Are you planning a tent camping trip to Montezuma? We've got you covered. The Dyrt can help you find the best tent campsites for your next trip. Whether you're looking for a quiet, dispersed site or an established camgpround with amenities, The Dyrt makes it easy to find the perfect place to pitch your tent.
This designated dispersed camping area along County Road 10 has 23 sites.
**Please note: Camping is ONLY allowed in areas designated by a sign. ** Camping in undesignated spots could result in a citation from the U.S. Forest Service. Not adhering to camping duration maximums or using U.S. Forest land for residential purposes could result in a citation from the U.S. Forest Service.
Please refer to special orders and contact the USFS Offices with questions: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd842796.pdf
Regulations pertaining to designated dispersed camping are as follows:
Camp only in designated sites.
No camping at trailheads.
Food and garbage must be properly secured in bear-resistant containers or inside vehicles in sealed containers.
Pack out all waste: human, garbage, paper, organics, etc.
There are many dispersed camping opportunities in the forest ranging from backpacking to car-camping along designated Forest Roads. Visitors are encouraged to minimize resource impacts by utilizing established sites rather than creating new ones. Dispersed camping sites along Forest Roads are shown on Motor Vehicle Use Maps, which are available free of charge at ranger district offices.At the start of the tour you immediately have spectacular views of the Blue River Valley and the majestic Tenmile Range. The road, managed by Summit County, follows the old South Park and Pacific Railroad bed, climbing on a gradual 3% grade. The road climbs past Bakers Tank to the summit of Boreas Pass at the Continental Divide. The road then continues down the other side of Boreas Pass for another 10.4 miles to the town of Como in Park County. From 1872 to 1938 the road was used as a narrow-gauge railroad and gained fame as the nation’s highest narrow-gauge railroad, running from Como to Breckenridge. This is a great road to view Fall colors. This road is open to highway legal vehicles only during May-October, and closed to motorized vehicle access seasonally at Summit County discretion, generally October to May.
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.
PLEASE NOTE: The water here contains heavy metals giving the water a distint blue/white color. People and pets should not drink from this water.
Please bring in drinking water
There are currently thirty designated sites with anticipation of adding more in the coming years. Please note that this area is surrounded by private land parcels and they aren't all marked. Campers must camp at a designated site or will otherwise likely be camping on private property.
Peru Creek is popular and will fill up on the weekends. Visitors should arrive early to make sure to get a site. The road can be narrow at times but is accessible to normal clearance vehicles. Low-clearance vehicles may have a hard time. Peru Creek Road is a popular place for OHV rentals to visit so drive slow and carefully. AT&T cell service is intermittent at the lower sites (1-8).
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
There are many dispersed camping opportunities on the forest ranging from backpacking to car-camping along designated Forest Roads. Visitors are encouraged to minimize resource impacts by utilizing established sites rather than creating new ones. Dispersed camping sites along Forest Roads are shown on Motor Vehicle Use Maps, which are available free of charge at ranger district offices. Visitors are permitted to drive vehicles up to 300 feet from designated routes for purposes of dispersed camping as long as no resource damage is incurred in the process. Dispersed camping within 100 feet of lakes, streams, and forest system trails is prohibited unless otherwise designated. Campers may stay for a maximum of 14 days. Some areas may have additional special restrictions. This dirt road begins at the paved Red Sandstone Road near Vail and ends at either Piney Lake or Hwy 131 north of Wolcott: This road gets heavy vehicle traffic and also a fair number of mountain bike riders, so please share the road. The climb is gradual and steady, and all but the very lowest of passenger cars can handle this relatively easy dirt road. The road winds its way up along Red Sandstone Creek and then Indian Creek with occasional views south over Vail Mountain, before reaching its high point near the trailhead for Lost Lake Trail. Here you can choose to head west toward Muddy Pass and Hwy 131, or head toward Piney Lake as your destination. Enjoy the peace and beauty here or take a hike up the Upper Piney River Trail, but remember that the lake is surrounded by the Eagles Nest Wilderness and is closed to bikes.
Ten sites in this area have been designated. Summit County does not allow parking along McCullough Gulch Road (County Road 851). Visitors must drive off of the county road and toward the campsites before parking. Sites 2 and 8 are suitable for some trailers. Sites 7-10 are high clearance vehicle recommended. AT&T cell service is intermittent at sites 1-6.
Make sure to camp at least 100 feet from water Forest Order: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd896594.pdf
Please DO NOT drive on alpine vegetation as it is a very fragile ecosystem.
This area has beautiful alpine scenery with views of the Tenmile Range. A 4WD road leads to Lower Crystal Lake and then a hiking trail continues for approximately 2 miles to Upper Crystal Lake. The road will take you through numerous alpine meadows which are fed by the tributaries of Crystal Creek. The road rises onto a shelf with Lower Crystal Lake nestled against the mountain walls.
$49 - $149 / night
Camping is allowed at numbered designated campsites. No fee is charged. Practice Leave No Trace Principles.
Camping is limited to 14 days in one location. After 14 days, your camp must be moved at least three miles away.
Maximum stay is 28 days within a 60-day period. After 28 days, all property and people must leave the Roosevelt National Forest.
Traveler
Drove straight to the back, not many others camping. Can hear a few cars passing in the distance and not a ton of tree coverage but a great spot nonetheless
Traveler
Bumpy ride up, but we were able to do it in our car SLOWLY. Absolutely beautiful place. Lots of campsite options. I was under the impression fires were allowed, as there were fire pits, but signs everywhere stating no campfires. Columbine Lake is a pretty hefty hike from the trailhead, but so worth the view. Had the entire place to ourselves pretty much all Friday. Beautiful beautiful beautiful
Ranger
The road here has some gnarly washboards. I had to slow down to a crawl at points because it was thrashing my rig around so much. There is also one turn on the road where if you’re not careful, I could imagine getting stuck. However, the views are incredible and it was well worth the effort. Cell signal from Verizon is extremely good, I am getting 5G UWB and download speeds of 180mbps. There’s some cool hills to climb and many great views.
Traveler
This was a great camping spot. There are several campsites by the water and other campsites, not by the water. The campsites are kind of close together, but not terrible. I went early on a Friday and got a beautiful spot by the water. By the end of the day, all the sites around the water were full. So if that's important to you, be sure to get there early. There were still plenty of other gorgeous campsites, not by the water available all weekend. There are also hiking trails located here. One of which is called "Interlaken Trail." It's about a 5 mile hike total and takes you to a "Ghost Resort" called "Inter-Laken" that was abandoned around WW1. You can even go inside one of the buildings, and there are Historical Marker plaques that talk about the abandoned resort. The signal is great so I had cell service and data the entire time. Highly recommend!
Ranger
And in fact I believe they were KOA of the year 2023 or 2024. More expensive than we're used to, but has nice amenities. Sites level with concrete pads, fairly large. Some space between with trees. Nice metal patio furniture provided at each site(chairs, table, fire pit). Has decent showers, hot tubs, and off leash dog park. Inexpensive pancake breakfast and pizza/wings to your site are available, also an onsite store. Kind of at the top of a rise, so good views but also kind of chilly for July (60s/40s). Massive thunderstorms with hail and heavy rain two evengings (CO mountains tend to get afternoon t-storms). Communicate via text to let you know about goings on. Good radio station out of Idaho Springs KYGT 102.7 and 103.9
Ranger
Stayed in spot RV24. Easy access right off freeway and convenient to TPB start. Some nice small trails in area for easy walking. Mostly pine trees. Orderly, camp hosts seem inclined to enforce rules. Quiet.No campfire pits so no burning allowed at all and most folks seem to knock off early. Showers are available for.25/2 min with a 4 min max. Appeared old, clean.
For road cyclists: Good place to stay for Triple Bypass
Food aside: Cooked Hatch green chile sausage and added to Sprouts Hatch mac and cheese and put into burritos. Ate leftovers for breakfast. Low FQ (fart quotient).
Guide
I spent the night at Base Camp because the campgrounds North and South of Ned were full and it was dark and getting late. You have to be lucky with those ones to get one of the few good spots that are there. I have been to the convenience store at BC before and it was closer to Idaho Springs (I was going there the next day to meet a friend). $39 per night for a tent site is INSANE. I could have stealth camped and there was another spot I could’ve gone too but BC was close and I was tired. I guess that’s how they make their business. Begrudgingly it worked for what I needed.
Guide
The place fills up on the weekend. I drove through most of the trail system and did not find a spot. Came back during the week and took a closer spot so as not to risk it. Trash is everywhere. Multiple poop spots are within 100ft of the fire pit with copious amounts of used tp lying around. Trees are slashed, cut, and the forest is not doing well. There are multiple long term campsites here so watch out for squatters. I stayed near the start and then a bit deeper, which prompted me to take photos. I forget the site numbers but honestly it’s not looking good in most places. At the very back are what look like a few nicer spots because they are hard to get to with a non off-road vehicle. It breaks my heart how this campground exists.
Legend
Very clean, very well maintained. Large spaces near the lake.
Scout
I came on a Sunday afternoon before Columbus Day and there were plenty of spots open. Super close to town and stunning views.
Guide
Two beat up, broken down cars at the entrance. Road is very rough, full of potholes from the start. Did not feel comfortable staying here.
Guide
Beautiful, but really need a compact 4x4 to get into and out of parking lot and there are tent sites only. We almost didn’t make it out with our 24 ft van (checked it out but didn’t stay overnight). Very crowded on a Saturday at 4:30pm.
Scout
Not super busy! Lots of open spaces when we arrived around 6pm.
Traveler
I arrived after 6pm and the office was closed. However, self service was available. Though the only option was to pay by cash since the office was closed. Water Dump was not available and some toilets were closed. It has a great view of the lake from some spots, however, you can hear the road during night. Cell phone reception is poor but available.
GuideI came in October when the aspens and birch still had some leaves .
Guide
Just one mile further up the road or so you will reach Destinated camp sites which I prefer.
Although I saw 5 camp cars parked on the side of the road (this is a Monday night) facing the cliff that night and like 2 the next morning when I left for work. I was jealous a little bit of their views
Scout
Definitely would advise 4x4, and not for travel trailers at all. Bringing one up could lead to a serious situation , since there are no places to turn around whatsoever. That said, views were absolutely breathtaking. We also lucked out and saw the northern lights while at site.
Scout
Finally, a nice campsite on a road that isn't horrible. There are 30+ designated, numbered, dispersed campsites on this road. Each of them have a parking area right along the road with a fire ring a short distance away surrounded by awesome rock outcroppings. The parking areas tend to be very unlevel and there are only a few that you can pull right up to your campsite. #6 had a level spot large enough for my van and the camping area just a few steps away. These are great campsites and the area is really awesome. After so many horrible roads and places closed, it was a blessing to find this spot. The road is a bit of a washboard, but that is nothing compared to most of the forest roads in Colorado. Highly recommended! Cell service with At&t in site 6 is decent. Calling is 2 bars. at least half of the sites are big rig friendly. All of the sites are 100% free.
Guide
This spot was really easy to get to and had at least one bar of service for Verizon and T Mobile. The spot was nice and secluded, but there was some trash left behind from previous campers:(
Traveler
A little off the beaten path and may need 4wd to get down and out from campsite. Overlooks the beautifulu valley and is amazing to Lake Granby on three horizon. A little windy up there and trees are burnt up but the view is worth it. Very secluded at this spot. Did see 4 or 5 other cars/campers at other spots but very spread out.
Traveler
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.
Guide
When I arrived, I found out the water had been turned off for the season and the dump station was closed, this should be noted on the website in a spot where you can’t miss it Almost all the spots are on the slope so there are steps you have to go down to your table. Spots are very close to each other, no privacy. Tables are old, wooden, and slanting in a lot of the spots. The worst part is the traffic noise, I definitely won’t return to this campground.
Traveler
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.
Legend
The road up to the campground is pretty rough for the first 100 ft or so but then it gets a lot better. Quite a bit of space but no privacy. I would definitely not suggest for large rvs. I’m in a van and didn’t have much problems at all.
TravelerThe FR611 is narrow and requires a high clearance vehicle. I had to go to 4LO multiple times. I went up Boreas Pass and turned down FR611 which made it down hill most the way. The spot it self is open enough for multiple vehicles had three old fire pits. Very pretty spot but no fall colors all pines in this valley.
TravelerWe had a blast with this spot, arrived late at night and woke up inside an aspen grove. There is a lot of hiking trails and some cool spots to visit down by the lakes.
GuidePlenty of spots available. But land and trees are decimated from fire in 2020. But hey it’s a free spot to sleep
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Montezuma, CO?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Montezuma, CO is Boreas Pass Road Designated Dispersed Camping with a 4.6-star rating from 37 reviews.
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