Forest Road 130

We loved this campsite — still open in late September and already had a fire ring waiting for us. There were lots of dispersed spots right off the road and it was quiet and peaceful!

We found huge spots spread far enough apart that you can’t see or hear neighbors on Labor Day weekend. Tried spots by Twin Lakes first but SO crowded. Close to Twin Lakes and Leadville. Bring your huge RVs cause this is the place for that.

This was a great stay which was close to Mt. Elbert. Many sites available as I came late around 9pm. Close to the town as well. I got there via the old trusty Honda Accord and pitched a tent.

Clean quiet some have views some don’t

Good dispersed camping, quiet the night I stayed and free of bugs! I find this to be much more satisfying than nearby dispersed sights, and location to Elbert and massive and surrounding slopes are perfect.

Very good area to get some solitude while camping. Room for small travel trailers, popups, and tent camping at most sites with fire pits. I came in at 6p on a Friday and had no problem finding a great spot with plenty of spots still available. Only downside was traffic was still coming in until after midnight and guns going off until 11p.

20 minutes to MT Elbert North Trailhead. Beautiful views of MT Elbert. Had Cell service and not a lot of bugs. Enough space to fit a large group.

Definitely the place for some space and solitude without hiking out to a spot. Just up the road from Turquoise Lake and away from the apparent popularity of that spot you can drive up this well-maintained forest road for some peace and quiet and minimal bugs! Oh and to my surprise, a cell signal. Definitely a favorite spot in Colorado.

I've camped at the areas closer to Twin Lakes and Turquoise Lake and this area is the least busy, based on being here for just shy of a week. Ofc this may change, but most people want areas closer to water it seems

There were also way fewer bugs than those areas as a result of no major body of water nearby.

I work remotely so sadly cell signal is something I look for and Ive had consistent reception here. It's usually 5G, sometimes drops to LTE but still usable

Depending on which specific spot you choose you can have great views of the mountains. Snow capped peaks in June is an uplifting sight

This general area is also the only region in the US where you can see gray jays. Theyre mainly in Canada but can also be found along the Rocky Mountains. Theyre weirdly tame and so so cute

This place was amazing! Great views, easy to get to, lots of fire wood around, about 20 min to Leadville. Do be mindful, some roads were closed off by gates and didn’t open until June 1. Specifically if you want to get to the sites on 130 S. But we were still able to snag a great spot. It felt really secluded and private except for the occasional ATV or dirt bike.

FR130 has an abundance of options. For views, make the first right turn when you reach the information sign. There are a few sites with great views of the surrounding mountains. If you need more space for a big rig, stay on 130 and large sites open up on the right hand side of the road. To get away from everyone, stay on 130 until the intersection with 130S and go left (south) to the lodgepole flats area. Lots of wide open sites and nobody goes that far back. There are no bugs and it is incredibly quiet. At night you have incredible starry skies. Very little wildlife around but be mindful of bears and store coolers appropriately. There is an abundance of wood for fires but no water nearby. Tons of great hiking in this area and lakes for water sports.

Stunningly beautiful dispersed camping at its best. To find the most precious spot you need to get to Forest service Road 130 S as in South. There is a forest service ranger station on the south side of Leadville where you can get a motor vehicle use map MVUM. But even without a map the roads are marked. 130 starts near Highway 24 on the west side across from massive lakes, near a large bank of mailboxes. You'll see a sign asking you to respect the private property owners rights. Just keep going up the hill and you will find the forest service signage indicating the public lands. Many people don't go much further. But the truly spectacular sites are a couple miles further. The roads are narrow and steep but manageable. Keep going down 130 until you reach an intersection with 130A and 130 B, A goes north and B goes south. But keep going till you reach a T intersection. 160 goes north and 130 S goes south. Go left, south till you reach a slightly challenging switch back. Just on the other side of the switchback is a wide open space with room for many rigs including good size trailers. Very quiet with very little traffic of any kind. The Leadville 100 foot race goes right by every August.

Wow, this area has beautiful views! If you get here during the daytime, you might be able to pick a nice spot with a view, but I got in late and parked at any old spot.

The way in was really straight forward, and my Prius had no problem on the BLM road. This road had some bottom out potential, but it was pretty smooth sailing with dirt, and minimal rocks.

I got in late at night, so I don't know how many spots there were. I stayed Friday night and found a spot just fine. I saw one camper van staying the night, and it was very pleasant to stay here.

Just slept here one night while on a trip back to the Midwest.

Stayed here with my fiance in a 21ft beater rental rv. No problems getting there, road was absolutely fine. We came on a Friday; I think the first Friday of summer break. Almost every spot was open, only saw maybe 3 other spots taken. Tons of spots. Not the most magnificent of views, as the trees kind of block out the mountains, but you can get glimpses of much of the mountain range.

Super private, TONS of firewood. Also relatively close to leadville, which is full civilisation.

You pull off the highway onto some dirt road and drive about 3 miles past the private land onto numerous beautiful drive up campsites. Not a lot of people here, this is a great location near to Twin Lakes and Leadville region. Three 14ers are close by and beautiful to stare at. I have AT&T signal and works great. No toilets or water sources are available, pack in what you bring. This is a free and quiet location for you to relax any time you wish, I will return on future trips.

The date will be a bit off as I'm writing at a much later date than when we went (July 2020) This is a pack in, pack out, leave no trace site. NO TOILETS! Which is how I grew up and loved it! We woke up to Mt Elbert every morning and took a few foraging trips about the site just to see. The first day was a massive rv camping crew right at the entrance. But luckily the sites were plenty far away and had no issues. We did hear one neighbor at 3am playing music but we actually had no idea where their camp was. Plenty of sites. Some roads split off and take more of a 4x4 vehicle to get there. Leadville is not far off going north of you do need extra supplies. I'm going back for sure. Great get away from city life.

I drove up this past weekend for some mid January winter camping and was not disappointed. The road appeared to be rarely traveled and it took some effort just to get my Tacoma to the start of the dispersed camping with no hopes of making it further down the road due to deep snow. Plenty of firewood and gorgeous views, will definitely be returning when it’s a little warmer out.

I rode my bike here this August for a 1 night stay, it was wonderful, plenty of privacy and not hard to find off highway 24. Rode my motorcycle in so it was easy getting into.