My family of 4 and 2 dogs drove over 1,000 miles from Illinois to this area in hopes of finding a dispersed camping site with a view and we were blessed to find this spot off Rampart Range road. We arrived on a Sunday in late September around 2:00pm. This site has an amazing sunset view every night. The nights were cold some lows 32° and it snowed the first night which we were hoping for❄ The sunrises were stunning watching the sunlight slowly shed light on the golden aspens was a beautiful sight.
Access
GPS Cascade-Chipita Park, CO
38.9694000, -105.0081000
To get to this spot from Rampart range road was a bit tricky pulling a 28ft trailer with a Chevy Suburban 2500 The road up after Loy Creek rd was EXTREMELY washboard for the next few miles we drove very slow we did this twice a day for 3 days it was the dreaded drive on the way back to base camp each night. Fortunately on day 4 they brought equipment in and leveled the road so the next few trips were nice and getting the camper out was a breeze. Turning off Rampart Range rd there are few ruts that were big but we made it in ok. The spot at the very end is very large and has a perfect view of Pikes Peak and plenty of hammock trees ideal if you can make it that far we were unable to make it due to a tight space between 2 trees large rocks and deep ruts so we set up camp at the spot right before this. We did help a couple with a rig a bit smaller than ours (23ft I believe) through using boards in the ruts and some guidance.
Hiking
Nearby is the Rampart Reservoir via Rainbow Gulch trail I recommend walking from the site due to limited parking at the trailhead. We took this hike and it was absolutely fantastic a majestic walk through the woods brings you to flowing creek that you follow all the way down to the reservoir.
Trash, Water, Propane & Food
We stopped at a campground in Woodland park on the way in and were able to fill up with water before heading up the mountain for $10. If you are heading south from Woodland park on highway 24 to the left is a brown wooden sign that says PROPANE the building also says they file taxes too we forgot the name 🤦🏼♀️but we refilled a propane tank and filled our 6 gallon water container for $12. Pack out what you pack in! No dumpsters! We went to the Walmart in Woodland park 25 minutes from camp a few times and it was very nice and clean.
Safety
We spent most of the days away from base camp but in the late afternoon and evenings it was mostly quite. We woke up a few mornings to other campers down the road from us usually only stayed one night. We stayed 5 nights Sunday to Friday. I did get an uneasy feeling about a few vans and cars that came to the area for a short time. We seen a few abandoned camps one that was closest to us a tent with a few pots and and a sombrero oddly. It appears it could be a homeless getaway but we never seen anyone. I never felt unsafe here. We seen very little wildlife at the site only an owl and a few birds however the drive to and from camp we seen many deer be cautious at night
