Best Dispersed Camping near Red Feather Lakes, CO

Free dispersed camping with zero amenities but man made fire pits. Windy and cold but beautiful!

Came upon Vedauwoo while road tripping from Denver, CO to Yellowstone National Park. Free dispersed camping with easy dirt road access for any size RV.

No worries about RV size. All camp sites located on roads which loop back to main road. So no need to stress about dead ending and attempting a turn around.

Must camp in designated areas.

Even if you don’t plan to spend the night, it is well worth the beauty to pull off and relax or picnic for the afternoon.

I’ve been everywhere and this place was BREATHTAKING! Rock formations like I have never seen. I can see why those mountains are steeped in Native legend of spiritual inhabitants.

Spots fill up fast in the summer months. Trails, rock climbing, fishing, horseback riding and wildlife. Sites are first come first serve.

But no running water, restroom or hook ups.

Tent or RV spots.

Places to explore galore! You can climb, mountain bike. hike, fish, and ATV in some areas.

All of the free dispersed camping sites are along Vedauwoo Road that leads to Happy Jack Road from I-80. The exit to Vedauwoo State Park is right off I-80 and only 17 miles west of Laramie WY. The Vedauwoo Road itself was a bit wash-boarded, but freshly laid with crushed granite. There are a few spur roads that allow camping. The map in the attached photo shows the area pretty well. There are no amenities here. A rock fire ring and a numbered post will show you where camping is permitted. The camp areas are spaced very far apart. You are near the road, but no other campers. You need to pack out everything you bring in. I had a very nice time here. The next evening I did go into the established campground. Please see my ranger review for Vedauwoo Campground. (includes a review of the ICEMULE cooler seen in some photos!)

Activities in the area include: mountain biking, rock climbing, hiking, horseback riding, ATV's, and fishing. Nearby, continue on Vedauwoo Road until it meets Happy Jack (paved) take a right and you will encounter Curt Gowdy State park where you can rent paddling equipment or boat and tour 2 of the lakes in the State Park. It is beautiful there and they do have a couple campgrounds on the waterfront.

It was pretty rough driving in, there were so many “private” lands even when you hit the national forest. The dispersed camping we found had 3 sites stacked on top of each other. Went a little further up the road and did find much else except more houses. It’s right next to a hiking trail which is great on cold afternoons. Stars were beautiful too very little light pollution.

We found a great spot right next to the river on forest road 330C near North Fork Campground. The area was fairly busy on Labor Day weekend but we were basically isolated in this spot. One family was camping a little further up the road, but we had zero traffic on our road and the spot was beautiful. We were nestled up against the Little Laramie River which was awesome. We did explore the area a little and found numerous dispersed camping spots in/around the area but none as nice as the spot that we settled on. The exact coordinates are:

41.35475° N, -106.16955° W

Great place to boondock for a few days. We stayed here for a week in our 20 foot skoolie. Short drive into the Medicine Bow National forest and you’re here. There are a couple of loops right as you enter, which are the most level places to park a rig. Then another path leads about a half a mile to a few other sites that are more secluded, but not very level. I wouldn’t recommend towing anything down there with the condition of the dirt road and low hanging tree branches. Those would be ideal for a camper van or tent. There is a lovely creek that runs along there. The dump/water is decommissioned at this site, but as you turn in there is dump/water at the forest station. During our stay there were a couple of RV’s and some off road fanatics. Quiet and cool summer evenings. Great cell service!

Road stretches for quite a ways into the national forest with lots of pull off camping spots many that are hidden Forrest gems as well. It makes you feel as if the camping area is very remote and far from people. I have camped a couple spots along this road both with creepy vibes at nighttime especially late at night when the wildlife is much more active. Overall hiking to the peaks of mountains to get the views is great and stargazing at 2am is absolutely stunning.

We stumbled upon this campground by chance, and what a wonderful chance it was! After deciding to take a weekend rafting trip along the Wyoming/Colorado section of the Platte River, we planned to just find dispersed camping options within the surrounding National Forest area. We initially put our boats in at the Routt Access Trailhead which is where we were able to find this amazing group of campsites (see directions below). There are plenty of campsites designated by fire rings along the road that are well spread out and offer plenty of seclusion. We were surprised to not encounter any other campers despite it being a beautiful summer weekend. The campsite we used offered much appreciated shade from the June sun with plenty of big trees. The ground is relatively flat on top of the hill so we had quite a few options to spread out with our group pf 3 tents. Another huge plus of this area is how pristine it is, not a piece of trash to be found. If camping here, please continue that by following Leave No Trace principles. 

Camping in this area is complimented by tons of nearby activities including hiking, backpacking, and horseback riding trails, class I-IV white water rafting opportunities, rock climbing, fishing and wildlife viewing. On our weekend adventure we went on a 4-hour boat trip from the Routt Access boat put-in to the Six-Mile Gap take-out point, the river felt like a private get away and we didn’t see any other people except for a few fly fishermen at the access points. The wildlife we encountered was the highlight of our trip, we saw moose, a golden eagle, foxes, pronghorns, and marmots. 

To get there: The GPS coordinates entered on this page are for the Routt Access Trailhead. Following these directions from there is the easiest way to find the campsites. I have also included a screenshot of google maps in this review. When approaching the trailhead from the main road, just a few hundred yards before the trailhead/river access parking area, the road forks. To the right is the trailhead, and to the left is FS 939.1 (Mahogany Road). With a normal clearance vehicle and 2wd, you should be able to easily reach the first campsite along this road, marked by a well-appointed fire ring. For those with slightly higher clearance cars (my friends had a Subaru Forester and did just fine) I would highly recommend continuing along the road a bit higher and up the hill. 4wd is probably not necessary unless the road is muddy, but some large holes and rocks will be problematic for very low clearance vehicles. From up here, you will have amazing views of the grasslands, mountains and river.

We found a set of campsites specifically on the forest road 705F, near the Hidden Valley picnic area. The sites are free, as they are primitive set-up with only a fire pit. Although there are not facilities immediately there, if you finding camping in this area you are close by to a bathroom at Summit Trailhead and potable water at either Hidden Valley or the Abraham Lincoln rest area. We found a whole list of forest roads that allow dispersed camping 100 feet off-road: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprd3841999.pdf

I have camped here multiple times and always have a great time. There are a few primitive sites here with fire pits, plenty of firewood for gathering, flat spots for a tent and fairly accessible with a high clearance vehicle. This campground is an especially good option for those wanting to avoid the summer crowds of the close by and popular campgrounds of Red Feather Lakes and Lost Lake. I often use this as a home base for exploring some of the trails in those areas. There are also lots of fun boulders in the campground area to climb around on or tuck your tent next to if needing protection on a windy night.

Several sites with rock fire pits. Close to beaver reservoir but apparently it is a private reservoir. Still great option for free camping

This area is in National Forest so it is free and there are no “designated” spots but there are lots of spots where people have made fire pits. Beautiful views and you don’t need 4x4.

Just past the campground is dispersed primitive camping 🏕️. All sites are well established. There was a 🔥 ban so no campfires. Good hiking and rock climbing

This dispersed camping area is great for western access to Rocky Mountain National Park.

Stayed 5 days here (stat limit 16 days). Close to Summit Rest Area (potable water March-October, flush toilets), Laramie for restocks, and the Vedauwoo Recreation Area. So much free camping here, only downsides are wind, & road noise. Absolutely beautiful views of the valley. Would stay again 100%

This place is unreal! Designated Dispersed camping at its best. We camped near the Devil’s Playground rocks and even though most of the better sites were full, we found quite a few open sites on a Saturday. Can’t do that in Colorado anymore! The wind picked up at night and we sure were thankful to NOT be in tents. The Rocks are awesome for scrambling and even the dog had a blast!

This dispersed camping out Ski Rd was perfect. We found a spot with several fire rings close to the water and just a short walk from parking along the road. Far enough away from other sites that we couldn't hear or see others, just the occasional car driving by.

Beautiful area. There are a lot dispersed camping sites, you just need to get there early enough. You need to find a spot with a defined access road to it and a built fire ring. Generator use is allowed. Camp fires are allowed as well as long as the wind allows it.

We boondocked up here early October and was a great time. Plenty of pullout spots for smaller travel trailers and tents on the road up to the Reservoir itself. Once you get to the Res there is a large pullout spot with several areas that you can use. FYI, DO NOT GO farther than this spot and keep going on the road to the right of the reservoir. It turns into a private road that is very difficult to turn around on. Especially if you have a large pull behind. 

I also would just give a heads up to those with small children or dogs. There was one campsite that we parked at that had a ton of glass bottles broken all over the place. I cleaned it up for about an hour before moving to a nearby area. 

Overall, great location for boondocking for a few days and catching views along the peak to peak highway.