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Boysen State Park
 

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About Our Site - Boysen State Park

 

The first white men through the Wind River Canyon were the Ashley Fur Party in 1825. The original dam was built by Asmus Boysen in 1908, for whom the park and reservoir are named. Part of the original dam can still be seen adjacent to the tunnels on the Lower Wind River Campground. Mr. Boysen also built a 710kW power plant at the site. Operations ceased when in 1923 a major flood filled the plant with silt.

The CB&O Railroad went through the canyon in 1911 and the state highway went through in 1925. The existing dam was completed in 1951. Boysen became a state park in 1956.

Original-Boysen-Dam-SiteLower-Wind-River-CampgroundOriginal Asmus Boysen Dam Site Located just north of the Lower Wind River Campground. This site also represents the park's northern boundary.

 

Access across the Boysen Dam to be interrupted during the week of August 21

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According to information provided by the Bureau of Reclamation, access across the top of Dam at Boysen State Park will be temporarily interrupted for testing of spillway gates during the week of August 21. 

A crew will set up a large crane on Boysen Dam for several hours during the morning of August 20. The crane will be used to place and remove stoplogs in front of the spillway gates throughout the normal work week of August 21 through August 25 to facilitate testing of the spillway gates.

Access across the top of the dam will be restricted while the crane is being set up and stop logs are being moved. During the week there will be periods of time ranging from 30 minutes to 1 hour when no traffic will be able to pass in either direction. Normal access will be restored by the end of the week.

The placement of stoplogs allows the 25-foot tall by 30-foot-wide spillway gates at Boysen Dam to be operated through full travel motion without large releases of water. The full travel test is a routine operation and maintenance activity that is generally performed every six years to ensure Reclamation’s ability to fully open and close the spillway gates. The gates are normally tested annually and are moved to a 10 percent opening.

Located on the Wind River near Shoshoni, Wyoming, Boysen Dam provides irrigation, hydropower, flood control, municipal, industrial, and fish and wildlife benefits. Near Thermopolis, Wyoming, the name of the river changes from Wind River to Bighorn River. More than 60,000 acres of farmland in Wyoming receive their irrigation supply from the Bighorn River downstream of Boysen Dam.

 

 

More Information - Boysen State Park

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Facts and Figures
  • Current Dam
  • Structural height: 216 feet
  • Crest Length: 1,100 feet
  • Type: rolled earth, rock-fill
  • Volume of material: 1,700,000 cubic yards
  • Spillway capacity: 20,000 cubic feet/seconds
  • Power plant: 15,000 kw

Reservoir and park

  • Water: 19,560 acres
  • Shoreline: 76 miles
  • Length: 20 miles
  • Widest point: 5.5 miles
  • Land: 15,145

Believe it or not…

Yes! Contrary to what your eyes tell you, the Wind River flows NORTH!

 
 

 

 
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Site Status

 

  • Camping, boating, and fishing are still available.  
  • Please use caution when in or around the water. 
  • Additional information:

Attention:


HCB Advisories in Effect

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Hours

 

Grounds open all year - 24 hours.

Season

Park grounds are open year-round, weather permitting.

 

Map

Phone Number

 

307-876-2796

 

Map

 Location

 

 Boysen State Park
 120 Boysen Drive
 Shoshoni, WY 82649

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