Many of the best spots are on the southwest and south sides of the reservoir. We pulled onto a grassy area on the south side near the inlet creek, and easily leveled out. The scenery is gorgeous (we didn't know Wyoming could be this pretty). The whole place is surrounded by farmland, so many cows, horses, and antelope can be seen while walking around the water. Lots of beautiful walking to do all around the water and down the little trails everywhere. There is a pit toilet on the south side in the boat launch parking lot, and another one on the north side in a dirt parking lot. Very close to town for supplies.

TIP: The dirt road around the reservoir is moderately washboarded, but not too badly. If you are coming from the south, GPS will tell you to take Grange Rd to Resevoir Rd, but it is better to keep going north and make a right on Jefferson, then right again on Hightower. You will be on paved road all the way to the water and avoid some of the worse washboards on Reservoir Rd.

This site is just amazing! I had a nice shady spot with the clean warm water just steps away. There is traffic on the road during the day with locals taking advantage of the boat ramps and spots to hang out but it’s quiet at night. I felt like I was in the Keys as I had a private white sand beach - all that was missing were palm trees, but the cottonwoods gave me shade. Left after 2 nights as the water level seemed to be rising toward me and the temps went into the mid 90s. Free electric sites at a town park nearby were too tempting to resist. There are vault toilets in a few places. Otherwise no services. Please take trash out - I picked up trash around me that others left.

Got here today at 6:22 pm, empty and plenty of space to camp. Level for the most part. Shade was good we did have a lot of water flies when we walked thru the grass. They went away for the most part.

Verizon cell was 2 bars and LTE.

Was very easy to find via Google Maps. Roads were good until the last mile. Lots of washboarding, but if you go slow, anyone can make it. Plenty of spots all around the entire reservoir. I stayed on the SW edge, about 50 feet from the water. Great breeze, plenty of shade from Cottonwood trees (I stayed in the sun because I'm solar powered). Saw blue herons (I think...some large, grey/blue stork looking birds--can you tell I'm not a wildlife specialist?)
There were a medium number of people there, but still plenty of places to park and other campers kept their distance.
Had 3 bars on Verizon wifi.