BLM access about to be lost
There is a fantastic BLM dispersed camping site in Colorado on the Arkansas River that is in danger of being converted from free BLM camping to an expensive, reservation only campground run by the sta...
Forum Discussion
Some good points in the last few posts.
Just to clarify- at the specific Salida East site which launched this thread- the impetus for change was the State Parks- thorough a local entity called Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area- AHRA. AHRA saw a heavily used area which is adjacent to a boat ramp they manage- this area is about the only valuable plot along the river they do not control and being well located and no fee gets more heavily used than their other campgrounds- they saw $$. Plain and simple. (They get to be a landlord and rent out campsites with a zero acquisition cost).
When you descend off of Trout Creek Pass and have this awesome view of the entire Arkansas Valley there is a country road that extends off of the main highway to a view point. It has been there over 50 years. People pull off take a picture and go on. AHRA managed to get the BLM to give it to them and they charge the $7 daily fee to anyone who stops there for a picture.
As far as profdat's suggestion- there are BLM places that do something like what he suggests. Quartzsite on the Calif/Arizona border is a mecca for hundreds of RVs who spend he entire winter boondocking there. You pay a very reasonable fee of $40 for two weeks or $180 for the entire winter. There are about 4 different areas spread of miles of desert and there are camp hosts to check for compliance.
A camphost is a logical alternative to rangers. The cost of paying a ranger to check for stickers would be more expensive in labor than the money the stickers would generate.
Besides Quartzsite there are BLM campgrounds all over the west that charge a reasonable fee for camping- something like $!5 or $7,50 for seniors. Many are first come first serve.
As far as I recall neither I nor anyone else on this thread has expressed an objection to those BLM camping fees.
Rob
Just to clarify- at the specific Salida East site which launched this thread- the impetus for change was the State Parks- thorough a local entity called Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area- AHRA. AHRA saw a heavily used area which is adjacent to a boat ramp they manage- this area is about the only valuable plot along the river they do not control and being well located and no fee gets more heavily used than their other campgrounds- they saw $$. Plain and simple. (They get to be a landlord and rent out campsites with a zero acquisition cost).
When you descend off of Trout Creek Pass and have this awesome view of the entire Arkansas Valley there is a country road that extends off of the main highway to a view point. It has been there over 50 years. People pull off take a picture and go on. AHRA managed to get the BLM to give it to them and they charge the $7 daily fee to anyone who stops there for a picture.
As far as profdat's suggestion- there are BLM places that do something like what he suggests. Quartzsite on the Calif/Arizona border is a mecca for hundreds of RVs who spend he entire winter boondocking there. You pay a very reasonable fee of $40 for two weeks or $180 for the entire winter. There are about 4 different areas spread of miles of desert and there are camp hosts to check for compliance.
A camphost is a logical alternative to rangers. The cost of paying a ranger to check for stickers would be more expensive in labor than the money the stickers would generate.
Besides Quartzsite there are BLM campgrounds all over the west that charge a reasonable fee for camping- something like $!5 or $7,50 for seniors. Many are first come first serve.
As far as I recall neither I nor anyone else on this thread has expressed an objection to those BLM camping fees.
Rob
