Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Wyoming, Colorado , Montana or ANY Campfire Members...get together ideas?

Sorry I was out yesterday. I'd be in for this too. I'm near Thermopolis which is 83 miles south of Cody. Cody is a tourist hell from memorial day to labor day. But as was mentioned before or after that you can run into wintery type weather. I would stay away from shoshoni/boysen unless you are out on the water it's pretty much a wasteland.

Thermopolis may be a good alternative for cody. Despite my obvious bias, it's close enough to drive to cody and isn't quite as packed with tourist, better weather-less wind, plently of hotels, campgrounds etc.

I agree Cody has some wonderfull attributes, but getting an area for a medium to large group may be tough. Please feel free to offer suggestions and help. I just came up with the idea and it started out as a local lunch get together but grew from there which I think is cool!

I was thinking Thermopolis initially as my wife is from there, so I know a little more about it than Cody. IT is fairly central too. Also as you say close to Cody but less busy. What suggestions might you have Ralphie? Shooting facilities west of town? Great fishing I know. The hot springs for those who want to soak or swim.

elkhunter76 - WY
JacquesLaRami - WY
K Salonek - CO
pumpgun - CO
derby dude - MT
Stemshot - ?
KC - CO
Kamerad Les - CO
shrapnel - MT
leftycarbon - CO
duck911 - CO
weaselsRus - NV
Glock2240 - MT
JeffP40 - MT
Tracks - CO
remfak - CO
himmelrr - CO
tarkio - MT
rattler - MT
ingwe - MT
Rocky Raab - UT
Cheyenne - WY
jnyork - WY
prairie goat - MT
ranger1 - MT
paladin - WY
partagas - WY
Bigbuck215 - MT
Mark R Dobrenski - MT
MackMan - CO
Cinch - WY
Huntsman22 - CO
deflave - MT
gotlost - WY
Northern Dave - MN
John Moses - Somewhere down south
CP - MT
tex n cal - CA
Ralphie - WY
wyoguide - WY
Snake River Marksman - WY
rnr - CO/WY

I'm in pending my work schedule.......

Thermopolis has a small shooting range. I think you can shoot out to 300 yards. There are 4 or 5 benches and they have some shotgun stuff there. I was only a member once and only went a couple times, but I could look into what they would do to host an out of town group. Thermop doesn't have all the amenities that Cody does, but we have a lot less headaches too. I think many here would enjoy the Days Inn (formally holiday inn) with it's huge collection of taxidermy and hunting photos. I sort of know the owner, maybe he'd come visit with a group of us and go over some of his great collection with us. Thermop really is a little gem of a town. Again acknowledging my bias.

I'd still be in for Cody and think it would work fine, just offering an alternative.

I was thinking about Thermop as well. There used to be some fair dog towns along the Bad Water Creek toward Lysite through the canyon south of Thermop, as well as rock chucks at the foot of the Owl Creeks. Don't know if they are still about though as I haven't stomped those parts in a long while. A lot of wide open all around Thermop off the black top. The Big Horn flows through town for the fisherfolk and Boysen is just down the road as well.

I don't know as every motel room is filled in Cody all summer long, and there always seems to be camping spots at the KOA. The other RV spot next to the Burger King seems to be full most of the time, but I really can't say for sure on any of it since I don't stay at the local motels or RV spots. And as mentioned before, the Cody Shooting Complex has camp spots.

Tourist are a pain mainly when trying to drive through town but there's a lot of room to get away from them.

Toward Sunlight Basin North of Cody

If we stayed at the campground at the Cody shooting range, we would have a central gathering place out of the way of all the tourists. I think the same would be true if we stayed at one of the group campgrounds at Glendo.

Jaques: Is that a fair statement for Glendo?

Thermopolis has a small range but we would have to setup something at Glendo.

Ralphie: Is there a central meeting place/campground around Thermopolis area?

Cody is sounding better all the time.

KC

The key issue "central gathering place out of the way of all the tourists"

I am fine with wherever we choose.

I guess I didn't see that there was a campground at the Cody range. I've never been to that range. I think that would probably be ideal as a central spot away from town but close to it for the amenities and those needing hotels.

There are a couple KOA type places in thermop but nothing that would work as well as a campground at a range, if that's the case in Cody.

Hotels do fill up pretty quickly in cody and rates go way up too, but I'm sure if we scheduled this sometime soon folks get easily get reservations.

Bigbuck215, partagas & Paladin:

It looks like we have about 40 people who have indicated interest. Let's guess that we get a few more and that 3/4 of them actually show up and some of them bring family. So that makes maybe 35-40 people or something in that heighborhood.

If a few stay at motels in town, we will need 25-30 camp sites? Is the campground at the Cody range big enough to hold that many people?

Jaques: What about Glendo?

KC

i prefer a motel for this kinda thing but as i said the wife and i have camped in the truck quite a bit aswell as tent camping....seriously though, you guys set it up....if the date works ill be there, dont much care where at so long as you guys think it meets the needs and is north of Cheyenne

Glendo has several campgrounds. Scattered around the lake.

http://wyoparks.state.wy.us/Site/SiteInfo.asp?siteID=6

I think there's 1 motel in Glendo and it's right nexted to the RR tracks (Noise). I believe there is some firearm restrictions in the state park also.
Just for thought, what about around Sundance. It's close to the Black Hills (Rusmore) and all that stuff. But there still camping and motels near or in Sundance.

I've visited Sundance several times and it's a nice tidy town with lots of friendly people and very few tourists. But it's far away from everyone and the closest campground is in Black Hills National Forest. That campground is no where near large enough to accommodate a group as big as the one we anticipate.

I have hunted in a couple of State Parks and the firearms restrictions are pretty much what you would do anyway. Gotta stay 1/4 mile away from campgrounds, buildings, etc.

Looks like there's also a motel in Guernsey and a bunch in Wheatland.

Here's the website for Glendo State Park.
http://wyoparks.state.wy.us/Site/SiteInfo.asp?siteID=6

Here's the webstite for Guernsey State Park,
http://www.sangres.com/wyoming/stateparks/guernsey.htm

and for the town of Guernsey.
http://www.townofguernseywy.us/

KC

What's Jackson Hole like in the summer time?

Extremely busy and expensive.

Thats an understatement.

I do like Cody, I'm just putting some other places out there. Saratoga has Good camping / and hotels/ fishing/ Pairie dogs close by. Plus a couple of NF work stations that could be used as a meeting site.

I'd be interested as well. It'd be cool if we could just find a huge prairie dog town and then just give GPS coordinates and then everyone show up and pop up a tent or trailer and have at for the weekend.