Remote campsites?

Jerseydevil wrote:

DutchmenSport wrote:
Nothing EAST of the Mississippi River! That's for sure!

That's why I am dreaming! lol

don't be so quick to dismiss East of the Mississippi! :B

Lake Michigan on the breakwaters. My very 'first' trip in my very first MH eons ago.

Remote? I guess it's partly a matter of perspective. I've backpacked in Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana, and kayaked the Middle Fork of the Salmon in Idaho. All of those were remote, but not really on topic for an RVing forum. Here's a photo from about 35 years ago in the Colorado back country - I was tent camping. It's pretty remote.

Wow....^^^^ Locations sound and look spectacular...dreaming on for 2017. Happy New Year.

If by "remote" you mean "as far as possible from pavement," I'd have to choose our trip to the Cimarron Range of Colorado, two bumpy and dusty hours east of Ridgway. (A TC could have done the trip in half the time or less -- we were towing a trailer.) It was well worth the effort:


Click For Full-Size Image.

Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico. Out in the middle of nowhere, and a terrible road to reach it.

But arrive and you are camping in one of the least-visited, most interesting places in the National Park Service system, and a Unesco World Heritage site. Campsites are next to abandoned ruins of the Ancestral Puebloan culture that thrived here around 800 to 1200 A.D. and then vanished.

Drove to Inuvik after canoeing the Yukon river to Dawson City and flew 3 hours to Horton Lake in a Cessna. Paddled 3 weeks down the Horton to Franklin Inlet.




Had to wait 3 extra days at the mouth of the river for the 1.5 hour flight back to Inuvik. Saw no one for 3 weeks.



Grizzly sow with 2 cubs(nearby) on the hill above us knocked over canoe one night(bright daylight). The whole trip with 21 campsites were the most remote in my life.

Dave

If one wants to talk about backpacking, I've been on several trips where I never saw another person for a week straight. Generally that means following animal trails rather than those shown on topo sheets or USFS maps.

I generally judge remoteness by the number of other people we run into. That's why I mentioned Stunner and Peavine Creek CG's in my previous post. (BTW, haven't seen anyone say they've been to either of those places!)

For RV/car camping (which is what I assume the OP was asking about), many places that used to be way out there aren't anymore. The aforementioned Rainbow Lakes and Long Draw reservoir now aren't so private.

Many people are willing to drive rough roads to get to campgrounds anymore. Deep Lake Campground (10,500') above Dosero, CO is accessed by a very washboardy 29 mile gravel road, yet on summer weekends, it's often full. Probably four hour drive from Denver.

Ouside of Salida, CO, North Fork Campground (11,500') is six miles up a very rough often 4x4 road, yet is quite busy. The lake draws fishermen.

We used to go to Kite Lake Campground (12,000') above Alma in our TC and have the place to ourselves. Now, weekends are impossible and weekdays means arriving early. People climbing the surrounding 14er's use it as a base camp.

To get remote nowadays, one has to drive 4 hours or more from a major metropolitan area. Lots of people are looking to escape and lots of them now know of the "secret" spots relatively close to them. Avoiding campgrounds near fishing or 14er's helps here in CO.

Waiting to see what other places where people have gone to for remote campgrounds.

Two fly in hunts in Alaska. Moose east of Denali NP and sheep in the Brooks Range just south of the divide. Lower 48 would be backpacking trips into the Sawtooth Wilderness. Boulder White Clouds and Frank Church RONR. Those central Idaho Mountains are probably the largest wild spot left in the lower 48. And you hardly have to share them with anybody if you're willing to hike.

With the camper...lots of primitive spots around the northwest. I love where I get to live. :B

Secret Pond in Maine.. 3 mile hike up very steep hills and a 4 mile paddle to some of the best fly fishing you will ever experience. Nothing but trees, moose, trout and loons for miles and miles. Been going for 24 years but I'm getting too old and fat, this may be my last year. And no, it's not really called secret pond but that's all I can say ;)

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Thom02099 wrote:
Many remote areas in Colorado, surprised we haven't seen posts from our Rockies contingent!

Along the Peak-to-Peak Highway, there's Rainbow Lakes USFS CG, which is about 9 miles off the highway on a very rocky road for access. They say no trailers or motor homes and they mean it! Tent or popup camping only back there. I've been there in a popup and it was a grueling drive to get there, but well worth it. Tight spots to get the popup in, but they were somewhat level. Fishing lakes and immediate access to the Indian Peaks Wilderness for some of the best hiking around.

Another is Long Draw Reservoir USFS CG in western Larimer County. It's in the Upper Poudre Canyon/CO 14, about 10 miles off the road. Way back in the day there was some dispersed camping around the lake itself, but I think that's no longer allowed. However, this CG gives great access to the northern parts of Rocky Mountain National Park, as it borders RMNP in an area very few people ever go.

These are just 2 of the many areas in Colorado, and are fairly close to home. In the same area of western Larimer County as Long Draw, there are other popular USFS CG, and some that are rather isolated. Very few homes up that way, practically nothing in the way of businesses/shops (nearest fuel is about 26 miles away), and quite a bit of dispersed camping, if one knows where to look.

If you want a good chance to see moose, Long Draw is an excellent choice. We weren't camped there (we camped at Tunnel on the Laramie River Road), but we took a drive up Long Draw coming back from Walden, and in the 14 or so miles we saw 20-30 moose. It was a rainy day in August, and the moose were out in full strength around 4:30 PM.