No Dispersed Camping Near Crested Butte, Colorado

Freecampsites shows at least 9 or 10 did they close them all?

Here is a link:
Out There Colorado

This is a good thing, this area was getting destroyed.

Unfortunately, the only way to protect those type areas from the idiots is increased restrictions and more rigid enforcement. :(

It was partly idiots, but it was partly just over use. To be clear, they are not saying that there is no longer camping in these valleys, just that the camping will be limited to designated sites (which are still 'dispersed'). This will primarily serve to keep the numbers more sustainable and hopefully improve the experience for all.

As the article makes clear, this is not the end of boondocking – it just limits the number of boondockers by requiring us to park at specific sites, rather than just anywhere we want. This new rule is a great and necessary development -- the area was being overrun by folks who camped just about anywhere and everywhere around Crested Butte.

For example, we were in Washington Gulch a few years ago and snagged what we thought was a great site -- it had a little signpost at the entryway, with a steeply sloping driveway leading up to a level pad.

That night, long after we got the trailer parked, a whole bunch of folks (eventually about 50 of them!!) parked their trucks along the sloping driveway, pitched tents, and built campfires, all within 50 yards of our trailer.

Fortunately, they were not too noisy, and they left the next day and picked up all of their trash. But still, this is not typical boondocking behavior!

And we saw the same thing happening all over the whole area, such as the Gothic Valley and Kebler Pass.

So don't despair – this will make it a lot nicer for those lucky folks who do manage to grab a posted site!!

And in case anyone wants to see photos of that area, here is our blog post:

Crested Butte

And once you see the photos, you will understand why this area is so crowded -- it is very beautiful, and everyone wants to go there.

This isn't the first place in Colorado to have this type of designated dispersed camping locations. I know of a number of other places where this would also be welcomed. It isn't because of campers who purposefully destroy the campsites. It's because there are just so many people out looking for boondocking locations nowadays. In many places where we camp anymore, we've given up on boondocking and hit the NFS campgrounds instead. We usually have more privacy than the boondocking spots where people get pretty wall-to-wall.

We are slowly losing land use in the same fashion as did in Cali. Was in Cali in the 60s when you could still drive a dune buggy on the street as well as the dirt. Then came the green stick on my bike and moved into OHV areas. Just look West to see the future.

rocmoc n AZ