Campground Details:
Connor Battlefield campground consists of 20 camping and picnic sites nestled in an oxbow of the Tongue River. Each camping and picnic site has a grill and table, and two sites are ADA accessible. Connor offers a quiet, relaxing campsite, away from the hustle of the road in the peaceful shade of a river bottom. Located at the base of the Bighorn Mountains in Ranchester, Wyomin
g, and right off Interstate I-90, it's the perfect place to stop between Yellowstone and Mount Rushmore. Camping sites operate on a first-come, first-served basis, without reservations. Camping is seasonal, and weather permitting, the park is open from May 1 through October 31. Day use is free, camping is $20.34 per night for non-residents, and $11.30 for Wyoming residents. History of the Site:
In the summer of 1865, General Patrick E. Connor led a column of troops from Fort Laramie into the Powder River Country of northern Wyoming. The Powder River Expedition's mission was to attack Plains Indian tribes in order to force them into submission and keep the peace. On the morning of August 29, 1865, General Patrick Connor, along with 250 soldiers and 80 Pawnee Scouts, attacked Black Bear's Arapaho village near here. This resulted in 64 Arapaho killed, several hundred ponies lost, and most of their lodges destroyed. The attack became the single most important military engagement of the Powder River Expedition because it led to the Arapaho allying themselves with the Lakota and Cheyenne during Red Cloud's War, which began the following year. To learn more about Red Cloud's War and the history of the U.S. Military in the area at this time, please visit Fort Phil Kearny, in between Sheridan and Buffalo, at Exit 44 on I-90.
