Dispersed Camping

Don't want to camp in a developed campground? There are many places on the Pike-San Isabel National Forests & Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands where you can pitch a tent and practice low impact camping techniques. Dispersed camping is primitive, undevleoped, frontcountry "car camping".

Remember: when dispersed camping, no toilets, trash service, or potable water, are available. Store all food and trash securely, and pack out what you pack in. Practice Leave No Trace.

Please observe the following requirements when dispersed camping:

In some areas, dispersed camping and parking is allowed in designated sites only. Do not create resource damage by driving off-road, beyond designated parking locations, or behind barriers. Parking should be within 30' of site markers where posted.
Developed sites, including trailheads and picnic areas, are closed to overnight camping and allow for day use activities only.
Tread lightly, and avoid trampling sensitive vegetation. Locate your camp at least 100' from any water source.
Use catholes to properly dispose of human and pet waste; bury waste in a cathole at least 6-8" deep and 200’ from any water source. Packing out human and pet waste using self-contained waste disposal systems is encouraged.
Campfires are allowed at overnight sites as long as fire restrictions aren’t in place. You may gather small amounts of down, dead wood for a campfire. Use existing fire rings; keep your campfire small and always make sure it is completely extinguished before leaving. No campfires outside of designated overnight sites.
BEARS and other wildlife When you go to the mountains and forest, you are in bear county. Do not leave ANY food, trash or other animal attractant unattended. Store all food and trash securely and pack out what you pack in. Failing to do so can result in a fine.
Also be aware that; where not otherwise restricted, camping or leaving camping equipment at any location more than 14 days within a continuous 30 day period, and/or occupying any campsite within three miles of any prior camping or equipment location for a combined total of more than 28 days within any continuous 60 day period, is prohibited. Also, leaving camping equipment unattended for more than 24 hours is not allowed.
In addition; discharging a firearm is prohibited within 150 yards of a residence, building, campsite, developed recreation site, or occupied area; or across or on a National Forest System road or a body of water, or in any manner or place whereby any person or property is exposed to injury or damage as a result of such discharge.

Plan your trip; phone ahead for restrictions and special regulations. Contact your local Ranger District office for more information.

Dispersed Camping Areas

Cimarron National Grassland
Welcome to the Cimarron National Grassland, one of twenty National Grasslands administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. Located within Morton and Stevens Counties in southwestern Kansas, the Cimarron National Grassland manages 108,175 acres.
Santa Fe Companion Trail
Santa Fe National Historic Trail
Comanche National Grassland
The Comanche National Grassland is located in Baca, Las Animas and Otero counties southeastern Colorado and mnages about 443,784 acres. The Comanche National Grassland was created in 1960 when the federal government placed the recovered lands of the dust bowl under the management of the USDA Forest Service. The Comanche National Grassland is managed to conserve and use the natural resources of grass, water and wildlife habitat and to protect prehistoric and historic areas.

The grassland has many stories to tell, from dinosaurs roaming the ancient shoreline of a vast lake 150 million years ago to Mexican and American traders traveling the Santa Fe National Historic Trail 150 years ago.
Picket Wire Corrals Interpretive Site
Arch Rock Trail
Clear Creek Canyon
Forest Service Road 390, known as the Clear Creek Road, provides several trailhead accesses into the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness. Please be respectful-bicycles are not permitted within the Wilderness. Dispersed camping opportunities can be found in the old mining settlement of Winfield, and visitors looking to find a bit of old mining history will find it in Vicksburg.

Visitor use in this area is busiest during the summer months.
South Fork / Clear Creek Trail
Leadville Ranger District Colorado Trail Sections
Leadville Ranger District hosts several sections of the Colorado trail, which comes in from the north at Tennessee Pass and extends far to the south in the Collegiate Peaks, passing by beautiful mountains and gorgeous forest landscapes.
Pikes Peak Ranger District
601 South Weber Street

Colorado Springs, CO 80903

Phone 719-636-1602

Fax 719-477-4233

Coming North: Take I-25S and exit Hwy 24W/Cimarron Street (Exit 141). Keep right at the fork to go on W Cimarron Street. Turn right onto Weber St. Located on left side of street.

Coming South: Take I-25N and exit Nevada Avenue (Exit 140) toward Tejon Street. Turn right onto Nevada. Make a right onto Rio Grande Street and left onto Weber. Located on right side of street.
Salida Ranger District
The Salida Ranger District is part of the Pike-San Isabel National Forests & Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands located near the towns of Salida, Buena Vista, and Poncha Springs. The district encompasses over 440,000 acres in central Colorado, "the heart of the Rockies." It's an outdoor recreation paradise with seven 14,000- foot peaks "fourteeners" (Harvard, Tabeguache, Yale, Columbia, Shavano, Princeton, Antero), three wilderness areas (Buffalo Peaks, Collegiate Peaks, Sangre De Cristo), and Browns Canyon National Monument.

The Forest Service manages most of the higher elevation areas, while the Arkansas River corridor is managed by Colorado State Parks and the Bureau of Land Management. The Arkansas River is one of the nation's most popular rivers for whitewater rafting and kayaking. It's also a designated "gold medal" trout fishing river. For fishing & hunting licenses or off-highway-vehicle (OHV) licenses, please contact Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

The majority of the Salida Ranger District is located within Chaffee County. Nearly 80% of Chaffee County lands are public lands. Small portions of the district are also located in Lake, Fremont, Saguache, and Park Counties.
Baldwin Lake
Browns Canyon National Monument
Browns Creek Trail
Colorado Trail #1776 (North Cottonwood)
Fourmile Travel Management Area
Hancock Lakes
Little Browns Creek Trail
Mount Shavano and Mount Tabeguache
North Cottonwood Trail
Pomeroy Lakes
San Carlos Ranger District
San Carlos Ranger District
South Colony Basin
South Park
South Park Ranger District inludes South Park, part of the Mosquito Range, Eleven Mile Canyon and Jefferson Lake Recreation Areas, and the Tarryall Mountains and Puma Hills.
Buffalo Peaks Wilderness - East side
Buffalo Peaks Wilderness offers a great variety of recreational opportunities. There are many miles of trail in or near the wilderness area and all wilderness regulations apply. Trails in the wilderness area are for foot traffic only and not open to motorized vehicles or bicycles.
- Weston Pass Campground is located adjacent to Buffalo Peaks Wilderness on the east side. It is a first come, first served campground.
- Buffalo Springs Campground is closer to US Highway 285 but only about three miles from the wilderness. It can be reserved at Recreation.gov
The east side of Buffalo Peaks Wilderness is located in Pike National Forest and the west side is located in San Isabel National Forest.
Buffalo Peaks Trailhead
Lynch Creek Trailhead
North Salt Creek Trailhead
Rich Creek Trail
Salt Creek Trail
French Pass Trail
Nate Stultz Trail
Platte River Trail
Sheep Creek Trail
South Platte Ranger District - Recreation
The South Platte Ranger District is located east of the Continental Divide in the central Rocky Mountains and lies adjacent to the Denver metro area in Park, Jefferson, Douglas, Clear Creek, and Teller counties.

The South Platte District is 450,000 acres in size with elevations ranging from 5,800' along the South Platte River, to over 14,000' at Mount Evans.

Feel free to stop by our visitor center on Highway 285 in Conifer to ask what's going on and get maps you may need to enjoy your visit on our district.

Note: For camping near Morrison or Red Rocks Amphitheatre, contact Bear Creek Lake Park at (303) 697-6159, or Chatfield State Park at (303) 791-7275.
Buffalo Creek Recreation Area
The Buffalo Creek Recreation Area is more than 50 miles of multi-use, non-motorized trails that tie into the Colorado Trail in several places. There are a lot of options available for riding or hiking. Some of the old logging roads provide two-track while connecting trails offer single track. It takes about an 1.5 hours to drive to this area from Denver.

Please know and respect local area restrictions including; parking and camping in designated sites only. Developed camping is available at nearby Forest Service campgrounds including Buffalo, Green Mountain, Kelsey, and Meadows Group Campground.
Cedar Mountain Area
Cedar Mountain Road is a scenic 4X4 road that can take you all the way from West Creek (Douglas County Route 68/El Paso County Route 51) south to Florrisant. The route travels through parts of the Hayman Fire, one of the largest wildfires in Colorado History.

Cedar Mountain Road provides access to Hackett, Longwater and Metberry Gulch 4X4 routes.
Guanella Pass Scenic Byway
The Guanella Pass Scenic Byway, can be accessed from either Grant or Georgetown.

The south side of the Byway is located on the Pike National Forest/South Platte Ranger District and provides access to several hiking trails: Geneva Creek Trail (#697), Whiteside Trail (#697.A), Threemile Trail (#635), Burning Bear Trail (#601), Abyss Lake Trail (#602) South Park Trail (#600), Rosalie Trail (#603) and Bierstadt Trail (#711).

There is also a short interpretive trail with a good viewpoint at the Guanella Pass summit. This is accessed from the west end of the upper/west parking area.

Developed campgrounds include Burning Bear and Geneva Park.

The north side of the byway is located on the Arapaho National Forest/Clear Creek Ranger District and provides access to hiking trails including Silver Dale Townsite Historic District, and Silver Dollar Lake Trail (#79).

Developed campgrounds include Clear Lake and Guanella Pass.
Hall Valley Area
The Hall Valley/Handcart Gulch staging area provides limited day use parking for vehicles and trailers for those continuing to Webster Pass and Red Cone by OHV. No overnight camping allowed at the staging area. This staging area is located approximately 4.5 miles northwest of Webster/Highway 285 off Park County Route 60.

Just to the north the road splits to Hall Valley Road (NFSR 120.C), Handcart Gulch Road (NFSR 121), and Red Cone Road (NFSR 565). Handcart and Red Cone climb to the top of the Contiental Divide and meet at Webster Pass, and a junction with the non-motorized Continental Divide National Scenic Trail.

Please contact the South Platte Ranger District (303.275.5610) for accessibility to Red Cone and Webster Pass. Due to snow conditions, these trails are typically not open until late June to early July. These routes are very steep, narrow, technical, high clearance 4X4 only.
Kenosha Pass Area
Kenosha Pass provides access to the Colorado Trail as it heads southeast towards the Lost Creek Wilderness and west towards the Continetal Divide and Jefferson Lake. The Colorado Trail starts outside of Denver and ends in Durango. It runs adjacent to the Kenosha Pass and Kenosha East Campgrounds.

There is also a wetland interpretative area and the remnants of the Denver, South Park & Pacific Railroad wye (Y). "Helper" engines from either Webster on the east side or Como on the west side of Kenosha Pass, assisted the regular engine in getting the train to the top, and then used the wye to turn around and head back down hill.

The Kenosha Pass area is well-known for its colorful stands of aspen in the fall. During peak leaf season (late September-early October), the trailhead at Kenosha pass can be very busy with leaf-peepers. Please use extra caution along the Highway 285 road corridor during this time. Kenosha Pass also provides scenic views of South Park from a small pullout area on the south side of the pass.
Matukat Area
The Matukat Road (NFSR 211) provides access to the southeast portion of the Lost Creek Wilderness, and to Cheesman Reservoir. It provides a scenic drive with expansive views through part of the area that was burned in the Hayman Fire of 2002, and continues south to connect with the Taryall Road (Park County Route 77).
Rampart Range Recreation Area
The Rampart Range Recreation Area provides a unique setting for off-highway vehicle (OHV) enthusiasts to enjoy a variety of riding experiences. From intermediate to expert riders, ATV or motorcycle, the Rampart has something for everyone.

Please make sure you are prepared and ride within your abilities. Changing conditions, natural hazards, as well as oncoming traffic may be encountered. Please become familiar with and obey all local rules and regulations.

Motor Vehicle Use Maps (MVUM) are available for free at your local USFS office or can be found at www.fs.usda.gov/goto/psicc/mvum.

The Rampart area appears on the following maps:
- Pike National Forest Visitor Map
- USGS Quad Devil's Head
- National Geographic Trails Illustrated #135 (Deckers / Rampart Range)

Recreation Areas

Recreation Activities

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https://www.fs.usda.gov/activity/psicc/recreation/camping-cabins/?recid=12403&actid=34