Flaming Gorge Car Camping

Friday, July 10^th: Drive to Flaming Gorge

Saturday, July 11^{th ,}thru Wednesday, July 15^{th ,}. Meet at Buckboard Marina, time to be determined the evening before.

Thursday, July 16^th : pack up and head home

Suggested Paddles (some include driving from Buckboard to another access and putting in):

(1) north from Buckboard and into Black’s Fork Arm;

(2) south from Buckboard. There are a couple of cool coves to explore on the west side;

(3) Starting at the Bringar (aka Holmes Crossing Access, ~ 5 miles south of Buckboard) and paddling north for an hour or so around ‘Bird Island’ then additional exploring;

(4) Starting at Anvil Flats Access (~ 10 miles south of Buckboard) and exploring the west side of the lake both north and south of the put-in;

(5) Putting in at the Lucence Access (~ 25 miles south of Buckboard and in Utah!), paddling to the east side of the lake then north of Antelope Flats to a big cove not easily seen from the main lake. In addition, there are cool rocks sticking out of the water on the west side that we have never paddled behind. Alternatively, paddle south though the ‘horseshoe” (there is a cut that makes this a nice loop but that cutoff is probably dry). Note that Lucerne is in Utah so remember your Utah AIS form!

Permits and Inspections: Wyoming Boat Inspection and Wyo AIS Sticker. Utah AIS certificate. Utah has a form to fill out that needs to be left on the car’s dash for days we paddle on the Utah side. Also, we have a National Parks Senior Pass that we use to park at any of the Flaming Gorge access points, marinas, etc. since they all have a fee,

Human Waste: We use poop tubes while on the lake. There are outhouses at various access points each day and trash receptacles where we can dump tube contents if needed,

Drinking Water: Potable water is available at the Buckboard campground.

Wind and Waves!  Flaming Gorge can get windy!  Although we keep an eye on the weather and do not plan to paddle in high wind, it is often necessary to paddle for an hour or so in moderate winds (8 mph – 12 mph) to a good campsite

Short breaks: We tend to take only short breaks while paddling, including short lunch breaks.

Wind and Start Time:  Our preference is not get up early. But in 2022, after 2 days where a strong wind came up early (like by 10), we started getting up at 5:30, no cooked breakfasts (cold-brews for me) and were done by noon. This does result in there being long down-time in the afternoon but it was better than fighting the wind. In other years, we never had wind till mid-to-late afternoon.  We have had severe thunder storms in the afternoon. Hard to say what 2026 will be like.

Other Hazards: Rattlesnakes!

Maps:  Trails Illustrated #704 (Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area;

This is an RMCC trip, so ACA and other rules apply.