A white Tacoma with a camper shell parked on a rise above a broad, empty basin under building cloud.

Forest Service campground

Circle Park Campground

Forest Service campground in Bighorn National Forest, Johnson County, Wyoming. 8,109 feet. 14.1 miles from Buffalo.

Managed by
Forest Service Bighorn National Forest
Elevation
8,109 ft USGS elevation model, at the mapped point
Sites
10 10 standard non-electric
Longest rig
50 ft The longest vehicle any site is listed for
Hookups
None listed
Reservations
Recreation.gov

Overview

Circle Park Campground is located about 15 miles west of Buffalo, Wyoming, on the east side of scenic Cloud Peak Skyway, near the Cloud Peak Wilderness Area. Part of the Bighorn National Forest, the area offers a wide variety of activities, including hiking, fishing, scenic driving and a number of historic sites. The administering organization is Rustic Freedom / Gallatin Canyon Campgrounds; e-mail: [email protected]

Recreation

Scenic off-road driving is available on nearby Elgin Park, Pole Creek and Crazy Woman Canyon Roads. Hiking and mountain biking are allowed on these roads as well. High Park Lookout, a short hike east of Meadowlark Lake, is an old fire lookout offering panoramic views of the area. There is fishing at nearby streams and lakes including Tie Hack Reservoir, a non-motorized lake, and Meadowlark Lake for rainbow, cutthroat, brown, and brook trout. Many additional hiking trails are available in the Cloud Peak Wilderness.

Facilities

The campground offers several single-family sites each equipped with a picnic table and campfire ring with grill. Vault toilets, drinking water from a hand pump, fire wood sales, and trash collection are provided.

The nearest dump station is 27 miles away on Powder River Pass.

Natural Features

The campground sits at the edge of a meadow tucked in a dense forest of lodgepole pine and aspen with widely spaced sites. Circle Park Trailhead leading into the Cloud Peak Wilderness is nearby.

Nearby Attractions

The adjacent Cloud Peak Skyway provides for scenic driving. Many additional hiking trails are available in the Cloud Peak Wilderness. Fishing is popular in the campground and nearby streams and Tie Hack Reservoir.

The description, directions and fees are the Forest Service’s own words, from its record on Recreation.gov.

What people do here

  • backpacking
  • biking
  • birding
  • boating
  • canoeing
  • fishing
  • hiking
  • mountain biking
  • scenic drive
  • star gazing
  • water access
  • water activities

The land around Circle Park Campground

The ringed pin is this campground; the others are its nearest neighbours. Switch on forest roads or BLM routes to see the way in.

Interactive map. Drag to pan, scroll or pinch to zoom, and select any point to see which agency manages the land. Arrow keys pan and the plus and minus keys zoom when the map has focus. A list of every state with its share of federal land is on the Explore page.

Map layers

Layers
Base map
Legend

Federal land, by managing agency

  • Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
  • US Forest Service (USFS)
  • National Park Service (NPS)
  • US Fish and Wildlife (USFW)
  • Bureau of Reclamation (USBR)
  • Department Of Defense (DOD)
  • Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
  • Other Federal
  • State
  • Local
  • Alaska Native Lands (Patented or Interim Conveyed)
  • Alaska Native Allotment

Federal campgrounds, by agency

  • Forest Service
  • Bureau of Land Management
  • National Park Service
  • Army Corps of Engineers
  • Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife and others

State and local land (USGS PAD-US)

  • State land
  • County and city land
  • Regional agency or district
  • Land trust or conservancy

Gaps with no tint inside public land are private parcels, often old mining claims and homesteads. They are not open to the public.

Dashed clay lines on the base map are unpaved tracks from OpenStreetMap. They show what exists on the ground, not what is legal to drive.

Select any point to see who manages the land.

Boundaries are approximate and land status changes. This map is a planning aid, not a survey or a statement of access. Confirm routes, closures and camping rules with the managing office.

Source: Recreation Information Database (Recreation.gov), record updated March 14, 2026. Elevation from the USGS 3D Elevation Program. Seasons, fees, water and fire rules change; the managing office has the final word.