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

[HuckFinn410]

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.

[PatRenee]

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

[HuckFinn410]

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.

[Thom02099]

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!

[Tom_Trostel]

Link to blog by RV Sue

blog

[JAC1982]

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.

[doxiemom11]

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.

[Two_Hands]

Check out the area in and around Ouray, Colorado.

[JAC1982]

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.