Best Dispersed Camping near Parachute, CO

Had a quick stop over here on the way to Dinosaur National Monument. No ATT phone service beyond a certain point. This is all primitive camping and heavily used by 4x4 ATVs. There are no facilities ie: Toilets, power, water or fire pits. The road was easy no need for high clearance or 4wheel drive. Heavy wildlife area, had a fox come right up to my car as I was making coffee. Only 30 minutes from Glenwood Springs. Would stay again 9/10 would recommend.

Remember to pack in pack out.

Hubbard Mesa area is an off highway vehicle area that is managed by the Bureau of Land Management.

There's not much in this area except a small little campsite right off the road. I didn't explore all the rest of the HOV cuz I wasn't in a four-wheeler, but it was perfect for an overnight stay on a motorcycle trip to Sturgis.

The Road in is dirt and there are no durable paved surfaces anywhere, so I would imagine if it had rained this would be a muddy mess.

Found this spot and was very happy with the setup. Like other reviews, the highway noise was a bit loud but nothing too crazy, especially really late. There were other campers spread out nicely, you wouldn’t even know they were there. The road is a bit iffy so snagging a spot at the front would be best if you don’t have 4WD (my Nissan car struggled, we had to back up & turn around). Overall great spot for tent camping! Remember to leave no trace 🫶🏼🏕️🌎

There are many sites all over the place up there. Some are big enough for groups of RV's some are small, private tent spots. Some offer magicians views others are in dense vegetation along water. We found no cell reception for miles. There are easy sites next to the main gravel roads and more secluded sites off of many various "Jeep trails". No services, no running water, no electric, no cable TV, no bathrooms, no showers, no dump stations, no picnic tables, etc. It's the forest.

This spot is for OHV parking. There’s a fire ring and we parked to the left of it so we didn’t interfere with parking. There’s 5 sites up the OHV trail that we saw. It was muddy so we weren’t comfortable towing our 19’ rig up the trail. We took our 4 runner up the trail and didn’t need 4wd. If dry, you could tow your small camper in if high clearance. There’s a bit of a rise to get from the road to the grass. Sites are perfect for tent camping.

The ground was exceptionally muddy so my subaru forester did some off roading which was a bit of an adventure, but otherwise had a lovely view and a great place to car camp. We cleaned up some trash in the area but otherwise pretty clean. The entrance was muddy and difficult for my car so if you don't have high clearance I don't recommend driving further past the gravel path. Saw some vans parked up there and we decided to travel out a little further.

Location was right off the road but once you drive about 5 minutes down the road you cannot hear any traffic. No other campers. Road was packed gravel almost like highway. We have camper van and our site and most of them were flat and had established fire rings. Dry and dessert landscapes.

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.