Best Dispersed Camping near Rio Grande National Forest, CO

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!

Road closed to dispersed camping is closed

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

Had a great experience with this dispersed area. Campsite was close to the river. Able to find it easily. Lots of road traffic with UTV’s and vehicles. Which was a bit annoying, but overall I’d still give it a 5 Star

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.

First, access. From the road the 2nd bridge (start of dispersed) is 2.2 miles. This is the same road to rainbow hot springs trail. I camped 5 nights. The river was incredible. Had my dog with me, no problems with pets. Abundant chipmunks and hummingbirds. Don’t be confused by the West Fork campground operated by the forest service (they have potable water and vault toilets). Lows in 50’s and highs in the low 80’s. South wind until dusk, then north every night. Mosquitoes were manageable, flies were pretty bad

Road up is a bit rough but easy. We camped down the road from natural arch. Huge campsite, multiple fire pits. Low traffic on the road. Would camp here again.

Just past West Fork Campground are some dispersed sites on 648. Look for the stone fire rings. Some sites are a bit bigger than others, no amenities other than the fire rings. Close to the SanJuan River. Choose carefully as some sites are more level than others and sites vary in size. This seems to be a well known spot as there were quiet a few spots taken. Just keep going, sites can be found for about a mile or so before the land becomes private. Please respect the private landowners. And pack in pack out. There are no services here, so if we want the sites to remain available, we have to be good stewards of the land.

There were plenty of available campsites the majority of which had access to the river. It was relaxing with the exception of the occasional can am with music blaring. The road is rough in some spots but I never saw a section a car wouldn’t be able to do.

After crossing the bridge there are 4 sites, 2 on the left 2 on the right. Left 2 sites are blocked by fallen trees but can be crawled over with the right rig. First campsite on the right is the best one. Several fire pits, river access and wide area for big rigs. Enjoy!

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.

We drove past the reservable campground and found the second spot on the left empty (it has a sign that says “god bless”). Site was perfect by all accounts except for being mosquito-y. Great access to the trailhead for rainbow hot springs, which we hiked the next day. It was a long hard hike that we made longer by missing the sign for site 7 to veer off for the hot springs. Even still, worth the 12 miles of hiking! At the campsite itself, the creek is a perfect source of white noise at night. The ground is flat for a tent, but hard!