By:
Submission
Free camping (dispersed) is allowed on most national forest lands except in highly developed areas - such as trailheads, campgrounds and picnic sites - and in some of our most visited places. Be sure to check for regulations in advance and look for signs in the area to indicate if camping is allowed.
Some areas allow camping in designated sites only.
Know Before You Go
Check the weather and road closures before heading up.
Follow Leave No Trace principles. There are no facilities or trash receptacles. Pack out what you pack in.
Make sure camping is allowed. Many lands within the national forest boundary are private or otherwise owned. Check that you’re on National Forest lands: maps.
Don't stay too long. Camping is limited to 14 days within any continuous 30-day period at any location within the same 20-mile radius. See Order
Plan on building a campfire? Campfire restrictions can occur any time of year. Check for fire restrictions and if you build a campfire, know how to extinguish it.
It isn't dispersed, and they expect you to pay $25. Temperature was in the mid 30's, overnight, in the beginning of September. There are bears. The vault toilet smells like hell. The road leading to this site, and away from it in the same direction is treacherous. The only reason I drove 100 miles was because it is advertised as dispersed, and Colorado rest areas discriminate against anyone not driving a semi truck limiting the stay to an absurd 3 hours. A beautiful state; horrible government. Drive around it, if you are trying to pass through.
Nice campground with great views. Road wasn't too bad when I was there in early September.
There's a guy who reviewed and thought the paid sites were part of the dispersed camping - he missed the fork in the road where the easily accessible 2wd maintained and fee campground is. If he turned down the other fork, he'd have found the dispersed camping. The road is pretty rough, but our honda CRV handled it just fine.
And the gal who didn't see signs on 4wd recommended... might need to get their vision checked soon. But dirt roads themselves are not 4wd lol. After the paid campground it gets rough.
Amazing dispersed campsite just 20 minutes down the road from Aspen. There is a river that runs through and from a few of the sites you are able to hear the water rushing which is lovely. When camping here you are very close to excellent climbing and a dozen awesome trailheads. Not sure if this is true for all but our site was very dusty/ashy so I would recommend some extra wipes for sure. Also, 4wd is highly recommended or at least a larger vehicle as the road down to the dispersed sites is very rocky.
The road is very rocky and long. My Ford escape could handle it, just had to go slow. I called the park ranger the day of to make sure it was available after another site was closed, and they were very helpful with answering my questions. (This was back in June of 2023)
Campsites are very far apart from each other so you will have a lot of seclusion. Nice metal fire rings with grates, and a bear box at each site. There is a stream that runs along the campsites.
