Sited in a remote and less discovered part of Wyoming is the Middle Fork Powder River, an area that offers unsurpassed beauty and spectacular opportunities for outdoor recreation. This Bureau of Land Management river park, located 21 miles west of Kaycee, is part of the Old West rich with legends of outlaws and bandits. Some of the land in the area is privately owned, so visitors are encouraged to be on the lookout for such places as they approach and explore the park’s areas.
Opportunities for recreation abound here. If you fancy water-based recreation, you can knock yourself out with any of the available activities such as fly fishing for trout and hunting. Hiking enthusiasts are pushed to their limits on the short Outlaw Cave Trail that brings out the best in them. Visitors with cameras also enjoy good photography around the park’s beautifully decorated areas. Recreational opportunities such as OHV riding, bicycling, mountain biking, and picnicking are also available to guests that visit remote areas in the park and attractions outside the park.
Free camping opportunities are provided in a BLM campground around this river park. Additional campgrounds are available at Boysen State Park and Bighorn National Forest.
The Middle Fork Powder River lies about 21 miles southwest of Kaycee in Wyoming. This Bureau of Land Management river park is easily accessible by vehicles, including off-highway vehicles (OHVs). From Kaycee, Highways 191 and 190W lead to Bar C Road, an improved all-weather access road that goes through a private property all the way to the park boundary.
While you’re driving to this park, ensure you keep your vehicles on the designated routes. If you intend to go beyond the campground in the park, make sure you have a high-clearance vehicle because some of the roads are rough and primitive. During periods of inclement weather, these areas with primitive roads around the river park should not be visited.
Visitors who wish to stop at Ed O. Taylor Wildlife Management Area, just west of the BLM campground in this park are advised to drive to the area in four-wheel-drive vehicles only.
Public parking spaces are available for visitors coming to this BLM river park in personal and recreational vehicles.
There are no direct public transportation services to this BLM park.
RV rentals are available nearby at Big Horn County.
Outlaw Cave Campground is a pet-friendly campground that lies within the Middle Fork Powder River Recreation Area and offers free camping opportunities for visitors. This BLM campground is a perfect setting for solitude and refreshing getaways, thanks to its situation in a remote countryside that features red wall and deep canyons.
Campsites are available on a first-come, first-served basis and feature a vault toilet, picnic tables, and a fire ring. No water is provided, so come with your own drinking water. Trash receptacles are not provided, so you are expected to pack out all garbage.
The campground is open year-round, but peak season is from April to December.
Pack your best hiking boots as you visit this BLM river park because hiking is a pleasurable activity at Middle Fork Powder River. The most popular trail here, Outlaw Cave Trail, begins at the park’s campground and takes visitors to the recreation area.
This half-mile-long trail descends a steep slope into the Middle Fork Canyon where it drops about 1,000 feet before it intersects the river that lies just opposite the Outlaw Cave. Even though this trail is short, the adventure that users experience on it is breathtaking. Be cautious as you use this trail.
Middle Fork Powder River is widely known as a treasure cove for fly fishing. Consisting of lots of healthy rainbows and browns, this river is every fly fishers’ dream angling destination. This river holds between 3,000 to 5,000 trout per mile, while the rainbows and browns in the river can be as long as 20 inches. Angling can be quite challenging in the park, so bring your best angling skills to bear as you go after these fish species.
Hunting opportunities are available within this BLM river park’s areas as well as at Bighorn National Forest. Popular game species you can go after here include white-tailed deer, elk, mule deer, black bear, and moose. Hunters also fancy their chances against mountain lion, bighorn sheep, and pronghorn. Hunting licenses are required for all visitors and campers who wish to hunt in the area. Wyoming Game and Fish Commission regulations are in effect here too.
You may find that you also fancy rocky mountain elk, the most sought-after game in the forest.
Boysen Reservoir is a fancy destination for fishing and a variety of water-based recreation. This reservoir was formed by the Boysen Dam which was constructed between 1947 and 1952 at the mouth of Wind River Canyon. It derives its name from Asmus Boysen who built a dam on the Wind River Indian Reservation.
Seventy-six miles of shoreline is available on this reservoir opening up the entire area to loads of recreational activities, including sightseeing and picnicking.
One of the activities that visitors enjoy in the Middle Fork Powder River area is off-highway riding. This sport is allowed on the roads that surround the river park and offer good sightseeing opportunities.
At the nearby Bighorn National Forest, off-highway riding is also popular. The use of motorized vehicles for scenic and adventurous driving is allowed only on designated trails in the forest. All riders are required to pack out whatever they pack in and “leave no trace” when riding on the OHV trails.
If you bring your bicycles and mountain bikes along on your trip to Middle Fork Powder River, you will find there are plenty of spaces to put it to good use. Not only are biking opportunities open to visitors, but the activity is even encouraged as it provides guests with the chance to get to areas of the park that are less-frequently visited. At Bighorn National Forest, mountain biking is popular on designated biking trails.
