Fall River Reservoir Dispersed Camping Trail

My husband bought a new tent so we just wanted to find something kinda close to Denver but still beautiful for just a quick overnight trip. Our goal was Chinns lake but stupid Apple Maps took us here instead. It was still beautiful and there were a handful of spots still open for us. I wouldn’t recommend for a big group unless you get there early and claim the whole top but we really enjoyed it! The lake was low but still beautiful.

Very beautiful place, there is a waterfall a little ways up the mountain, found a beautiful place to pitch up a tent and spend the weekend, definitely going back more often

This campground is just above Idaho Springs, which made it a relatively quick trip from Denver. Tons of dispersed campsites in various places all the way up to the reservoir.

Be warned, this road is no joke. We did see a few brave drivers in Subaru’s, but most campers had high clearance 4x4 vehicles. The road is a mixture of rocks, small water crossings, and potholes. If you can tackle it, it is absolutely worth it!

Very buggy at night, probably because we were camping right next to a running stream. Which was amazing! Just bring lots of bug spray.

Pretty good camping experience. Decent views. Unfortunate amount of trash left behind by previous campers. Rainbow Road is pretty technical, so a high clearance vehicle is highly recommended. Verizon cell service only had one bar in certain spots.

To get to the, bring a vehicle with high clearance or else you won’t make it to the top. Slow and steady wins the race.

Pretty spot. My Forester was able to make it to the top fine. Make sure to bring bug spray, mosquitos everywhere.

Didn’t love that there seemed to be a lot of trash at the campsites (a lot of broken glass). Also I had multiple dogs walk into my site, take that as you will.

Easier to get to than Chinns lake, but not near as beautiful and camping spots are not as close to the water. Still a nice spot to get away and enjoy the weekend, just not my favorite.

Was gorgeous area. Wasn’t able to get to the lake due to the snow. In some areas snow was knee to waist deep. Got very cold at night. The creek was gorgeous and amazing to listen to.

Head down the dirt road, you will see a lot of private property signs but the road all the way to the reservoir is not private property. Beautiful reservoir area can get busy at times.

All areas are posted as private property and warn not to trespass. Whoever posted the pin is a liar

While I enjoyed the night we spent there, most of what clearly were previously campsites are now signed as private property. In fact the one we found without such a sign, someone came and posted a realtor for sale sign while I was making dinner.

This is definitely a great camping spot. Very cool at night with the  reservoir right there and the stream. It is a light off road trail and would recommend having high vehicle clearance and 4x4. We were unable to park right next to the reservoir because it was closed off. The spot right below is very close to it. The hiking around it is beautiful. Would definitely camp there again

Such a nice escape from denver, the lake is soooo beautiful!! We showed up on a Saturday morning in July around 10 AM and still found a spot.

People, CLEAN UP YOUR TRASH🙃

So this is a really cool camp area. We wanted to send a trip last minute but knew it would be tough on a holiday weekend. Ended up being multiple spots available and it wasn’t to crowded. I agree with the review above, you definitely need 4x4 but not necessarily any clearance issues if you know what you’re doing. The camp sites are not numbered but are visible from the road. We picked a spot about a quarter mile from the reservoir. There is a beautiful creek right across the road that is great for filtering water and cooling off. The reservoir itself is gorgeous. There are a few falls that flow in and some good bouldering routes towards the back. Had a successful time fishing. The res holds browns and cutthroat as well as some other species. The weather changes drastically up there and all three days we got 3/5 hours of rain. Great spot if you’re not comfortable going deep into the wilderness as 70 is fairly close.

I first camped in Colorado last year with a friend and we chose this dispersed due to it being close to travel too- yet still dispersed. I’ve come back 4 other times to camp here!

This trail does require some 4x4 action to get to the top. Lots of rocks, bumps, and pools of water to travel through to get anywhere.

The trail has a decent amount of dispersed sites along the way up to the top, although you can not camp the first mile or two, they are residential.

Even at the end of the trail, next to the reservoir there are some great spots to camp at. And a hike around the reservoir would show you that you could even do a bit of backpacking if you wanted to camp by a waterfall for the night.

This place has become a favorite camping spot of mine, and a place I love to bring friends. Quite clean, very scenic, and a beautiful creek rushing by most of the camp sites. There is also a really cool teepee stand waiting to be used to camp under at the top!