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 14, 2014
    Sounds good--also want to try the hot springs there. Maybe Salida can be our November trip. I did buy outside dually chains for any unpredictable snow and we have 6 brand new Michelin xps M/S tires on the RV. I read that chains are not required if you have M/S tires. But thought I'd get chains just in case. Haven't put them on a tire in 30 years though.
  • 4runnerguy's avatar
    4runnerguy
    Explorer
    Oct 14, 2014
    EMD360 wrote:
    And I really want to explore around Salida.
    There are places along the Arkansas River above and below Salida where one can camp much of the year. Keep an eye on how much snow they've gotten before you head out. There is a BLM CG about three miles east of town. Kind of near the road, but close enough access to Salida to head into town on those dark evenings. No water but a pit toilet down by the boat launch area. Not where I'd pick to camp in the summer (and we don't own a raft -- yet!) but might be the answer for winter camping.

    There are a variety of other cg's along the river: http://cpw.state.co.us/placestogo/parks/ArkansasHeadwatersRecreationArea/Pages/Camping.aspx
  • EMD360's avatar
    EMD360
    Explorer
    Oct 14, 2014
    Well, this is going to be wonderful even if we do less dispersed camping. Have to say that all the roads we looked at along the Peak to Peak were not accessible for our RV--and better roads that allow camping had no turn offs for RV's.
    But we were practically on our own mid-week on the trails and at Camp Dick which was still open. Peaceful Valley was supposed to be closed but access to Camp Dick seemed to be right through it so there was one campsite set up. Maybe one other at Camp Dick.
    We had a day and and half of beautiful weather and some lovely hiking on day hike trails. Brainard Lake was open for day hiking but the campground was gated and closed. They were still taking an entry fee.
    By Thursday we were in pouring rain and decided to go up to Rocky Mountain to hear the famed elk bugling. No use trying to boondock in an unfamiliar place in wet weather. It was the first day open for Moraine after a week of new paving. The campground cost was reduced because the dump station and water were off but the free shuttle was still running and we were able to shuttle to some day hikes near Bear Lake and the next day Cub Lake. The elk did not disappoint. More like someone trying to learn a bugle but badly or a very rusty gate but impressive animals. Almost as impressive as the tourists who lined the roads with huge expensive cameras!
    There were many tent campers there and it was cold and rainy for much of the weekend. It did get more crowded on Saturday afternoon but we had our little trip and came home.
    I'm going to plan a trip to Larimer County because I noticed they had several campgrounds open all year. And I really want to explore around Salida. So many great ideas for places to go and see. Next summer will be full, that is for sure.
    Thanks for the hearty welcome to this beautiful state. No wonder camping is so popular here! Glad to be around those who enjoy it as much as we do.
  • Thom02099's avatar
    Thom02099
    Explorer II
    Oct 08, 2014
    I'm north of you, in Loveland. Larimer County has an abundance of dispersed camping areas. As mentioned in other posts, the Red Feather Lakes area offers dispersed camping as well as Dowdy Lake, which is open all year. West of Red Feather along the Deadman Road, as well as south along the Manhattan Rd, there's also dispersed camping areas. Deadman Road does close in the winter, but the Manhattan Rd is open all year, and eventually takes you down to Rustic in the Poudre Canyon.

    And speaking of the Poudre Canyon, there's a wealth of opportunities off CO 14 in the Poudre Canyon area. Besides a variety of USFS campgrounds, there's dispersed camping along the Pingree Park Rd, the Long Draw Rd, and the Laramie River Rd. The Laramie River Valley is particularly beautiful with access to the trails of the Rawah Wilderness Area to the west. The Tunnel CG is very popular in that area, but there's lots of dispersed camping, heading up toward Glendevey and the Hohnholz Ranch area, and access to Rawah trails. The Long Draw Rd gets you access to the northern, remote parts of RMNP. With the exception of the Pingree Park Rd, however, Long Draw and Laramie River Roads close in the winter since they are not plowed. This area of Larimer County is fairly remote, and not as heavily used as some of the lower reaches of the Poudre Canyon. It's popular, just that a lot of folks don't take the time to get that far up the canyon, and stick to the lower areas.

    You can also drop over Cameron Pass and go into Jackson County, which opens up a whole 'nuther world for ya! Just west of Cameron is the Colorado State Forest SP, and Ranger Lakes CG. They do keep Ranger Lakes open as long as they can, particularly during hunting season, but it does close due to heavy snow in that area. There's also, believe it or not, a KOA CG in Gould. It's not what it used to be, beetle kill got the trees and they were all cut down, but it's still there. There's also access to several USFS campgrounds in that area as well as dispersed camping around the SP.

    I mention road names, something to be aware of...Larimer County went to a system of NAMING roads and not just route/fire road numbers several years ago. Many maps will still have numbers for roads, but the actual SIGNS for the roads will have the road names.
  • EMD360's avatar
    EMD360
    Explorer
    Oct 07, 2014
    OK, guess the snow is at 12,000 and above. Read the reports on the RMNP trail reports. Still haven't made up my mind! Will have to see where the Spirit wants to take us tomorrow. :)
  • TyroneandGladys's avatar
    TyroneandGladys
    Explorer
    Oct 07, 2014
    EMD360 wrote:
    TyroneandGladys wrote:
    200 miles south of you camp at Bear Lake hike West Spanish Peak and drive the Highway of Legends

    These look fantastic! Will have to plan ahead for next summer. These are a little further away than we wanted to drive this week, but look glorious. The elevations on the first two are a little high for October, I read there is quite a bit of snow up there already. That is the killer, having to worry about elevation as well as distance. I guess I'll learn but it is sure taking me awhile! Seems like it was much easier in Arizona, but have to realize we had 4 years to get used to RV'ing there.


    Just came back from there this afternoon no snow yet
  • EMD360's avatar
    EMD360
    Explorer
    Oct 07, 2014
    Ken, that is a great list, thanks for the advice. If some of the closed campgrounds have open gates, seems parking there overnight would be OK since they are in the national forests. Just have to check them out.
    We will start just driving around some of the places mentioned, and if we can do it some in the winter, even better. I'm working on a tank heating system using a 12 V seat insert kit instead of actual RV tank heaters--so much cheaper and I can't wait to see if it works.
    We are hoping to get away most camping trips mid week since we are retired and have grandkids in school, we should take advantage of less crowded camping. We like to take the grandkids too though--just a different kind of camping. I'm amazed that there are state parks here that DON'T have playgrounds. Just different expectations I guess. :)
  • 4runnerguy's avatar
    4runnerguy
    Explorer
    Oct 07, 2014
    I often get a copy of the USFS map for a particular forest. They often show private inholdings where one should avoid camping. Combine that with Google Earth or the like and one can often see pull offs where people have obviously boonedocked. Sometimes fire rings are even visible.

    As far as CG's being closed, it is quite variable. Some have no gates, many have gates that are closed Labor Day evening. Others are still open. On my way to the Wet Mountains last week, I noted that Hornsilver CG along US 24 was still open, as were the CG's at Lake Isabel. Now they are talking about more weather moving in later this week, but as of last Friday, the snow line in the Sawatch Range was above 12000'. One could easily of climbed any of the non-technical routes to the summit of any of the 14,000'ers.

    As noted, close to the Front Range means crowds, even this time of year. We used to boondock in the Red Feather Lakes area way back when (Maybe off Prairie Divide Road??)

    I think there is still dispersed camping in the Buffalo Creek area. Head south on CO 126 past Pine and Buffalo Creek. Turn right on FSR 550. Dispersed camping along the road over the next six or eight miles. This area is popular with mountain bikers, so spots fill quickly on weekends. This area isn't quite so high in elevation so late fall camping is a possibility.

    Head up US 285 and about three miles past Kenosha Pass, turn left on Lost Park Road. After three or four miles, you'll get out of the private ranch land and into the forest. There are side roads all over the place with boondocking locations. Eventually you reach Lost Park CG. I don't know how it is now, but there didn't used to be a gate at the CG entrance. There are several access points to the Lost Creek wilderness from this road.

    Further afield, try some of the canyons on either side of the upper Arkansas River valley. Once you're over Trout Creek Pass on US 285, there are a variety of NFS roads on either side of the highway before you get to Buena Vista. With some research, pick one and head out. Some spots have great overlooks of the valley with several 14,000' peaks as a backdrop. This area is in the rain/snow shadow of those tall peaks so camping is possible much of the year. On the west side, if you venture above Cottonwood Lake outside of BV, there are a number of (well-known) boondocking locations. Likewise, a variety of locations up Poncha Creek SW of Salida (don't go up the Marshall Pass road but stay along the creek.) However, not much boondocking opportunities up the Chalk Creek Road out of Nathrop. All of these areas get earlier snows, but are still OK at this point.

    As the snow line drops, there are some BLM CG's along the Arkansas River from north of BV down past Salida. Low in elevation, they are accessible much of the year.
  • EMD360's avatar
    EMD360
    Explorer
    Oct 07, 2014
    JiminDenver wrote:
    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.


    This is very helpful! Good to know that we can approach from the south and have more room to camp. Did you know that you can't get a resident fishing license in Colorado until you have lived here 6 months? Seemed ludicrous to us, since we could get a driver's license and pay property taxes. We had our house before we moved. So we boycotted fishing this year. We have not fished since we were kids so have a lot to learn again about fishing too. Thanks for your help.
  • EMD360's avatar
    EMD360
    Explorer
    Oct 07, 2014
    TyroneandGladys wrote:
    200 miles south of you camp at Bear Lake hike West Spanish Peak and drive the Highway of Legends

    These look fantastic! Will have to plan ahead for next summer. These are a little further away than we wanted to drive this week, but look glorious. The elevations on the first two are a little high for October, I read there is quite a bit of snow up there already. That is the killer, having to worry about elevation as well as distance. I guess I'll learn but it is sure taking me awhile! Seems like it was much easier in Arizona, but have to realize we had 4 years to get used to RV'ing there.

About Bucket List Trips

13,487 PostsLatest Activity: Jan 18, 2025