If you're looking for a place to dispersed camp near Arvada, look no further. Dispersed camping gets you off the grid so you can disconnect from the hecticness of everyday life. Whether you're looking for a quiet location in the trees or wide open spaces, The Dyrt makes it easy to find the perfect dispersed campsite.
Five miles north of Nederland, National Forest System Road (NFSR) 226, commonly known as Gordon Gulch, turns east off of Colorado Highway 72. NFSR 226 intersects other forest roads: NFSR 314, 228, 233 and their off-shoots. There are 15 numbered, designated campsites scattered along the road system within 1.5 miles east of Highway 72. Camping is permitted in designated sites only. Take care when driving in this area. Snow and mud can persist through most of the year. The free Boulder Ranger District Motor Vehicle Use Map displays National Forest System (NFS) routes open to motorized travel and is available online and at the Boulder Ranger District offfice.
Streams; treat water for drinking.
West Magnolia Trailhead provides access to eight miles of singletrack trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding west of the Peak-to-Peak Highway south of Nederland. An additional eight miles of Forest Roads are open seasonally (check the Road Status Table before your visit) to motorized and non-motorized activities. Along these roadways are designated campsites. Camping is allowed within 50 feet of the campsite markers. There are no facilities of any kind. The free Boulder Ranger District Motor Vehicle Use Map displays National Forest System (NFS) routes open to motorized travel and is available online and at the Boulder Ranger District offfice. Recreational shooting closures exist in this area. Click here for more information.
NOTE: Campers who build any fires face fines up to $5,000 and/or up to six months imprisonment for open fire violations.
Leave No Trace must be observed, as in any outdoor space.
In any season this area is prone to very strong dry winds that can pick up a hot coal from a campfire that has lain dormant for as much as three days and ignite dry vegetation, causing horrific devastation. People from outside Colorado may not understand how tinder dry this area can be. 197 homes in this area have been destroyed by wildfires. All of these fires were started by humans.
Local residents overlook this area and if they see visible flame or smoke they will call the Boulder County sheriff. Any campers who require a campfire are recommended to disperse camp near Sugarloaf Mountain where fires are permitted.
With a few exceptions, dispersed camping is allowed on National Forest System lands. Restrictions protect resources, minimize road damage, and reduce conflicts between landowners and visitors. Camping is limited to 14 consecutive days in one location. After 14 days, the campsite must be moved a minimum of three miles. Camping can then continue for another 14 days. Camping is restricted to 28 days in any 60-day period. Some areas may require the use of designated campsites, and some areas, such as Indian Peaks Wilderness, require camping permits. More than 40% of lands within Boulder Ranger District's boundaries are private property. It is your responsibility to know if you are on private or public land.
The Buffalo Creek Recreation Area contains over 50 miles of multi-use, non-motorized trails that tie into the Colorado Trail in several places. There are numerous 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.
Free camping (dispersed) is allowed on most national forest lands except in highly developed areas - such as trailheads, campgrounds and picnic sites - and in some of our most visited places. Be sure to check for regulations in advance and look for signs in the area to indicate if camping is allowed.
Some areas allow camping in designated sites only.
Know Before You Go
Check the weather and road closures before heading up. Follow Leave No Trace principles. There are no facilities or trash receptacles. Pack out what you pack in. Make sure camping is allowed. Many lands within the national forest boundary are private or otherwise owned. Check that you’re on National Forest lands: maps. Don't stay too long. Camping is limited to 14 days within any continuous 30-day period at any location within the same 20-mile radius. See Order Plan on building a campfire? Campfire restrictions can occur any time of year. Check for fire restrictions and if you build a campfire, know how to extinguish it.
Dispersed Camping information: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd577265.pdf
With a few exceptions, dispersed camping is allowed on national forest public lands. Camping in the national forest at one location is limited to 14 consecutive days. The campsite must then be moved a minimum of three miles. Camping can then continue for an additional 14 days. Camping is restricted to a maximum of 28 days in any 60-day period.
More than 40% of lands within the Arapaho National Forest boundary are private or otherwise owned. A map showing land ownership is recommended. It is YOUR responsibility to know if you are on private, city, county, state, national park or national forest land.
Pack out all trash. There are no services.
Practice Leave No Trace ethics
We camped here after a Red Rocks show. The spot is a great area. About 20 minutes off of I-70. There are many pull offs along this road that could theoretically be good camp sites. However there are “no camping” signs, which is why I gave it 3 stars. Everything is great besides that: beautiful stars, good tent site, safe parking area.
The spot we chose is a bit farther down the road than the one listed here. It’s in between the bend in the road. We parked at the pull off and walked down a small hill to find a good tent site and a fire ring.
Also be aware it’s pretty chilly compared to just a few miles up the road. It was in the mid 30s at night.
Plenty of spots available. But land and trees are decimated from fire in 2020. But hey it’s a free spot to sleep
We camped a very short walk from the parking lot. Amazing camp site with not many people around.
Wish I had more time to spend at this spot! The views are amazing! The road up was designed for more of an off-road rig. Fire ban was in effect. Just like the rest.. you will here atvs all night ripping trails in the distance. And the trains !! Still a great area!!
Overall a very fun spot if you have a vehicle with some group clearance to get to the nice sites by the reservoir. My Peak Edition Atlas handled it well. Only complaint is the damn project at Gross reservoir is a 24 hour site and the lights are ridiculously bright.
I went up Pole Hill road in a 2018 Toyota Tacoma TRD off-road and it took everything in me to not scrape or bottom out. Lifted 4x4 is highly recommended.
Once you get past the off-road portion, the camping is amazing.
I have lived in the Boulder/Nederland area for over 30 years and have always enjoyed this part of the state. The West Magnolia area has great potential for dispersed camping. My wife and I tried to camp here this past week after not having camped at this location for many years. As others noted, it could make for a convenient base camp for tons of activities in the area.
Unfortunately, we were unable to find any usable campsite. All sites were occupied, even during the middle of the week. Many of those sites were occupied by long term campers as made clear by the multiple tents and bags of trash piled up. A couple primo sites had been abandoned by long term campers who left their trash, broken tents and chairs, food containers and other refuse in the campsites. It was really creepy coming upon these sites. Sadly, West Magnolia has become an extreme heavy use/abuse area. As someone who has spent years in the outdoors for days and weeks at a time, I would even question the health and safety of staying in some of these heavily used sites due to obvious lack of care and stewardship (think human waste close to camp). If you decide to camp here, and can find a suitable site, please be mindful of keeping yourself and gear away from potential health hazards.
West Magnolia is still a nice place to hike and bike, but I cannot recommend it for overnight camping.
We parked in the parking lot and walked into the valley. After a while we found quite a lot of options with fireplaces already there. So you should mostly find something.
It is quiet, but also a popular spot for hikers so early in the morning, some people arrived. But you can camp far enough in the valley and away from the trail. Water is available if you have a purifier or filter system.
We came here after failing to find a dispersed location closer to Silverthorne. It turned out to be a hidden gem with lots of secluded sites. Plus the drive in/out is super easy (apart from the final road to the campsite; that requires a 4WD vehicle, without question) - it was more-or-less the same drive time as original choice. Just without the hassle of navigating a busy one-way dirt road.
Great campsite, enough room for 2 maybe 3 vehicles at campsite 21. Road is not too rough, would recommend 4wd if raining or snowing. There are some deep holes when coming in if raining. We did air down due to the rain and snow while we were there.
Make sure you go all the way to the top. There’s a few gates that lead to private land, but there’s tons of space of national forest clean not a lot of people usually bunch of different camping spots. I got yelled at by a Ranger for having a fire and great Verizon coverage.
No one around
There is no discernible reason that the road is closed 2 miles before where this app says the site is. Internet search says it should be open til middle of November unless there is some weather or other issue. Lovely weather, locked gate.
Great views and easy enough to get to with any vehicle. Near some foot trails and some offroading, but there were signs of homeless people that had been there all summer. Trash scattered in areas and some semi permanent camp setups that were kinda trashed. Trains pass at all hours of the day, so be ready for that. Beautiful area, though, and would go back even with the trash. No fires allowed, but definitely signs of fireworks..
There are tons of options along the shore of the lake in this area. We kayaked into our campsite from Sunset Point campground on Labor day weekend and didn't have any issues finding a spot. There was lots of boat activity during the day but it slowed down in the evening.
The road is still closed
It can get a little windy, don't expect to do anything with the lake other than look at it. Locals are protective of it. Drove my Class C with no problem. A truck and trailer will also get down here with ease. I don't believe a Class A would be able to find anything. But the view is beautiful. There are a few spots coming in. Keep driving until you hit the lake and there is a large open area with several spots to park.
Found a nice big spot with sun and shade and a great overlook. Was a touch concerned that it would get ATV trafficy over the weekend as it was at a junction where 3 roads jet off. However upon inspection on mountain bike, they all dead end and aren't very long, so fun for a little bike ride but not much of an ATV or dirt bike adventure.
Being towards the end we saw very few people and it was quite and serene. We did it in our sprinter camper van with 2WD and pickup.
Only issue we had was due to the nature of disbursed camping not the site or area. A car with 3 men showed up Saturday evening. In the morning one of their dogs wandered over to our site (my husband had run into town so I was alone). Owner meandered over and retrieved her, without a word. Later the 3 of them started walking up one of the roads, them one walked across and just with the dog on the rock outcropping technically on our site. He eventually went back to their site. A while later one of the walkers returned and decided to use his metal detector on the road 30 from our site and right behind where I was sitting. There was oddles of space to explore so it was creepy that's he chose to be that close to me. As I got up to walk back to my van, the second dog came running at me barking. The guy eventually called it back and it left me alone, but again not a word.
I LOVE dogs, but I'm not a fan of their humans who don't keep them within their boundaries and let them charge after "the neighbors"
Except for the creepers, it was a wonderful place
Sites weren’t marked like other places I’ve been but I expected it being dispersed. Had a wonderful time the sky was pretty it was secluded and lots of space for dogs to run!
The pulloff is one of many along the road. It's big, gets you quite far back from the road. Very little traffic on the road at night, I didn't notice any. Peaceful area. Not sure you could get a tent set up off of the pavement, but you could set one up on the gravel. I slept in my car.
Spent two nights here, lots of traffic but not enough to bother!
The only thing to dislike is the washboards but any reasonable suspension you’ll be fine.
Woke up on the first morning pretty much alone on a Tuesday after Labor Day, fishing happens but the lake remains nice and quiet. Night two had snow and woke up to some white caps. Will be back for sure!
This was our first time dispersed camping and it was definitely an adventure. There wasn’t a single person alive around us and we were hidden in trees so it was a little scary at first but once all the stars came out, it was so beautiful. The lows reached 40° so it definitely got chilly at night, but you can’t beat that sunrise over the mountains.
You really want a 4x4 in this area to get to good spots. It’s crowded and can be sketchy in my experience as a fire fighter up there. Bike riders take offense to people shooting and vice versa. Can be loud at night and day with motorized vehicles.
Went a little further up to a different pull out (same road, maybe 1/2 mile or less up), which ended up being a little more secluded. No outstanding views but a good spot. No cars at night so it was very quiet. If you keep driving on the same road you’ll find a bunch of pull off spots. No internet but starlink was great.
Please text 603 404 8514 if you find a phone at site 15 !
Great spacious spot with picnic table and walkable to the reservoir
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
Camping near Arvada, Colorado, offers a mix of beautiful scenery and outdoor activities. Whether you're looking for a peaceful getaway or an adventure-filled trip, there are several campgrounds to choose from.
Camping around Arvada, CO, has something for everyone, from families to RV enthusiasts. Just remember to check the specific amenities and features of each campground to find the best fit for your trip!
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular dispersed campsite near Arvada, CO?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dispersed campground near Arvada, CO is Gordon Gulch Dispersed Area with a 3.6-star rating from 48 reviews.
What is the best site to find dispersed camping near Arvada, CO?
TheDyrt.com has all 91 dispersed camping locations near Arvada, CO, with real photos and reviews from campers.
