My wife booked a last-minute end of summer KOA trip last week for what we thought was Flaming Gorge, UT. Luckily I called the KOA the day before to make sure there was room at the site for the car carrier, and they couldn't find my reservation! Turns out she instead booked at a KOA about 80 miles north in Wyoming on the Green River where Flaming Gorge begins. Good thing I called.
After some quick research we discovered that there are massive sand dunes not too far north from where we camped. 10.5k acres of moving dunes, full of fresh water ponds! Apparently the dunes get covered with snow during the winter, and when the snow melts it soaks down into the sand. As the dunes get moved around by the wind natural ponds form and attract elk & all sorts of other wildlife. We didn't find any ponds ourselves as we were alone - I stayed about 3/4 of a mile or so from the BLM camp where dozens of toy haulers were parked running ATVs & UTVs because I didn't want to venture too far. I stopped by a circle of them & let them know we were on our own & just wanted to check out the dunes, they said if they didn't see us back in a couple of hours they'd head out to make sure everything was good & to just find the top of a dune & make some noise if we needed help.
We were only there for two days, did the dunes on day 1 and the top of Flaming Gorge on day 2. Plus the KOA there in Green River backs right up to hundreds of miles of trails that you can ride for days. It was a great trip, if you're ever in the area you have to check it out!
Arrival. My son enjoys traveling in comfort, slowly waking up before unloading operations:
Lunch at the dunes:
Putting back the shovel after a failed dune climb & dog shit burial operation:
Halloween decoration that is now permanent:
Death march for a great photo:
North end of Flaming Gorge:
One of the many random trails you'll find off of almost every highway in WY. Stopped on a descent to push a small boulder blocking the trail & went back for the camera:
Breakfast on our last morning on one of the trails just behind the KOA:
Photobomb:
After some quick research we discovered that there are massive sand dunes not too far north from where we camped. 10.5k acres of moving dunes, full of fresh water ponds! Apparently the dunes get covered with snow during the winter, and when the snow melts it soaks down into the sand. As the dunes get moved around by the wind natural ponds form and attract elk & all sorts of other wildlife. We didn't find any ponds ourselves as we were alone - I stayed about 3/4 of a mile or so from the BLM camp where dozens of toy haulers were parked running ATVs & UTVs because I didn't want to venture too far. I stopped by a circle of them & let them know we were on our own & just wanted to check out the dunes, they said if they didn't see us back in a couple of hours they'd head out to make sure everything was good & to just find the top of a dune & make some noise if we needed help.
We were only there for two days, did the dunes on day 1 and the top of Flaming Gorge on day 2. Plus the KOA there in Green River backs right up to hundreds of miles of trails that you can ride for days. It was a great trip, if you're ever in the area you have to check it out!
Arrival. My son enjoys traveling in comfort, slowly waking up before unloading operations:
Lunch at the dunes:
Putting back the shovel after a failed dune climb & dog shit burial operation:
Halloween decoration that is now permanent:
Death march for a great photo:
North end of Flaming Gorge:
One of the many random trails you'll find off of almost every highway in WY. Stopped on a descent to push a small boulder blocking the trail & went back for the camera:
Breakfast on our last morning on one of the trails just behind the KOA:
Photobomb:
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