Lewis Park is a nice city park located in Wheatland, Wyoming. So...you would think for a city park…read morethey'd offer a playground, picnic canopies, soccer fields...etc. Well yes, Lewis Park offers all that...AND MORE! And the reason I'm saying MORE than your average typical park is because they allowed camping on the grounds. Camping? Really? Wow...cool for me. That's exactly what I was looking for!
Here I was, in this random town of Wheatland...just off the main road of Interstate 25 running through the heart of Wyoming. This Lewis Park was an absolutely suitable place for me to pull over along my travels and rest up for the night.
I discovered Lewis Park through the app on my phone called Campendium. I can't recommend Campendium enough for locating random campground and RV Parks on the fly.
Along my cross country road trip...this Lewis Park was the only city park where they actually offered camping.
Ya know...most of the places I visited were specific campgrounds and or RV/Trailer Parks...yet this place was a park for anyone and everyone to use. They permitted tent camping right on the outskirts of the main soccer field!
Here were some great aspects to Lewis Park...
When I read the entrance sign...it said it was free to camp! Hmmm...even better. I think they could have easily charged $10 for the night and no one would have taken an issue with that...yet it was free!
You don't have to sign up or reserve a site...just first come, first served. There were specific rules mentioning that you could only camp for 3 nights within a 30 day period.
The camping area was situated in a little designated area good for about 10 sites. When I came here back over the summertime...it was myself and two other families camping. So...it wasn't busy at all and overall...it was extremely quiet which was great for me to enjoy the fresh outdoor setting.
Unfortunately they didn't feature showers or restrooms, but for free camping in a city park...I wasn't even expecting those types of amenities, lol.
At least there was a vault toilet located next to the mini golf section. Yeah, nice...they offered mini golf here, though with this 2020 pandemic going on...I wasn't exactly sure if the course area was closed. Well, I didn't see anyone playing.
My only issue to get to this vault toilet and the mini golf area from the camping grounds was having to walk around the entire soccer field. So, it was a bit of trek...but no big deal ultimately.
I would also mention that this section for camping didn't have the most comfortable ground for making up my tent. I was sort of forced to set up on hard, dirt soil while meanwhile the camping area faced the soccer field where there was fresh fluffy grass much more suitable for pitching a tent. Yeah, it would have been a perfect night's rest if I could have moved my tent onto the soccer field, lol. Oh well...I was satisfied with just being here and having some time to rest and relax before heading to Casper, WY.
What I very much appreciated were the picnics tables set underneath canopies. I noticed a family having an afternoon birthday party. This Lewis Park was perfect for something like that.
Since there were multiple tables and canopy areas set up around the park...I was able to locate a few electrical outlets underneath these canopies good recharging my phone and portable generator.
And...there was good cell phone reception here for browsing the Internet and checking my social media posts, lol. Btw, right beside this park was any necessities you may need from the town of Wheatland including food, gas and supplies.
Overall, this Lewis Park was a great stopping point to pull over while driving. Taking in a pleasant summer night's evening here was worthwhile.
Granted the town of Wheatland is very small...but I'm really surprised for a city park like this with so many great attributes for local residents to hang out here during the day...that no one has yet to write a review about this place. Regardless, I'm happy to give it some recognition. And for any adventurers or road trippers out there needing a practical spot to set up a tent and camp for free for the night, I recommend this Lewis Park.