Backcountry Camping in Wyoming: Permits, Routes, Bear Notes

wyoming is the state where Patricia and i argue the most. she wants pavement. i want the dirt road past the last cell bar. we usually compromise on something with a trailhead at the end of it.

backcountry camping out here is genuinely some of the loosest, weirdest, most rewarding stuff in the lower 48. some zones you grab a free permit at a trailhead box. some you fight a lottery six months out. some you just… walk in. you have to know which is which before you drive 400 miles to find out.

so here's how i actually plan a wyoming trip, the permit setup for the big zones, a few route ideas that arent just Cirque of the Towers (though yes, also Cirque of the Towers), and the bear stuff nobody should hand-wave.

the permit landscape, sorted by who's checking

wyoming basically splits into three permit worlds: National Park (strict), Wilderness areas in National Forest (chill, mostly free), and state land (rare for true backcountry but exists). knowing which agency owns the dirt you want to sleep on saves you a lot of grief.

Yellowstone and Grand Teton are the strict ones. backcountry camping there means assigned campsites, dated itineraries, and a permit. both run through Recreation.gov with an early-access reservation period in late winter, then a general window, then walk-up permits if anything's left. as of recent seasons there's a non-refundable application fee plus a per-night fee. check the park page on NPS.gov before you build a trip — the system has changed almost every year i've been doing this.

Forest Service wilderness — the Wind Rivers (Bridger-Teton and Shoshone NF), Cloud Peak Wilderness (Bighorn NF), the Absaroka-Beartooth, Gros Ventre — these are mostly free, self-issue permits at the trailhead. you fill out a paper tag, drop the stub in the box, take the other half with you. group size caps usually 10 people / 15 stock. no assigned sites. no fees. honestly some of the easiest backcountry permitting in the country.

state parks are mostly front-country in WY but wyoparks.wyo.gov is worth a look for the shoulder season when the high country's still snowed in.

Yellowstone backcountry without losing your mind

the early access lottery for Yellowstone opens in the dead of winter. if you have a dream itinerary — Thorofare, Heart Lake, Shoshone Lake — you apply then. if youre flexible, the general booking that opens later in spring usually still has decent stuff in the Lamar drainage and the northern ranges.

walk-up permits are real and underrated. show up at a backcountry office (Mammoth, Old Faithful, Canyon, Bechler) 48 hours before your start date and there's almost always something. ive done Heart Lake on a walk-up in late September. zero people. the geyser basin steaming at sunrise. one of the better nights ive had in Patricia-adjacent territory (she was at Indian Creek paying $20 a night while i was out there).

routes worth the permit hassle:

• Heart Lake — 8 miles in from the Heart Lake trailhead on US-89. thermal features, cutthroat, manageable.
• Shoshone Lake via DeLacy Creek — biggest backcountry lake in the lower 48 with no road access. canoe portage is a whole other adventure.
• Thorofare — the furthest you can get from a road in the contiguous US. 30+ miles. grizzly central. not a starter trip.
• Sky Rim in the NW corner — wildflowers, almost nobody, big climbs.
• Bechler River — waterfall country in the SW corner, trailhead's a haul from anywhere.

the Wind Rivers, which are the actual answer

if you came to wyoming for backcountry and you want to skip the permit lottery entirely, the Wind River Range is the move. Bridger Wilderness on the west side, Fitzpatrick and Popo Agie on the east. self-issue permits at every trailhead. no fees. no assigned sites. just go.

the standard entry points:

Big Sandy trailhead (south end, accessed via Pinedale or Boulder) is your gateway to Cirque of the Towers and the Lonesome Lake basin. the last 10 miles of road are washboard and Patricia hates it but she lives. cell service: gone about 30 miles before the trailhead. download your maps in Pinedale.

Elkhart Park / Pole Creek trailhead above Pinedale gets you to Titcomb Basin, which is the photo you've seen — Fremont Peak, glacial tarns, the whole thing. 14ish miles in. busier than it used to be but still feels enormous.

Green River Lakes trailhead (north end, out of Cora) is the long way in, fewer people, Squaretop Mountain reflecting in the lake at dawn. one of my favorite drive-ups in the state even if you don't hike.

Trail Lake outside Dubois on the east side gets you into Glacier Trail / Dinwoody country. this is the route to Gannett Peak if youre into that — wyoming's highpoint, technical, not a casual backpacking objective.

for gear i lean light here because youre often above 10,000 ft and the weather flips fast. a real 3-season tent with a full fly, a sleeping bag rated colder than you think you need (i've had frost in August at Island Lake), and a stove that handles wind. the rest of my gear list lives elsewhere on the site.

Cloud Peak, the Absarokas, and the quieter zones

Cloud Peak Wilderness in the Bighorns is hugely underrated. Mistymoon Lake from the West Tensleep trailhead is maybe 6 miles in and looks like the Winds without the crowd. self-issue permit at the trailhead. no grizzlies up there as of recent seasons (still black bears, still hang your food). access from Buffalo or Tensleep, both small towns where i've slept in Patricia at the city park / brewery lot without anyone caring.

Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness on the WY/MT border, accessed via Cody or up the Beartooth Highway — this is full grizzly country and it feels like it. high alpine plateaus, almost no trees up top, weather that will end your trip in 20 minutes. beautiful. respect it.

Gros Ventre Wilderness just east of Jackson — the easy backyard option if youre already in town. Granite Highline traverse is a good 2-nighter.

for general planning i cross-reference the USFS pages at fs.usda.gov for closures and fire restrictions, then build the actual route on a topo. our hiking section has more on day routes if youre warming up to the overnight stuff, and a few specific trail writeups for popular entries.

bear stuff, said plainly

roughly: anywhere north and west of the Wind River Range, assume grizzlies. Yellowstone, Tetons, Absarokas, Wyoming Range, north end of the Winds — that's the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and the grizzly population has expanded significantly in the last decade. the south Winds, the Bighorns, the Medicine Bow — black bears only as of recent seasons, but that line moves.

what i actually carry and do:

• bear spray on my hip belt, not in the pack. counter-assault or UDAP, 8oz+. buy it in-state, you can't fly with it. most outfitters in Jackson, Pinedale, Cody rent or sell.
• IGBC-approved bear canister in grizzly country. Yellowstone backcountry sites mostly have bear poles but i still bring a canister for cushion food and toiletries. the Winds technically don't require one but i use it from Island Lake north.
• cook 100+ yards from where you sleep. triangle setup: tent, kitchen, food storage all separated. annoying. do it anyway.
• no food, no toothpaste, no chapstick, no sunscreen in the tent. if it has a smell, it lives in the canister.
• make noise on blind corners and in willow thickets. i talk to Patricia even when she's 15 miles away. weird but effective.

and honestly: dont solo grizzly country if youre new to backpacking. find a partner, or pick a Winds south / Bighorn route until youve got the reps.

logistics, cell, and where to sleep the night before

wyoming is huge and empty and you will lose service. download offline maps in the last real town. coffee budget gets weird out here because espresso between Lander and Pinedale is a 90-mile gap — i stocked Patricia with a moka pot specifically for this state.

night-before trailhead sleeping spots i've used:

Big Sandy: there's a small free FS campground at the trailhead, fills by mid-afternoon in July. backup is dispersed pullouts on the road in. Elkhart Park: Trails End campground right there, $15ish as of recent seasons, first-come. Green River Lakes: FS campground at the lake, reservable on Recreation.gov, gorgeous but books out. Trail Lake (Dubois): dispersed camping all along the road in, free, no reservations. West Tensleep (Bighorns): a string of FS campgrounds along the road, mostly first-come.

for Yellowstone/Teton trailhead overnights you basically need a frontcountry reservation or you sleep outside the park boundary. Indian Creek and Lewis Lake in Yellowstone are usually cheapest. the booking-fee racket on third-party private sites is real — book direct on Recreation.gov or the park concessioner site, not whatever "campingreservations.com" Google shows you. see also our parks roundup for more on that side of the trip.

honest take

if it's your first wyoming backcountry trip, go to the south Winds. Big Sandy trailhead, 3 nights, loop through Cirque of the Towers and out. self-issue permit at the box, no grizzlies as of recent seasons, no lottery, no fees. you'll see what the whole state's hype is about and you wont have spent six months refreshing Recreation.gov.

if youve got the experience and you want Yellowstone, apply in the early access window with a flexible itinerary, and have a Winds backup ready for when you don't draw what you wanted. and if it's August and youre already on the road with no plan — drive to the Bighorns. Mistymoon. trust me.