Guernsey State Park is a public recreation area surrounding the Guernsey Reservoir, an impoundment of the

North Platte River The North Platte River is a major tributary of the Platte River and is approximately long, counting its many curves.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 21, 2011 In a ...

, one mile northwest of the town of Guernsey in

Platte County, Wyoming Platte County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wyoming. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 8,605. Its county seat is Wheatland. History Platte County was created February 21, 1911 with land detached from Laramie C ...

, USA. The state park has campgrounds, boat ramps and hiking trails as well as exceptional examples of structures created by the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

in the 1930s. Facilities are managed for the

Bureau of Reclamation The Bureau of Reclamation, and formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and opera ...

by the

Wyoming Division of State Parks and Historic Sites The Wyoming Division of State Parks and Historic Sites is the Wyoming state agency that administers its state parks. Also known as Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites & Trails, the agency is headquartered in Cheyenne, Wyoming. See also *List of ...

History

The park began with the construction of the Guernsey Dam, started in 1925 and completed in 1927. Between 1934 and 1939, workers with the Civilian Conservation Corps created recreational facilities on the land surrounding the dam's reservoir. Park management fell to the state of Wyoming in 1957. Lake Guernsey State Park (also known as Guernsey State Park Historic District, Lake Guernsey Park, Guernsey Lake Park, or Guernsey State Park) was declared a

National Historic Landmark District National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

in 1997 for its design history and construction. The park's design was the result of the first collaboration between the National Park Service and the Bureau of Reclamation, and its infrastructure was built by Civilian Conservation Corps crews. The historic district contains 60 contributing resources: 14 buildings, three sites and 43 structures, as well as 46 non-contributing resources.

Features

The Guernsey State Park Museum offers information about the CCC and the natural and cultural history of the area. The park contains a separate National Historic Landmark, the Oregon Trail Ruts. Register Cliff, another feature of the

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what is now the state of Kans ...

listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

, is located two miles southeast of the park.

Activities and amenities

The park has seven campgrounds and three boat ramps. Fish species include

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...

yellow perch The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch, American river perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Sam ...

and channel catfish. Fish populations are affected by the reservoir's twice-yearly draw-downs.

References

External links

Guernsey State Park
Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites & Trails
Guernsey State Park Brochure and Map
Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites & Trails
Lake Guernsey State Park National Historic Landmark
at the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office * * Historic American Landscapes Survey (HALS) documentation: ** ** ** ** ** {{authority control National Historic Landmarks in Wyoming Protected areas of Platte County, Wyoming National Park Service rustic in Wyoming Civilian Conservation Corps museums Natural history museums in Wyoming Museums in Platte County, Wyoming Civilian Conservation Corps in Wyoming State parks of Wyoming Park buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Wyoming Historic American Buildings Survey in Wyoming Historic American Landscapes Survey in Wyoming Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Wyoming National Register of Historic Places in Platte County, Wyoming IUCN Category III Protected areas established in 1934 1934 establishments in Wyoming