Best Dispersed Camping near Pagosa Springs, CO

This site is not for those who need amenities. But for those who come prepared with whatever they need, it is a great spot to camp close to Pagosa Springs, CO in the national forest.

Excellent official dispersed camping area in the Conejos river valley. Entrance is marked with a USFS sign. Very large area for camping spread across multiple meadows. Access is a dirt road in poor condition, high clearance recommended but 4WD is only necessary in wet conditions. Fantastic views of the river valley and surrounding mountains. The area itself is perched on a dry hill well above the river, do not plan to walk or drive down to the river at this location. Very clean and trash-free, help keep it that way!

Dispersed camping next to the creek(Anvil camp sites are on the other side of the creek). This is really pretty but REALLY close to the VERY dusty forest service road. But, it’s not too far from another designated dispersed area  (Kendall) with vault toilets. The coolest little rabbits are running all over this site with white feet. Great views and the creek is nice and loud.

Nice quiet area outside of Pagosa Springs. Lots of flat spaces, road is bumpy with some potholes, but not bad at all for BLM. 1-2 bars of Verizon LTE depending on where you are. We parked fairly fair up the road, no traffic.

This BLM at San Juan National Forest is gorgeous! (Se pics) the spots are kinda leveled, the road to get there is a dirt road but not that bad (I have a converted sprinter full of sh$&@$ and I did it great) it is primitive so no hook ups, restrooms nor trash cans, so PLEASE Leave no Trace! Everything was super clean so I guess people is finally getting it. Te river passes right next to you and the views are amazing! There are a few trails next (like the Rainbow trail). Awesome place to stargaze!

Road closed to dispersed camping is closed

Great spot! Lots of dispersed camping along the river. Fishing, hiking and swimming all right there. Great views of the Mountains. The star gazing at night was amazing. Great to see everyone packing out there trash. One of the cleaner and quieter camp areas I’ve been too in a while.

Great spot not too far from Williams Creek Reservoir ir from the town of Pagosa Springs! Drove up here on a Thursday night and it was so great to have a campsite all to ourselves. Some designated fire pits for use. Road wasn’t pretty well packed down so you could access with 2WD if needed. There are ranches nearby so you may hear some cattle but it was a great spot to be off the grid. Some trees nearby for cover and for hanging hammocks.

Super easy to find, travel, and stay. Loved the tall trees and beautiful wildflowers. Despite the rain sites aren’t too muddy for our campervan. Dirt load leading in little bumpy but easy to drive. We stayed about half mile short of the coordinates. Barely any Verizon service. Fire rings, open space, nice fresh air, close to pagosa springs. Would stay again.

Great location between Durango and Santa Fe, just south of Pagosa Springs. Forest Service road, well maintained. I stopped at about 8300 feet. Great site nestled in pine grove with gambrel oak. Several of the sites are pull through so easy to come in with a trailer. Nice view of snow capped mountains to the west. There is no one here. Road continues up to Navajo Peak. There is sign of cat activity, relatively recent scat and elk femur.

This was honestly the perfect spot while I was visiting Pagosa Springs (about 30 min drive from town).

The road coming in was mildly steep/curvy, but not at all difficult.

Verizon was spotty and only available a little higher up, but I was still able to get my work done and stream Netflix, with a little patience.

I spent almost a week there and hardly saw anyone. Spots are spaced well apart and its nice and quiet.

The views are great!

Stayed here for two nights over the 4th of July weekend. Able to find a spacious spot with a stellar view mid-day Saturday.

Road up to the spots is a bit windy but we were able to get our 17’ TT up no problem.

Area was quiet, except for some guy running his four wheeler at 11:30 PM one night. Guess he wanted to celebrate America’s birthday.

Would definitely stay again. Perfect spot between our home in NM and wanting to visit Pagosa Springs.

There are several established camping spots along the first mile or so of this road, heading south from Turkey Springs Road. Plenty of room for travel trailers or tents. There was almost no vehicle traffic past our camp site, so it was nice and quiet. There’s a ton of hiking and mountain biking trails in close proximity.

It’s not the best dirt road getting in but I was able to make it quite a ways up in my Nissan Altima. The sites are scattered along the road that follows the river. Beautiful views and great trails to hike. I found a spot that was a peninsula, surrounded by the river. Very primitive camping. No facilities, so bring water and be prepared to take your trash out with you.

Pulled the teardrop into a site almost all the way down the road (a spot at very end was already taken).  Tons of privacy though we are right on the road so the little bit of traffic that did drive past - folks camping nearby or looking to boondock - we'd wave and say hi.  Biggest surprise was all the cows that would go up & down the road throughout the day. Free rang'in the mountain. So cute but a bit loud.  They apparently loved my partner's guitar playing as you can see in the pic.  They loved it so much they stayed the whole night and next day.  Did smell a bit but then again, after a few days, I guess we probably did too. :)   We'd stay here again. (No hike down to water - need to be at very end of road to get even close. This was just a homebase; we unhitched and drove to other sites for hikes & fishing)

There only seemed to be about 2 camping spots. However there is area to just pull off and park. I stayed here 1 night no issues. There is no Verizon phone signal. Stayed at the first large pull off with a stone circle fireplace. It was nice and quite, not a busy road.

4.5-5 mile hike in on the West Fork Trail in the Weminuche wilderness. Some ups and downs along the trail with some river crossings - great man made bridges. Severa great camping spots along the trail closer to the hot springs, with access to 3 pools. Bring a water filter and access water from the San Juan River. Can get stormy in the afternoons so make sure to bring rain gear!