Ranch 66 Missionary Village

Right on the Oregon/Mormon Trail, We discovered this campground only after asking about places to stay when we were visiting the LDS run (and excellent) historic site Martin's Cove. Devil's Gate is also there.

The campground as far as we can tell was built by and for the LDS community who staff the historic site and come to visit it, however it's very much open to the public. (There are some hook ups as well; the 10 dollars was for dry.) I asked the host about sharing information with others (i.e. Here on Campendium) and he said though they don't advertise, they are all for spreading the word.

The campground is a mile or so north off 220 and is marked with a sign. It is 10 miles west of Martin's Cove. In a beautiful spot, flat but surrounded by mountains, wildlife wandering through, great stars. Spotless pit toilets. Picnic tables and fire rings. It was empty when we were there, a weekend in October. It should be open year round, as the historic site is as well. We had some AT&T - erg I don't remember how much exactly ...

Perfect location to visit Devil's Gate, Independence Rock, Martin's Cove, and Sweetwater. Wonderful hosts greeted us and helped us get situated. Quiet park, extremely friendly hosts, lots of antelope, and beautiful surroundings. Would definitely stay here again! They did not have a check out time, so we were able to hike Martin's Cove, enjoy the area, come home and rest after a 7 mile hike, and leave for Douglas, Wyo at 5pm. Absolutely wonderful experience. Camped in our 32 ft. 5th wheel with full hook up.
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First and foremost, Google Maps cannot be trusted here, unless you care to take your rig on the actual Oregon Trail.

We tried this CG based on Campendium reviews The CG appears to be a CG designed for the Mormon Missionaries who are at the Martin's Cove site but it is open to the public. We were greeted by Elder Taylor who gave us the information we needed, but not a lot of other details. We chose a full hook-up site, which was a gravel, pull through site with wide open views of the Rattlesnake Range. When we inquired about snakes, Elder Taylor said we should be OK because they had just cut the grass near our site but mentioned they do find snakes. Elder Taylor was not extremely friendly, but he was polite.

There are pronghorn and deer all over the CG and they seem comfortable with people. We also had a bunch of red ants when we first arrived.

The CG is very quiet and the views pleasant. There were neither fire rings nor picnic tables at the sites, but there did appear to be a large picnic area. It was not clear of we could use that area.

Full hookups are $20 and include 50 amp service. There even seemed to be a gas line available. Dry camping and tent camping are available for $10/night. We stayed in a full hookup site that needed no additional leveling. The pad was gravel with a small grassy area. No WiFi available.

This is a perfect layover between SLC and Mount Rushmore/Black Hills area. We loved visiting the Mormon Handcart Center just ten miles down the 220. Google will try to tell you to turn prematurely as you head from the east, but just watch for the sign. While we were there, at least 2 rattlesnakes were spotted. Plenty of antelope around these parts.

Bring good bug spray. My girls and I used the Off brand “Family care” bug spray and got many bites. My husband used a DEET spray and I used a quality essential oil blend on my toddler. My husband and toddler were the only ones not bitten. Speaking of children, this was a family friendly place with several other families staying at the campground.

Good access for traveling through, a historical interpretive center down the road, beautiful sunsets (not an early riser but I assume the sunrises would be equally beautiful), wide open spaces, full hook ups at a decent price, and wildlife wandering through camp? My kind of campsite!

A friend and her husband with T-Mobile had a couple of bars of service and slow but useable internet. My husband and I on Verizon had no service or LTE whatsoever.

Just called and they said they are closed this year because of Covid

Just called and was told they will be closed for the entire 2021 camping season.

This campground is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It is primarily used to house the missionaries that work at Martin’s Cove. That housing and their RV’s are on one end of the campground and reserved spots are on the other. We were the only people there. The grass has grown up on the picnic table spots so it doesn’t look really well kept. However the restrooms were clean and we had great views. $20 includes water, electric and sewer. I’m guessing this campground was developing Bach during the oil boom and workers stayed here. In the RV area only site 7 has shade. The tent area has a lot of nice trees. 1 mile dirt road to access.