Best Dispersed Camping near Paonia, 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).

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.

Spent three nights here (5/13 - 5/16). To start, we camped with a teardrop trailer, but once you pass the White River National Forest sign and parking lot for the babbish trail head, it’s not easy to turn around unless you find a campsite. Once you pass this you’ll see the first two campsites after about 4 bends in the road, both are walking distance to the trailhead. The first is a larger open space right off the road and the second is a much more private spot. The road to access this is just beyond the first campsite, which is where we stayed (see photos). We loved this spot!

If you continue up the road you’ll eventually reach a fork, if you hang right and continue up there are 4 more dispersed sites. These would not work for trailers but are great tent spots. We had a very hard time trying to turn around.

There are no services (no bins, no toilets, no cell service) and these sites are super clean so let’s keep it that way. The aspens hadn’t bloomed quite yet but in a few weeks it’ll be pretty spectacular.

Additionally the main trailhead with access to beaver creek trail is not open until June 14th so most other dispersed sites won’t be accessible until then.

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

Very disappointed to see the amount of site saving here. Came up on Thursday for the weekend and ended up getting skunked on spots because half of them were saved with miscellaneous coolers, lone chairs, etc.

Dispersed camping is first come first served! Spot saving is not okay.

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.

This is really great dispersed camping close to Crested Butte and likewise very popular. It switched to designated dispersed only in 2021 (with numbered sites). All first come first serve, recommend arriving early (midweek) to guarantee a spot in the summer. Some of the spots on the road to get to the spots farther back are a little rough.

Map of dispersed sites around CB:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1u_4Lmsl-PTZAN2KlJeFQd9PGknToupcz&hl=en&ll=38.91279049802887%2C-106.9393966&z=12

There are significantly less spots here than there could be, which leads to amazing dispersed camping. The wildlife here is unbeatable and the flowers are breathtaking. Unfortunately I was not able to spend the night because there were no spots available but so imagine that waking up there would be the best day of my life