Free/Dispersed camping in CO. End of July

[Aonar]

Going out for a wheeling trip at the end of July. We have always been campers as opposed to hotel folks BUT I thought it might be nice to stay in a hotel at least one night during the week. BUT after looking at prices I almost had a heart attack. I guess it has been such a long time since we did "lodging" (specifically in a tourist area) we have been priced out of that market.

With that said, I know there is a lot of free/dispersed camping to be enjoyed. Just checking here to see if anyone has some great spots that they would recommend in the Telluride and Grant CO areas?

Thanks!

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[Overland Productions]

I could give you some camp sites but at the end of July they're going to be packed. Kind of have to drive around on the forest roads and find something available at that time of year.

Use your map resources. I downloaded several ranger districts in that area and had them printed at fedex/kinkos. I also use gaia and google maps to help locate dispersed areas.

I like to know generally where I'm going to camp each night and also have a backup plan because there's no shortage of off-roaders these days.

 

[GrumpyBadger]

Just saw this thread... I second what Overland said... at that time of the summer the hills will be crawling with all kinds of motorized critters (too many, these days - I miss the '90's when it was still reasonable; I lived in CO on and off for 25 years).

There are a zillion Nat Forest and BLM areas and roads all through them, with pull offs and previous campsites all over the place (please don't make new ones!). Be careful of private land, of course - most of those areas are patchworks of public and private land. Watch the "entering" and "leaving" public lands signs and / or watch your position on GPS.

Sunday through Thursday nights are easiest, of course. Just like hotel vacations, the tendency is for the population to swap out on the weekends as one person's vacation ends and another's starts - with the weekends packed.

If you will be there over a weekend and intend to be in the same area for several days anyway, you might be advised to put down roots in a campsite before Friday noon and stay put with a tent or trailer, etc., marking your claim. The "Front Range" (Denver / Boulder / Co Springs) empties into the mountains every weekend. Most of those people arrive on Fridays and Saturdays (more on Thursday evenings too, now, but...), so if you are still looking after mid-Friday you may be SOL.

Other option is to stay HIGH... as in altitude , if you can handle it and not get sick (like in this pic of my old 2006 LJ). I've noticed most folks don't care for the altitude and/or colder overnight temps, so they all scurry back to the valleys by dinner time each evening. Until I can't handle it anymore, that is my preferred method... usually have the high valleys to myself with only the company of the wind, though that may be changing too as more people pile on the "overlanding" and motor-sports bandwagons.

Be advised that the last week of July and the first week of August are usually when the high-high mountain wildflowers bloom - and that tends to be a favorite and even more crowded time. IF you are less motivated by that occurrence, you might avoid that timing and reschedule to avoid that "peak season" if you can.

Hope that helps. Cheers!

 

[Aonar]

There are a zillion Nat Forest and BLM areas and roads all through them, with pull offs and previous campsites all over the place (please don't make new ones!). Be careful of private land, of course - most of those areas are patchworks of public and private land. Watch the "entering" and "leaving" public lands signs and / or watch your position on GPS.

No worries here - We are of a mind to police an area of others trash B4 we set up. Leave it better than it was!

Sunday through Thursday nights are easiest, of course. Just like hotel vacations, the tendency is for the population to swap out on the weekends as one person's vacation ends and another's starts - with the weekends packed.

Great minds and all that. We plan on Sight Seeing at Mesa Verde Sunday, so we will pay-camp there Sat PM so we can tour early Sunday. Our group plans first trail rides Monday and we (our family) will disperse camp each night there after.

....intend to be in the same area for several days anyway, you might be advised to put down roots in a campsite...

Yep, probably will use 1 site for 1st part of week and another when we move to other trail areas in the State for the second half.

Other option is to stay HIGH... as in altitude , if you can handle it and not get sick (like in this pic of my old 2006 LJ). I've noticed most folks don't care for the altitude and/or colder overnight temps, so they all scurry back to the valleys by dinner time each evening. Until I can't handle it anymore, that is my preferred method

Driven through high altitude before but never stayed for any length of time. Not sure how we will fare to be honest. The cold temps will be nice for us.

Be advised that the last week of July and the first week of August are usually when the high-high mountain wildflowers bloom

This will definitely be nice.

THANKS for the help and advise.

 

[GrumpyBadger]

There are a few CO writeups on this thread. I added several last evening that are in the area where you said you will be:

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...a-“trails-for-pusses”-—-list-them-here.56846/

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