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HuckFinn410's avatar
HuckFinn410
Explorer
Aug 02, 2016

Could you please help my son ..Colorado trip planning advice

Hello,

My college senior son is cutting out on his summer job (last day is this Friday) a few weeks before school starts and he is planning to take a solo adventure to Colorado before he begins his senior year (We live in KC). He is a big strong lad that is well trained in all aspects of camping / survival (thank you dad!). I have zero concerns about him taking care of himself in any situation, including off grid camping / boon docking. Great son…great guy. I am proud of him.

He would be leaving this coming Sunday.

He has a 4 X 4 pickup and all the necessary equipment. His goal is to spend a week or so camping and fishing and enjoying the beautiful country. To maximize enjoyment time and lessen excess driving time, he is hoping to keep the trip to the eastern side of the state.

Does anyone have any good boondocking / fishing suggestions around the Pike National Forest, Arapaho National Forest, etc. …or anywhere around the central/eastern part of the state? His plan is to leave KC early AM on Sunday, drive all day until he gets to somewhere near Denver, stealth sleep somewhere for the night, then start early the next morning to find a good area.

Any suggestions of good areas to fish (that is not swarmed with tourists) and nice areas for boon docking in the back country. He prefers not to fly fish….likes rod and reel, can sleep in the back of the truck or in a tent / hammock, would prefer to see more of Colorado back woods beauty than tourists.

I think that he may be on a scouting trip to determine if he would like to live in Colorado to pursue a career after college. He is a trained auto tech with years of experience and soon to have a 4 year auto tech management degree. He is thinking off road shop, race shop, fab shop, etc. as possible career paths.

Any location suggestions would be appreciated.

Thank you

Huck

PS. Mods…hopefully this topic can stay in the General area to have the most views, but I understand if you need to move it.
Seeking Advice
  • JAC1982's avatar
    JAC1982
    Explorer
    Aug 02, 2016
    Clear Creek Reservoir is probably a good option, there is free dispersed camping right near it: https://freecampsites.net/#!2446&query=sitedetails

    The blogger RV Sue is there right now actually, looks like a nice place: http://rvsueandcrew.net/dispersed-camping-at-clear-creek-colorado/ (ETA: just saw her new post that said she left, but anyway, still looks nice).

    The key there is that UTVs are not allowed. Many of the other boondocking spots I know are big with the UTV crowd so they probably won't be the experience he's looking for, especially right now in prime UTV season.
  • doxiemom11's avatar
    doxiemom11
    Explorer II
    Aug 02, 2016
    have him check out freecampsites.net. They have a lot of boondocking locations, small parks, forestry areas etc listed by state. It is free and if you create an account, sometimes there are pictures you can see along with reviews and information on getting there.
  • JAC1982's avatar
    JAC1982
    Explorer
    Aug 02, 2016
    Also, off topic, but if he does decide to come to Colorado and live anywhere in the Denver metro area or in northern Colorado along I25, he should look long and hard at housing prices. It's expensive here with no signs of slowing down, especially compared to KC. Rentals are very pricey too.
  • Thom02099's avatar
    Thom02099
    Explorer II
    Aug 03, 2016
    Since you mentioned the EAST side of Colorado, presumably east of the Continental Divide, there are a variety of choices.

    H E R E is a link for the Roosevelt NF camping. Of particular interest to him could be the area around Red Feather Lakes. During the week should be no problem, weekends here or anywhere else in Colorado will be a challenge to find open spots to camp.

    H E R E Is a link to the Arapaho NF CGs. While you said EAST side of the state, the area around Winter Park, Grand Lake, Granby could be of interest to him. They are west of the Divide, but close in.

    H E R E Is a link to the San Isabel NF CGs and H E R E is a link to the Pike NF CGs, the areas west of Colorado Springs and Pueblo.

    This could give him a good starting point for exploring areas mainly on the EAST side of the Continental Divide, and some areas on the WEST side, but close in.

    There is also boondocking available in these areas. For example, in the first link for the Roosevelt NF, there are some areas in western Larimer County, around the Tunnel and Browns Park CG that offer dispersed camping. This is a remote area, you'll find few tourists, but it becomes popular on the weekends with like minded folks looking to boondock.

    ETA: Since he's leaving on Sunday, finding a spot in the above areas will be easy. During the week, he's likely to have many places to himself, or with very few others. Check out Rainbow Lakes and Pawnee CGs listed in the links for the Roosevelt NF. Rainbow is very remote, Pawnee is very high, and have lakes for him to fish. As the weekend approaches, he will encounter the weekend warriors heading out, at just about any place in the state!
  • HuckFinn410's avatar
    HuckFinn410
    Explorer
    Aug 03, 2016
    Thom02099 wrote:
    Since you mentioned the EAST side of Colorado, presumably east of the Continental Divide, there are a variety of choices.

    H E R E is a link for the Roosevelt NF camping. Of particular interest to him could be the area around Red Feather Lakes. During the week should be no problem, weekends here or anywhere else in Colorado will be a challenge to find open spots to camp.

    H E R E Is a link to the Arapaho NF CGs. While you said EAST side of the state, the area around Winter Park, Grand Lake, Granby could be of interest to him. They are west of the Divide, but close in.



    H E R E Is a link to the San Isabel NF CGs and H E R E is a link to the Pike NF CGs, the areas west of Colorado Springs and Pueblo.

    This could give him a good starting point for exploring areas mainly on the EAST side of the Continental Divide, and some areas on the WEST side, but close in.

    There is also boondocking available in these areas. For example, in the first link for the Roosevelt NF, there are some areas in western Larimer County, around the Tunnel and Browns Park CG that offer dispersed camping. This is a remote area, you'll find few tourists, but it becomes popular on the weekends with like minded folks looking to boondock.

    ETA: Since he's leaving on Sunday, finding a spot in the above areas will be easy. During the week, he's likely to have many places to himself, or with very few others. Check out Rainbow Lakes and Pawnee CGs listed in the links for the Roosevelt NF. Rainbow is very remote, Pawnee is very high, and have lakes for him to fish. As the weekend approaches, he will encounter the weekend warriors heading out, at just about any place in the state!


    This is great information. Thank you. and thanks to everyone that replied.
  • PatRenee's avatar
    PatRenee
    Explorer
    Aug 03, 2016
    I work camp at the Denver West KOA....I know tons of places he can go... tell him to call Pat at the KOA...leave message with number if I am not there... I fish almost every day....
    Pat
  • RedRocket204's avatar
    RedRocket204
    Explorer
    Aug 03, 2016
    Not fly fishing will leave him mainly to larger lakes, not the remote high country ones, which the larger lakes will generally have people. Make sure when he is buying his fishing license, that he gets the regulations also as there are many, many spots in CO where it is fly fishing catch and release only or other areas that are also non-bait fishing. Also know that rivers can have different regulations depending on the part of the river you are on. CO is very particular about lessening fishing impact in certain areas and it is up to the fisherman to know the regulations and abide by them. "I didn't know" will not help if you are violating the regulations.

    Lakes are generally more for bait fishing. If he will be trying to find more remote, high country lakes, those are not really very good for fishing and may not even have fish in them.

    Per the area recommendations, around Buena Vista/Salida would be a good area to go to and not too far west.
  • d3500ram's avatar
    d3500ram
    Explorer III
    Aug 03, 2016
    It goes without saying, but as a reminder: Be careful when backwoods camping of being aware of the fire danger status. Mindful camper will be aware of any bans, but moreover, how far deep woods to go and the ability to get out should something spark.

    So far this year there are not any statewide fire bans but we have had a few wildfires. The one in Nederland (west of boulder ~20 miles) a few weeks ago was started by transient campers.

    There have been a couple of years past that I would not go into the woods because it would be a tinder box. Getting out was a concerned that caused me to erred on the side of safety.

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