Is there anywhere in the Big Horn Mountains, WY that we can get potable water for our camper?

Are you looking for information about a particular campground in the Bighorns? All of the National Forest sites listed on this website has information about water within the campsite. You may have to load it in a container and carry it to your vehicle depending on the type of water supply (pressurized spigot vs a well pump.)

Let us know what you are looking for and we should be able to help you more!

There are 21 NF campgrounds in Big Horn National Forest and all of them
have potable water available. However be aware that most of these have hand pumps as the source. That means that if you are relying on getting your water there, you will need a suitable container. I have found the easiest style container to use is the 4-5 gallon plastic type that somewhat resembles the old Jerry Cans.They usually come with some kind of spout but I would suggest you look for some kind of filter as well. The old hand pumps sometimes give you a few chunks of rust as an added bonus!
If this doesn't appeal to you, check out the locations of Ranger Stations in the area you are visiting...all of them also have potable water.
That's a great area you are going to..wish I could get up there this year.

Ed

We'll be staying at Porcupine campground. We've been there before and are aware of the hand pump which it looks like we'll be using. We do have a 5 gallon jug we can use to fill with. We have read where there is a waste station around Burgess Junction but I haven't read anywhere that there is a water source that you can actually put the hose in and fill with. We don't have a problem filling from the jug though. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do. Only 6 weeks away can't wait, it's such a beautiful area.
John & Tamria
Wisconsin

When in that part of the world, we found several non-dump station sources for water a.k.a. gas stations. Fred used our white water hose to fill our tank before we got to the campground. The gas station attendants were very gracious. I think they were fellow campers.

One question that is just a little off the subject - After about a decade, the spout on our 3-gallon plastic "Jerry Can" broke last year. We looked in just about every type of store we could think of for a replacement with no luck. Finally, we were told they, whoever they maybe, pulled those containers off the market because the plastic had some harmful properties. We could find 5gall plus size containers but nothing smaller. The problem is our motorhome's water intake is about chest high and lifting then holding 40 pounds of water is difficult. Can anyone tell me if there is a less than 5 gallon hard plastic "Jerry Can" on the market?

I have read of people purchasing siphoning hoses with hand pump/primers to transfer water from "jerry can" to fresh water holding tank in their rig. Same issue, heavy to lift.

The simplest answer to this problem is to only half-fill the Jerry Can and make a few more trips to the spigot. Although it doesn't help with the lifting, I also use an old set of luggage wheels to transport the can to the campsite (about $2 at any Thrift store).

Ed

Thanks everyone for the info on potable water in the Bighorn Mountains. I talked to someone from the National Forest Service in that area and she did inform us that there is a fill/dump station at Burgess. They did recommend bringing your own hose. She also said the station is not open yet, the water hasn't been tested and ok'd for the year, and the frost is just now comining out of the ground, so hopefully all is good to go when we are there the first week of July.

She also said this about the weather:
"It's been unseasonably cold this year for sure, also unseasonably wet, and raining again today!
Temps in July vary from the 70's to 90's+ down here, so you can figure 15-20 degrees cooler up there. Night time temps up there in the low 40's as an average. Hope that helps!! Basically we just tell folks to be ready for any kind of temperature or weather. We seriously have had snow on the 4th of July"

.

Late Entry:
My solution to the mentioned problem was to buy a 'Water Thief'. Hook it to the pump, then a walmart filter. If I can get close enough I fill up that way.
If I can't get close enough, I use the same method to fill a 5 gallon jug.

I'm fortunate in that while old I'm still big enough and strong enough to lift the jug to empty it.

If there are any young guys around it's amazing what they will do for a cold one...
(I'm a retired LEO and understand the value of 'Bribery')