Best Dispersed Camping near Delta, CO

Easy dispersed camping placcess off of hwy 50 between Delta and Grand Junction. BLM land. Several established spots to the right and up the escarpment. A few spots as you head down toward the river.

Located about 20 minutes from the town of Crested Butte, Slate River Road is home to a bunch of campgrounds. Note: These areas differ from the BLM section you will drive through. After the Oh Be Joyful BLM land, you will then make your way into Forest Service operated areas where there is tons of dispersed camping and it is free. 

We spent some time here around 4th of July and all the spots were filled as expected. Camp grounds are all dispersed, free and have no amenities at the site except some areas have vault toilets. There are a few campgrounds on the left side of the road and if those are all full there are many other spots just along the sides of the roads. The spot where the pin is for this site is one of the few “Camp grounds” where there is a small parking lot built and spots are somewhat defined. 

Most of them were big enough for multiple cars and tents as well as full sized RV’s. The forest service does patrol this area and we saw them writing tickets for people who were parked in areas they should not be in. It seems they used rocks to define camping areas and people were parked beyond them. Keep that in mind when selecting a spot. 

If you cannot find a spot in one of these campgrounds, keep driving. A good portion of the road is Forest Service and camping is allowed on the sides of the road. We saw people camping for miles up the road. 

As is with most of Crested Butte, there is tons to do in this area. Drives, hikes, mountain biking, fishing…the list goes on. We spent a long weekend here, it was a great base camp spot however our spot was pretty exposed to the sun. 

Bonus: We saw tons of wildlife every day right across the river from our camp chairs. Deer. Moose and a Bear!

Man, we love these blm lands in colorado!!

BLM land just outside the south (main) entrance to Black Canyon National Park. Road can be rough, especially slippery mud after rain. Many dispersed sites with cleared space and fire rings along the road, which goes for miles. Reserved campsites within the National Park can be difficult to get ... there's no shortage of sites here, just outside. There's a small store at the junction of the Park access road with US 50, selling firewood, ice, and necessities. Montrose is a short 15 miles away for more substantial needs (gasoline, repairs, shopping).

After searching for a campsite for a while, we finally stumbled across this place around 10pm on a Saturday night at the end of April 2021. Whenever we arrived we quickly found a spot and set up camp. Surprisingly, to be so close to town, the stars really come out here. Of note, this is an off-roading park, so you may here an occasional dirt bike or four wheeler go by. There are no facilities provided as this is BLM land. Would recommend for a free and easy place to stay the night!

This BLM land is well trafficked, the sizes are big and there are 5-6 in the first few miles of the road. They sit right along the river slow flowing. There is ZERO cell service or gas for 15+ miles. So pack accordingly. Great to unplug and explore.

Easy to find BLM land with decent roads and lots of spots. I stayed here 3 days and never saw or heard another person. It’s only 5 miles from the North Rim of Black Canyon National Park. Crawford is about 8 miles away and has some restaurants with good home cooking.

Great dispersed camping! Spots were clearly marked and had easy access. The views were fantastic! We would definitely go back. Some of the spots are more exposed and offer less privacy than others. Our spot felt very secluded even though it was right by the road.

One negative was the dust/dirt. The dirt here is very fine and sticks to everything, so be prepared to get dusty/dirty, especially if you have kids.

Reach this BLM dispersed about 9 miles on route 90 from the center of Montrose, good paved until the last mile good graveled.  IMMEDIATELY after hairpin switchback, turn left and you'll find a 2 acre mesa with junipers and views, probably can fit 5 camps in there with elbow room.  I had 2 neighbors.  Shade is limited so it'll be hot in the summer.  Only good legal free camping near town!

There are 12 decent spots of a several mile dirt road suitable for 2 wheel drive in summer along the spectacular slate river valley that leads up to the 4x4 paradise divide. The sites begin about 5 miles from town and end at the hairpin turn that begins the 4x4 section. Mostly open and clearly marked, sites 6-9 were most attractive to us in that they offered some shade and a bit of distance from road. They were all taken when we arrived mid weekday in July so we stayed at the currently unlisted musicians camp NFS campground still in it's infancy as a solution to previously unmitigated dispersed camping mayhem that i will review in detail when dyrt lists it. The campground offered movers sites (#15-17) than were the dispersed camping options and were (as of July 2021) also free.

You can camp at a designated campground right on the lake, or you drive up 24 and find a lot of dispersed camping available - all the way up to the little lakes (great for fishing too). The dispersed camping is above the lakes which offers incredible views but is first come, first serve. Definitely bring your paddle boards, kayaks, etc.

This is one of my favorite places in Colorado - but beware of the altitude! Drink lots of water, you will forget how high you are and a little altitude sickness might creep up on you, even if you've been here before without issues. It's also very close to Mt. Elbert and you should take Independence Pass to Aspen for a gorgeous drive and lots of wildlife!

The road was smooth coming in. I parked right below the marked spot because the road got a little more rough to get up there. But there is plenty of dispersed camping before and after the marked spot.

Went dispersed camping for the first time! Location is amazing and very close to the entrance of the black canyon national park.

Whilst setting up our tent we even saw a bear (really close really scary, we slept in the car)

10/10 would recommend

Stocked reservoir with rainbow and brook trout. Smaller fish but fun fishing. 

The dispersed camping is located on the east side of the reservoir. Vault toilets located here and no water(except the reservoir). All camping is first-come, first-serve. Bring bug spray as the mosquitoes are pretty bad here.

Good luck finding an Air BNB in Crested Butte. If you're smart, you'll bring a tent and set up camp here off of Slate River road. The camping incredible. The dispersed spots fill up quickly though, especially in the summer but it's obvious why. Don't expect typical campground amenities, these are just dirt pull offs with the occasional fire ring from the previous visitors. Mountain bikers frequent the area and line the road in the summer months. Some single track trails are close to some of the more southeastern spots but you're still not a very far drive from town out here. Slate River runs through the valley where the dispersed camping exists and offers a cool reprieve on the warm summer days and the rising ridge lines on either side are beautiful. If you take the road far enough, you can get to iconic crystal mill as well but I haven't made the trek so I can't speak to what that drive looks like. As far as this dispersed camping goes, no need for a 4WD or high clearance, these sites are easily accessible.

A great place to pull in overnight if you are passing through. Primitive camping but close to the main road, so access is easy. No shade, water, or amenities.

I stayed here at the beginning of June before it got too hot. I will say it was in the mid 90s when I arrived, but nights cooled down considerably and were into the 60s. I had one of the bigger campsites, and was surprised to find that even during memorial day weekend there wasn’t a lot of traffic coming or going. I saw a few other cars and maybe one otherfamily that set up camp. Plenty of shade in the site that I had, which is one of the first so you’ll drive onto once you’re up into the canyon area. I had decent cell service the entire time, and the road into and out of the camping area was really nice so any vehicle can make it. I didn’t venture too far away from the main camping areas, but did so on foot. I didn’t see any significant road issues. On the way out of the area, I was led through a herd of cattle by sixth generation cattle ranchers— One of the coolest things that happened during the entire trip. Views are amazing, the sunset was awesome every night, and the sunrise is equally as spectacular. The only sad part about these dispersed camping sites is that more and more people will find them. The only issue that I had, and a big one, is that there were broken beer bottles all over the side. Just a reminder to police yourselves so the rest of us can enjoy it without remnants of stupidity.

This place is a true gem if you are all about primitive. There are no amenities, unless you get in the very first site as you come in. That one has a picnic table. Beyond that you are on your own for where you sit.

I wasn't sure I was going to find a spot, as this is BLM land, you can camp anywhere. I try to pick spots that resemble a location other people have stayed at so that I am a little nicer to the environment. I saw three spots that looked like they have been slightly developed. The first one just as you come in and that is the one with the picnic table. It was quite large and probably could accommodate some slightly larger vehicles. There was a truck with a topper on hit when we drove in. The second site we saw, also occupied was fairly large. Another truck with a topper was in that one, they looked like they may have been set up for hunting. Then we found our spot, along the creek, it wasn't very big, but had two established fire pits. There were lots of cattle up that way. Now, we did drive beyond this point as well and found the road narrowed pretty good and there weren't too many spots to even turn around. We have a larger truck so we had to choose wisely where we would turn around. I believe if you continue down the road you get to Moab, however, I have seen pictures that appear to have a much larger river crossing so maybe research before going up there.

We arrived, set up camp and then were greeted by the lady and her pup from the very first site. She was really friendly, passing through recreationally. It was nice to chat for a few and then move on to dinner. Temps were about 55 when we arrived and we work to about 42 degrees. It felt cold overnight but not intolerable. We put our tent behind our truck, well next to it, there were a ton of cattle and I just felt like tucking it in a bit. We had our own camp chairs and firewood so we made a fire to warm up, then used our jetboil to boil water for our mountain house meals. My boys loved the area, they loved seeing the cows, even though we have plenty where we live. They loved the space to run around without really bothering anyone else. The fire pit was surrounded by rocks so they enjoyed hanging out by the fire on the rocks as well. It was chilly, which is why we started the fire, to warm up.

It gets really really dark out there, you are surrounded on all sides by rock faces so there really isn't any light pollution. Which is nice for a peaceful night. There also wasn't any noise pollution. We couldn't hear any cars, only cows, so I guess there was a little noise pollution but of the natural variety. If you don't like cows, maybe don't go, it's open range there. But cars are really what I dislike while sleeping and we did not hear a single one. We may have heard an elk calling back to the cows but we were still in our tent so can't be too sure.

Now, there are no bathrooms, so you want to be responsible with your personal needs. We took along a Travel John and it worked really well, our first time using one but made those needs simpler where there was nothing, now if you have no problem peeing in the woods, you'll be just fine.

Overall, it's peaceful, scenic and a nice place to set up camp and enjoy nature's surroundings.

We towed a 35 FT 5th wheel heading west on 105 until we discovered the perfect campsite by turning south at the intersection with 108. The road was very rough but doable by moving along very slowly. Our site was hidden by trees off a short dirt drive which wasn’t too bad. There was plenty of space for us to turn around, and a fire pit had been constructed of large rocks (with a resident chipmunk hanging out among them).
We loved being surrounded by tall trees on one side and having a long distance view across the meadow on the other side, watching storm clouds approaching every day. We were far enough from the road that we barely heard any traffic passing. However, the sound of cattle lowing was frequent, and there was evidence of their presence all over the ground! One bull approached and stood there bellowing at the camper before finally moving along, and another morning we looked outside to see several cows munching on the remains of our campfire. Apparently they like to eat ashes and charcoal for the minerals because it happened twice!
We camped there 6 nights and hated to leave. Our only reservations were driving on the long bumpy roads and cattle manure being everywhere. Otherwise, it was the best boondocking place we’ve stayed because of the scenery and remoteness. It was very quiet except for the cattle lowing. We rode our bikes down 108 one day and discovered that it was way too rough to drive with our dually pickup. Another day we rode all the way down 105 and then back on 100 which is Land’s End Road. There are lots more dispersed campsites further down 105, but many have huge potholes turning into them. Some are located next to reservoirs and have lovely views, but we were happy with our site because we didn’t have to drive that far to reach it. If you had a smaller rig, it would be worth trying those places.

Other than the plethora of mosquitos, this is one of my favorite camp spots so far. My husband and I arrived around 3:30pm on a Tuesday. Camp sites directly on the banks are few, but we managed to score what I thought was the prettiest spot. There were plenty of spots around if you don't want to be right next to the lake. As mentioned, there were a ton of mosquitos. When the breeze was blowing, it helped, but definitely bring bug spray! In the evening time, we were treated to a lovely sunset and fish jumping. Will be coming back again. Very peaceful place.

I’ll start by saying I love this area. The land goes WAY far back and there are roads and campsites EVERYWHERE. I’ve been camping out here for 10 years now when I drive through the city and need a place to crash. The downside of this area is that it can get really crowded in the summer, and as a public rec area, it’s loaded with people being pretty reckless. Firearms, fires, alcohol and drugs are all pretty loosely used out here. Not to mention the large amount of shattered glass at almost every spot. Come out and enjoy, just be smart and be safe. Maybe if the BLM cleaned it up a bit it would get more than 3 stars.

Great location in being right off the road leading into Black Canyon (where campsites are usually fully reserved). The dirt road is rough, so you’ll want 4WD and good clearance or it’ll be a bad time. Lots of dispersed sites scattered throughout - we found an open one over Labor Day weekend arriving at night, so it’s likely rarely full. At our site, it was tough to find any flat ground for a tent, and there were lots of cacti to watch out for, but other sites already taken looked incredible (with views out over the valley).

Well groomed dirt/gravel road just West of Rte 65. Go in 1/4 mile and turn Right down dirt path to large camping site. There is nobody for 1/2 mile or more around you. If this site is not good, up FSR 100 maybe 1/2 mile on the Right is a site up in the trees. Very secluded. This site is at 10,700 feet elevation. The lake is stream fed and looks like good trout fishing. There are free range cows in the area.