Forum Discussion

EMD360's avatar
EMD360
Explorer
Oct 07, 2014

Colorado Indecision--Where to go this week?

We are new to Colorado and used to boondocking in Arizona. Our 22 ft. Spirit is great on backroads that are dirt or gravel but the roads need to be fairly well graded. I have been researching for over a week and still can't make up my mind about possible boondocking sites within a few hours from home. In Arizona we always liked best to hike in the wilderness areas to avoid the gun and 4x4 enthusiasts as well as mountain bikers, though they are quiet at least. We could drive right up to the edge and camp overnight at the trailheads then hike during the day and relax at night. We spent many nights in the RV with temps down in the upper 20's in Arizona--figure that is about what we will encounter up to about 9000 ft. this week here. We would like to have similar camping experiences here. Appreciate any advice from seasoned Colorado boondockers. (I'm posting here because my searches had the most answers about Colorado camping in this forum.)

One route would be to take Coal Creek Canyon Rd. (72) to the Peak to Peak and stop not too far off the highway to hike and camp. I have the Motor Vehicle Use Map for the Boulder Ranger District. There is a trail near 116 south of Ward that looks good for us and part of 116 allows dispersed camping, next up the road could be Camp Dick the only open campground in the area, if we had to be in a campground because the roads were too rough. Also near Allenspark there is a trail system near Bruce School Road and 217 is marked as dispersed camping. We could continue up to Estes Park, I was tempted by the Wild Basin entrance to RMNP but they warn that it is not for RV's and parking is limited. RMNP camping has been partially closed this week, but Moraine reopens Thursday. That would be our end destination and the trip from point to point is about 5 hours.

The other route would be to go south, probably to 285 and then camp between Bailey and Fairplay, I have been told anyplace off sr 56 would be OK, then continue down to 24 and up to Twin Lakes. These campgrounds are also closed for the season but there is supposedly dispersed camping nearby. Can't tell from the Motor Vehicle Use Map because they don't mark specific roads as the other districts, but it appears camping is allowable basically if you are in national forest and it is not otherwise marked. The total trip to these sites would be about 6 hours point to point. We would be in the Pike and St Isabel forests and I have still to figure out what trails we would like to take. As far as weather, it appears the elevations are generally higher for this trip.

It seems the forest campgrounds close early in Fall. Does closed mean locked and gated or does it mean they are not collecting fees? Aren't there loads of trails for snow shoeing and cross country skiing that are near these campgrounds? Seems there would be a lot of fall and winter campers in Colorado.

I tried some of the off road camping near Gross Reservoir and the roads were definitely too narrow and extreme 4x4 for our RV. But another area nearby was maneuverable, at least in the sites near the road--they were numbered. We stopped at a trailhead (Boy Scout trail system) and even though I read no camping at trailheads (we did this in AZ) a sign there said camping was allowed! So do you have to visit a trailhead to know if you can camp there i.e. park overnight?

I'm just wondering how it works in Colorado, not obvious from what I have read online and much more restricted than what we are used to in Arizona. Would appreciate anyone clearing this up for us! We will start exploring Wednesday morning.
Roads and Routes
  • EMD360's avatar
    EMD360
    Explorer
    Oct 07, 2014
    Busskipper wrote:


    Look up 4runnerguy - you are talking about his thing - might even send him a PM.

    BOL,


    Thanks, I noticed both of you had posts in the last year. I copied all of them down for ideas of places to go. But I could PM him about the two routes. I'm tempted to go south instead of up to RMNP but hoping for someone else to weigh in. :)
  • EMD360's avatar
    EMD360
    Explorer
    Oct 07, 2014
    Son of Norway wrote:
    How long have you been in Colorado? We are also transplants (30 years). All of the outdoor locations and facilities along the Front Range are subject to heavy use by the public and things are fairly tightly-regulated. The best campgrounds are booked 6 months in advance. Expect it to get even worse as the Front Range continues to grow. Closed usually means gated. The options for dispersed camping along the Front Range are limited. Go to the individual Forest websites to get current info on open locations. Call the office for the Forest you intend to go to and talk to someone to check your information before you go. Making a mistake could lead to a citation and a fine. Miles

    Hey, thanks for the info. We moved in March but have had the RV out here since last summer due to visiting and flying back. We were able to book Kelly Dahl last fall before it closed. That is when I looked around a bit at the dispersed near there. Sites were all taken on the weekend.


    In February I booked campgrounds at state parks--visited Boyd Lake--nice beach not many trails except a paved one to Loveland, St. Vrain--next to the highway, not many trails, and Golden Gate Canyon where the campground is pretty far away from most of the trails! We stopped at Chatfield for a day but they were not an option for camping--sites were already booked for all weekends in the summer--this was in February! So yeah, lots of campers here and not what we are used to! I guess so many people are hard on the ecosystem and it results in control. But I'm surprised so many places are locked and barred when the weather is still reasonable and traffic would be lighter.

    I am using the maps and we talked to the forest office in Leadville and he indicated that whatever wasn't posted in the forest was open for dispersed. So hopefully we are paying enough attention that we won't get cited! But good to know.

    Son of Norway wrote:
    Every one has their favorite places and you need to book them months in advance. You should also start looking farther afield. For you I would suggest Withers Canyon Trailhead at Picketwire Canyon south of La Junta (Comanche National Grasslands). It might remind you of places you have camped at in Arizona. It is close enough for a week-end. Be sure to visit the dinosaur track site. (I like to use a mountain bike to get there from the campsites.)

    We also like to go fishing and camping in the Flat Tops. If you are willing to drive for 3 hours you can get to places that don't see as much pressure.

    Enjoy your new state!


    Thanks for the ideas on some other places to try. Have not looked at the grasslands or heard about Flat Tops. So lots to explore here.
  • JiminDenver's avatar
    JiminDenver
    Explorer II
    Oct 07, 2014
    Take 285 to Jefferson, turn left at 77 and go 8 miles to 39. Turn left there and go 2 miles and you are in the Rock creek area with lots of huge spots and great views. You can turn down 56 earlier and come in the back side but looking at the MVUM and Google earth, there is much less open for camping than on the front side.

    Coming up from the Springs you would take 24 to 77 and hang a right. You will pass Tarryall Res. that has three small no fee camp grounds around it. They are small and cramped but the fishing is good. There are boondocking areas all through out the area but know that you can't get water in Jefferson.
  • Busskipper's avatar
    Busskipper
    Explorer
    Oct 07, 2014
    EMD360 wrote:
    We are new to Colorado and used to boondocking in Arizona. Our 22 ft. Spirit is great on backroads that are dirt or gravel but the roads need to be fairly well graded. I have been researching for over a week and still can't make up my mind about possible boondocking sites within a few hours from home. In Arizona we always liked best to hike in the wilderness areas to avoid the gun and 4x4 enthusiasts as well as mountain bikers, though they are quiet at least. We could drive right up to the edge and camp overnight at the trailheads then hike during the day and relax at night. We spent many nights in the RV with temps down in the upper 20's in Arizona--figure that is about what we will encounter up to about 9000 ft. this week here. We would like to have similar camping experiences here. Appreciate any advice from seasoned Colorado boondockers. (I'm posting here because my searches had the most answers about Colorado camping in this forum.)

    One route would be to take Coal Creek Canyon Rd. (72) to the Peak to Peak and stop not too far off the highway to hike and camp. I have the Motor Vehicle Use Map for the Boulder Ranger District. There is a trail near 116 south of Ward that looks good for us and part of 116 allows dispersed camping, next up the road could be Camp Dick the only open campground in the area, if we had to be in a campground because the roads were too rough. Also near Allenspark there is a trail system near Bruce School Road and 217 is marked as dispersed camping. We could continue up to Estes Park, I was tempted by the Wild Basin entrance to RMNP but they warn that it is not for RV's and parking is limited. RMNP camping has been partially closed this week, but Moraine reopens Thursday. That would be our end destination and the trip from point to point is about 5 hours.

    The other route would be to go south, probably to 285 and then camp between Bailey and Fairplay, I have been told anyplace off sr 56 would be OK, then continue down to 24 and up to Twin Lakes. These campgrounds are also closed for the season but there is supposedly dispersed camping nearby. Can't tell from the Motor Vehicle Use Map because they don't mark specific roads as the other districts, but it appears camping is allowable basically if you are in national forest and it is not otherwise marked. The total trip to these sites would be about 6 hours point to point. We would be in the Pike and St Isabel forests and I have still to figure out what trails we would like to take. As far as weather, it appears the elevations are generally higher for this trip.

    It seems the forest campgrounds close early in Fall. Does closed mean locked and gated or does it mean they are not collecting fees? Aren't there loads of trails for snow shoeing and cross country skiing that are near these campgrounds? Seems there would be a lot of fall and winter campers in Colorado.

    I tried some of the off road camping near Gross Reservoir and the roads were definitely too narrow and extreme 4x4 for our RV. But another area nearby was maneuverable, at least in the sites near the road--they were numbered. We stopped at a trailhead (Boy Scout trail system) and even though I read no camping at trailheads (we did this in AZ) a sign there said camping was allowed! So do you have to visit a trailhead to know if you can camp there i.e. park overnight?

    I'm just wondering how it works in Colorado, not obvious from what I have read online and much more restricted than what we are used to in Arizona. Would appreciate anyone clearing this up for us! We will start exploring Wednesday morning.


    Look up 4runnerguy - you are talking about his thing - might even send him a PM.

    BOL,
  • Son_of_Norway's avatar
    Son_of_Norway
    Explorer
    Oct 07, 2014
    How long have you been in Colorado? We are also transplants (30 years). All of the outdoor locations and facilities along the Front Range are subject to heavy use by the public and things are fairly tightly-regulated. The best campgrounds are booked 6 months in advance. Expect it to get even worse as the Front Range continues to grow. Closed usually means gated. The options for dispersed camping along the Front Range are limited. Go to the individual Forest websites to get current info on open locations. Call the office for the Forest you intend to go to and talk to someone to check your information before you go. Making a mistake could lead to a citation and a fine.

    Before we bought the HR we used to have a '72 Winnebago Indian. I could drive that thing up many jeep roads. One of our favorite campgrounds was Rainbow Lakes outside of Nederland. I would suspect that Rainbow lakes is probably closed by now, but you could check. We have also camped in some dispersed camping spots west of Red Feather Lakes. The campground up there at Dowdy Lake is open year-round.

    Every one has their favorite places and you need to book them months in advance. You should also start looking farther afield. For you I would suggest Withers Canyon Trailhead at Picketwire Canyon south of La Junta (Comanche National Grasslands). It might remind you of places you have camped at in Arizona. It is close enough for a week-end. Be sure to visit the dinosaur track site. (I like to use a mountain bike to get there from the campsites.)

    We also like to go fishing and camping in the Flat Tops. If you are willing to drive for 3 hours you can get to places that don't see as much pressure.

    Enjoy your new state!

    Miles

About Bucket List Trips

13,487 PostsLatest Activity: Jan 18, 2025