Guernsey State Park

A historic Wyoming state park centered on Guernsey Reservoir, celebrated for its exceptional 1930s Civilian Conservation Corps architecture, scenic hiking trails, and waterfront camping.

Guernsey State Park surrounds the Guernsey Reservoir, a deep blue impoundment of the North Platte River framed by rugged red sandstone and ponderosa pine. While the dam itself was completed in 1927, the park's defining character was forged during the Great Depression. Between 1934 and 1938, young men from the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camps BR-9 and BR-10 transformed this rugged landscape into a masterpiece of National Park Service Rustic architecture. Using local sandstone, hand-hewn timber, and hand-forged iron, these workers constructed roads, trails, and shelters that blend into the cliffs. This exceptional preservation earned the park a National Historic Landmark District designation in 1997.

The architectural crown jewels of the park are the Castle and the Guernsey Museum. The Castle, often called the most elaborate picnic shelter in the United States, features a massive stone fireplace and winding steps that lead to an elevated observation deck with views across the water. On a high cliff overlooking the reservoir, the Guernsey Museum showcases the meticulous craftsmanship of the era with its hand-split cedar shake roof, smooth flagstone floors, and massive timber framing. Inside, exhibits detail the construction of the dam and the daily lives of the CCC laborers. Other notable structures include the Sitting Bull picnic shelter and the stone lookout at Brimmer Point, all linked by scenic routes like Lakeshore Drive and Skyline Drive.

Outdoor recreation here is deeply intertwined with these historic features. The park maintains roughly 14 miles of restored CCC-era hiking trails, with a primary trailhead located near the Brimmer Point turnoff. These trails loop through steep canyons and along high ridges, offering views of the reservoir where visitors fish for walleye, yellow perch, and smallmouth bass. Campers can choose from several distinct campgrounds scattered around the water, including the sandy shores of Sandy Beach and Sandy Point on the west side, or the more secluded, tree-lined sites at Long Canyon and Newell Bay. For those interested in the broader history of westward migration, the famous Oregon Trail Ruts and Register Cliff are located just a few miles south of the park boundary, making this a central hub for exploring Wyoming's pioneer past.