There is plenty of camping away from fee area down the road. my buddy and I were planning to do Mount. massive form the North Half Moon Lake Trailhead. I have a tiny chevy hatchback that handled the road pretty well. We made it past the Elbert Trailhead, but were about 1.5 miles short of the Halfmoon Lake Trailehead. 4-WD/high clearance is ideal, but not necessary. We dispersed camped along the road at an existing campsite with a fire ring and the area was perfect.