Looking for the best Rangely dispersed camping? Here you'll find a diverse selection of places to camp, including remote dispersed camping to boondocking, and everything in-between. You're sure to find the perfect dispersed campgrounds for your Colorado camping adventure.
The Northwest Colorado District manages about 3.15 million surface acres and is comprised of the Kremmling, Little Snake and White River field offices. The District includes the upper Colorado River corridor along with the White and Yampa rivers. It is home to some of the largest deer and elk herds in the area, along with pronghorn, bighorn sheep and a wide variety of other wildlife. The Northwest District contains the majority of the Colorado range of the Greater Sage Grouse. The Northwest District also manages 7.1 million acres of subsurface minerals, which includes some of the most productive oil and natural gas fields in the state, four of Colorado’s nine coal mines and vast deposits of oil shale.
The BLM's White River Field Office administers more than one million BLM surface acres in Rio Blanco, Moffat, and Garfield Counties.
Extensive public lands through the White River Field Office provide outstanding opportunities for big game hunting and dispersed camping. For more information, please contact the White River Field Office.
Traveler
Love McCoy Flats! Totally free dispersed camping, so crawl off in there and set up wherever your heart desires and your vehicle allows. Fantastic sunsets and spots to accommodate any vehicle with or without 4wd.
ScoutIf this is the site, something like 3a or some such, beware, looks nothing like photo. Right on the White River, narrow road is down sloped with nearly impassible water filled pot holes approaching the river. Passable only with high clearance pickup truck. Fortunately we found enough space to jockey my 20' RV trailer and Ford Explorer around and escape. Had we progressed further would have ripped all the plumbing out from under the RV and likely have been stuck and required a tow. Drove up the road and entered BLM land on the left and spent the night.
Legend
McCoy Flats BLM is a mt bike focus recreation area with a network of excellent nonmotorizrd singletrack trails. Dispersed free camping allowed, and currently there are several nice vault toilets scattered along the main access paved road.
This camping area is at the third new vault toilet. Lots of room for large TTs. No trash dumpsters and no water, but cell signal is excellent 5g five bars. Only few miles from main hwy on an old paved pothole filled road. And then only 3 miles back into Vernal and a Walmart on this end of town, so logistics are very good.
LegendWide open BLM area 3 miles from Hwy but paved (potholes!) into the TH. Vault toilet but no water, trash or designated campsites. Cell signal is very good on all carriers. Camping seems to be mostly around the TH corrals area. Note there is an extensive network of nonmotorized Mtb singletrack trails in this area, and there does not seem to be any restrictions on e-mtb bikes. Could be hot and windy as no trees or shade here!
UPDATE 2022 BLM has added two more vault toilets in this area besides the original main TH.
Future plans are for a developed BLM CG with fees but dispersed camping would still be allowed outside a set distance (1/2 mile?) radius from any future CG.
Legend
Overlander camping only recommended. This area is just outside of Dinosaur National Monument on the Blue Mt Road...leaves the NPS and crosses a small piece of State land and then a BLM sign notes you are on BLM. Flat area to camp at this border and more large flat spots behind on State lands also ( State land here allows 15d camping). HOWEVER, to get to this spot you have to enter the NPS Dinosaur National Monument and deal with an entrance fee, but if you are a Senior like me..it is free and you are good to come and go as you wish!. Note that on the NPS section of the Blue Mt Road they note " no trailers" not sure if that is enforced but could be an issue, however I have seen TTs camping on the State and BLM along this area. This dispersed is likely better suited to the van/ truck camper types. Once you leave the NPS the road goes from graded gravel to native surface dirt that could be an issue if wet. The cliffs on both sides of this dispersed camp area has glyphs but you have to work to find them! The Blue Mt Road then continues into a big scenic valley and then climbs steeply to the point of pines ridge area...would not go there unless you have a good overlander setup with good tires! Cell signal is good due to tower array in sight on top of blue mtn.
GuideCamped across the road from established free camping. Our site was private and no ATVs so it's pretty quiet too. Some road noise, but it drops off around 11 pm.
Traveler
The Cow Creek Information Kiosk has two or three nice camping/parking spots.
No bathrooms, water, etc. Just pure dispersed camping.
Cow Creek does offer fresh water if it's running. There is a water crossing to get to the kiosk area, so during spring runoff, it may be inaccessible without a high-clearance vehicle.
GuideWell off the beaten path. Nearest boondocking neighbor is over a mile away. Good att coverage
Legend
This area is reached on east side of bridge at the Green River on hwy 40. Go 1.5 miles on paved road to jct with BLM road 17. This BLM road is wide graded gravel and seems fine for TTs larger campers. Go 3 miles to corrals. Roads get narrower and sandy past this point. Campsites are scattered down the narrow two track roads to viewpoints overlooking the Green River and Dinosaur National Monument. Cell signal very good on TMobile and some on ATT, but no Verizon. Locals use this area to OHV and target shoot. No toilets, water, tables or dumpsters. Free dispersed, no designated areas.
Legend
A bit of a trashy area, glass, cans, shot shells, likely a weekend party spot for teen parties. No cell signal either.
This site is long ways from Vernal, so the McCoy flats BLM dispersed area is a much better option... Excellent cell signal, only a few miles into Vernal and a Walmart.. and it has new vault toilets and is free dispersed hanging with the MTB crowd
LegendRanger Review: INNO INH120 2-Tray Bike Rack at the McCoy Flats Dispersed Camping
Campground Review: This type of camping is my jam…not crowded, primitive and scenic, and free. The only reason why it is getting 4-stars is because of the wind…not so much my jam. It did die down overnight but then it picked up again the next afternoon. McCoy Flats is located about 6 miles southwest of Vernal, UT and you stay here for the proximity to amazing mountain bike trails. This trail system boasts 46 miles and 15 trials for all skill levels. If you are a mountain biker, this area is not to be missed. The camping, therefore, is dispersed along the main road from the designated trailhead. The main road is paved then you can pull of and set up camp along any unpaved spur road. It is primitive camping…whatever you bring with you is what you have. When you are done, don’t be that guy, and pack out your trash. The area is wide open but is susceptible to wind, which makes this a great area for vans, RVs or trailers. But if there is no wind, tents are awesome. You are also in the high desert plain, so watch for snakes. Because you are within the trail system, you can set up camp close to a trail and not have to move your vehicle, which is nice. The other nice thing about this area is a forest service pit toilet at the trailhead. So if digging a cat hole is not your thing, there is a toilet accessible. Overall, this area is going to become one of our regular haunts not only for the scenery but the trails.
Gear Review: Since we were visiting McCoy Flats, I figured this would be the best time to test out the INNO INH 120 2-tray bike rack and as a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get the opportunity test out gear from their awesome partners from time to time.. The popularity of tray racks have grown over the past few years and this rack clearly demonstrates why. It was super easy to put together right out of the box. It fits both 2” and 1.25” hitches securely so you don’t have to purchase converters which extend the rack out further. It fit our two fatter tire bikes (3” tires) with ease and the grooved channel in the tray would easily fit the skinny road bikes as well. Plus, it can adjust to different size bikes (i.e. kid sizes).
Sure, it can fit a lot of bikes, but how secure is it? One word…AMAZING! Each tray has two arms which secure over the tires so both the front and back tires are secured. The bikes have very little movement when loaded (any movement detected is normal from the rack in the hitch or due to the car hitting a bump) and the bikes don’t touch each other. This prevents any scratching or potential damage while in transport. The latching mechanisms are durable and easy to tighten/loosen, making loading and unloading super easy. We have had this rack on our car for the past week and due to the ease of use my husband has gone riding every day. When not in use, the rack folds up easily and sleekly (it does not stick out obnoxiously from the back of the car).
Three things I want to warn about. 1) If you are at risk of scraping your car when going over a bump or down a curb, you will definitely scratch with the hitch on. Higher clearance vehicles won’t have any issue, but a car may risk some loud scrapes. The hitch seems to be taking them well, though. One benefit is the trays are slightly tiered, so if you do scrape, you scrape the area where the rack goes into the hitch and not the trays. 2) Be sure to load and secure your bikes with fully pumped tires. While this may be a no-brainer for some, we caught this before heading home. As mentioned, it secures your bike by the tires, so if your tires are low, it may not be as secure. 3) While the rack is metal, it does have plastic coverings and the plastic covering the area between the hitch and the rack has already started to crack along seams. This may be due to the scrapes from bottoming out or perhaps it is designed to come apart as I can push it back together, but in any case it has no impact on the performance of the rack, so I am not too worried about it.
Overall, the INNO INH 120 is an amazing bike rack and well worth the investment for anyone who is or wants to ability to easily pack up for a ride. I don’t think I will ever own a prong bike rack again.
Legend
This McCoy Flats area is a mt bike non-motorized trails recreation focus area. This site is going to be a future developed BLM CG, but for now it is still free dispersed. There is an older vault toilet up in the junipers and a new vault toilet out by main paved road. New campers to this site should recon first before hauling a TT up these narrow entrenched two-track sandy roads. The right fork is best IMO. Only vault toilets here currently, no dumpsters, no water, but cell signal is good. This site is the first of three new vault toilets along the main road. Note: screenshot of BLM proposed CG map is attached here.
LegendThis place was awesome. I stayed for 4 nights & had the place to myself for 3 nights. There’s 3 miles of road you can disperse camp off of. If you drive 1.5 miles in, thought toilets were added in a really nice area on your left. I stayed there and there was ample room for 10+ rigs & lots of privacy. You can keep going to the bike trailhead and stay too. There’s no water or trash. There’s small trash bags in the toilets but would not recommend that being your main source of disposal. Area is 15 minutes from town, which has it all! If you need a shower, you can go to the community center and it’s only $1.50 for hot showers. Felt safe here and deafly would stay again. Had a fantastic AT&T service and the stargazing was unreal. During my last night, I did have some rodents try to get underneath of my hood so if you’re going to be staying stationary for multiple nights, be aware.
Traveler
This location as more camping spots available down CR16 past the GPS waypoint. The site at the waypoint has 2-3 more sites tucked back down the grassy double track you can see from the initial pull-off. Great views from any site, if windy.
Legend
This area is located directly in the middle of the Wild Horse area of Northwest Colorado. This seems to be the place to ride dirt bikes or do some mountain biking.
This is easy to find location since there is a large sign right off the road and there is TONS of space for camping.
We stayed here one night on the way to Idaho and it was a great stopover spot for the night but due to ATV's and lots of people coming through, it's not a quiet long term camp spot.
Co Rd 67, Maybell, CO 81640
Scout-BLM management camping
-Free
-Awesome place to camp!
-Bring your dirt bikes and ATV’s! Perfect spot for riding. Tons of trails!
-Bring your camera because you just may be able to see some of the 700 wild horses roaming the area! Beautiful moment and capture if you do!
-This campground spot fills up quick on weekends due to the riders but still is pretty remote and the riders don’t bother you.
-Lots of hiking around.
-Beautiful scenery!
-Maybell,CO is the closest town to get anything so be sure to bring all your survival necessities( plenty of water, food, gas if you’ll be riding atv’s or dirt bikes, etc..)
-4wd recommended, especially if you go further down through the valley, gets pretty rough and big broken sharp rocks on the road.
-There are no bathrooms
Legend
The BLM Dragon Trail rock art sites are along County Road #23 south out of Rangely Colo. No designated sites and most are best for overlander types. Camping opportunities start at the County road #100 access to the Shield site and then go south along County Road #23. Camping is possible at Shield site mp 5.6, Fremont Ridge site mp 9.7, Crooks Brand site mp 10.1 and Carrot Men site mp 11.6. Additional camping possibles to south to end of County road #23. Note that many side roads are deadend in .5+ miles to oil and gas pads so recon first. County Road #23 is a wide graded gravel road with dust abatement so no washboard and no dust. Look out for oil and gas trucks zipping up and down the road. At night area is very quiet but all bets are off on weekends as this area is also a designated OHV area. Cell signal is very good if you can see cell tower array on Big Ridge to east.
TravelerHad a great stay at McCoy Flats, there were plenty of spaces to pull off the road and a few developed BLM sites, with vault toilets spread out regularly along the road. Will definitely go back!
Legend
This area is a BLM road that leaves the Dinosaur National Monument, so you need to pay NPS access or have a Senior pass to not pay. The dirt road is a sandy entrenched two track with a high center so high clearance is advised. Spots on top at right fork (.6 miles) are scenic views. Spots are few, small and are suited to truck camping, tent camping. No RVs or TTs would be able to access these sites safely....IMO
Guide
There are 3-4 spots with fire pits dispersed throughout the area. Most were really small and not well built. Flat area, and 3 sites are easy to pull through, one hike in.
We came mid March and there wasn't another overnighter. Lots of road traffic during the day, but very quiet nights.
So many deer in the area, be careful with your dogs.
TravelerReally nice and quiet, we were all alone. Not sure how many spots are there. We found a spot that forks left from Harper's Corner road, and there was only one spot, but it was free.
Guide
Found this quiet spot between Rangely and Dinosaur, CO. 98 is off of Hwy 64. Just a short distance up the hill. Small road to the left and immediately able to pull off. Room for maybe two tents, Overlander or Van. 4 bars of Verizon. Pack it in, pack it out.
TravelerJust randomly driving thru Colorado and run into Dinasaur and a peaceful off grid place to camp. No one around. No one else on the planet. Great place to stop.
Traveler
Great little spot to stop and sleep. The train ran once in the evening. There are several fire pits from the looks of it. No amenities but lots of deer!
ScoutThis 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.
TravelerI drove further down the road slightly over the utah border and it was silent and serene with beautiful views. All the spots available on this road were gorgeous.
TravelerOff CR16 easy to find. I just saw a couple of spots at the gps point. The view is beautiful and it’s quiet but windy. We’re the only ones here.
Discover the beauty of dispersed camping near Rangely, Colorado, where you can immerse yourself in nature without the constraints of traditional campgrounds. This area offers a variety of scenic spots perfect for those seeking solitude and adventure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular dispersed campsite near Rangely, CO?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular dispersed campground near Rangely, CO is North of Dinosaur CR16 - Dispersed Site with a 4.6-star rating from 5 reviews.
What is the best site to find dispersed camping near Rangely, CO?
TheDyrt.com has all 23 dispersed camping locations near Rangely, CO, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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