Best Dispersed Camping near Watkins, CO

The location for this does not take you to a campsite but rather a sign that says “NO trespassing” it’s private property now but if you drive farther on the dirt road (about 5 minutes) and take a left at the sign that says 68 you will continue for 2 miles and find a trailhead with a campsite that is very nice. I parked at the trail head but continue down the road that’s there and there are designated free dispersed camping.

Look up forsythe canyon trailhead

PS This is up a very high mountain road. I have a 91 westfalia and I do not recommend for older vehicles such as. Puts lots of wear on it going up and down that huge hill.

This was our first ever boondock spot on National Forest land. Most of the sites were inaccessible in our 33 foot travel trailer but we found one last minutes. We were right on the road in and OHV traffic was common along with the noise and dust. Still, it wasn't bad and the price was good. There are better places nearby if you're not into OHV riding. Early July 2022

Drove more than 35 - 45 mins from boulder expecting a decent dispersed camping area like normal, but don’t let this fool you!! It is all residential and private land! I honestly don’t know of any dispersed camping near the city of boulder and so far this app is deceiving. Read the reviews before you head out!

It was a little hard to find however, once we found it we didn’t want to leave. Plenty of dispersed camping, hiking and climbing.

I noticed on here that it says there's water hookups and electric and Sewer excetera however this is dispersed camping and does not have any type of amenities at all. if you go up to the Meadows or thunder ridge it is a pay campgrounds and they do not have electrical water are sewer but they do have restrooms if I am remembering correctly. It's been 15 years since I've been up there to camp. Now if you're talking about the dispersed camping this is where all the kids from Monument and the areas go up to party on the weekends and it can get pretty Rowdy from what I understand. It's a beautiful area up there I could have it that but you need to be careful and Camp away from the kids.

Decent number of sites with fire rings on Long hollow road in the ATV use area. My site was great great for the roof top tent, fenced in mini spur with fire ring. Downsides were the family group camped nearby riding ATVs and playing music into the night, and a rifle range to the west. Shooting went on into the night. Also spent about 10 minutes picking up trash in the campsite area. Overall, close to the pike national forest entrance, decent spots if you don't mind the drawbacks.

I camped here for a little over a week. There is plenty of dispersed camping along the mountainous Road. Four wheel drive is required. There is also some dispersed camping allowed at the parking lot at the bottom of the mountain. However it is common for homeless people to be there and or larger size vehicles to be camping there. There is good Verizon signal for a while going up the mountain. It does go away once you get closer to the top. The larger camping sites are located closer to the top. With great views. Lower down on the mountain there are some spots to pull off on the side of the road. I camped like this for a while and walked a short distance to a pre-made camp fire. This is a popular place to camp especially over the weekends. So the road is a bit busy and narrow at some points

Nice dispersed camping if you don't mind a smaller area. Small trailhead with not a lot of parking, but still reasonable. Lots of people come out in the fall for hunting season. Also a great place for outdoor yoga! Nice if you want some peace from the accessibility of West Magnolia as its a bumpy 5 mile ride down Magnolia Rd, which isn't paved. Keep an eye out, it's easy to miss the turn onto 357!

If you enjoy panoramic views of the Rockies, drive in dispersed camping and putting your off-roading skills to the test, this dispersed campsite is a must visit! My 9 yr old son and I happened upon this mountain top paradise somewhat by accident. We were looking for a less challenging day hike with low traffic and decided to try the Mt. Herman trailhead. My ever burning desire for a view and solitude lead us up Mt. Herman rd to the location I marked on the map for this listing. Access was challenging, even with our 4x4 Jeep seeing as there was pretty deep snowfall accumulation, steep grades, and hairpin switchbacks heading up. However in warmer seasons this would be easy access for most stock 4x4 vehicles. No lift necessary, just a desire for the boundless views afforded at the summit. There are multiple pull offs, relatively low traffic aside from the occasional off-roading convoy passing through spreading merriment and good cheer. There are some really cool fire ring setups and plenty of epic views to make your own. If Colorado’s what you want, here’s a great place to experience the back country without having to drive for hours to access it. We had a blast! Please ALWAYS remember, be Kind & rewind!! Wait... wrong slogan😅 LEAVE NO TRACE & PACK IT OUT! Thanks & have fun! Photos are in my phone, I’ll update with photos... sure to amaze! 😉✌🏾

Only knocking this site a star for busyness and difficulty parking. However, proximity to Boulder is a huge plus if you are looking for a quick and easy get away. Be warned that though it is relatively close to town, weekends and probably in the peak of summer season, parking may be completely full. This is also a huge spot for recreation like climbing and fishing, so almost everyone we saw were there just for the afternoon and we had the dispersed camping areas almost all to ourself. There are plenty of flat spots to set up, close to the parking area of a bit of a trek through the woods. Views of the canyon are spectacular.

This camping spot is about a 30 minute drive from Central Boulder. I’m seeing a lot of reviews about the spot saying its not an actual campsite, but I had no trouble finding the campsites. I parked in the Dream canyon parking lot and followed the trail by the large sign near the entrance. While this spot is by some residential land, if you go down the trail enough it’s not a problem. 

Road was very rutted and bumpy, definitely best to have 4x4.

Pretty drive with awesome boulders. Camp spots were all taken by Saturday afternoon. To be expected but was worth a try!

We decided to cross this one off our list as the drive on the road conditions is not worth the campsites in our opinion.

Finally, a nice campsite on a road that isn't horrible. There are 30+ designated, numbered, dispersed campsites on this road. Each of them have a parking area right along the road with a fire ring a short distance away surrounded by awesome rock outcroppings. The parking areas tend to be very unlevel and there are only a few that you can pull right up to your campsite. #6 had a level spot large enough for my van and the camping area just a few steps away. These are great campsites and the area is really awesome. After so many horrible roads and places closed, it was a blessing to find this spot. The road is a bit of a washboard, but that is nothing compared to most of the forest roads in Colorado. Highly recommended! Cell service with At&t in site 6 is decent. Calling is 2 bars. at least half of the sites are big rig friendly. All of the sites are 100% free.

We had worst camping experience here this week. We initially planned to do disperse camping for 4 nights here but ended up having to leave early after 3 unbearable nights. First night, we chose to camp at first “roundabout”, ATVs and all kinds of traffic drove past every 5 mins into night and early morning. Second night, a family of 6 children parked their three cars 10 yards from our tent and unleashed hell. The place has many sites and places to BBQ and camp but they decided to disturb us as much as they can by staying 10 feet away. They arrived at around 7pm and partied and screamed thru 11pm and then happily left. The third night, a 3 car convoy of teenagers with beers came to camp right next to us, again same story partied all night long despite strong wind and rain. They laughed and smashed all beer glass bottles and that’s why you will find this place full of glasses. We left the next morning and Would never to come back to this place

Terrain was interesting on the drive in, some of the pull off camping spots are pretty steep off the road. However, the sights were beautiful and it was very quiet and peaceful when we visited :)

Although there are a few actual campgrounds in the Buffalo creek area, there are also quite a few designated dispersed campsites along the road. They are clearly marked and were pretty full on a Saturday of Memorial Day weekend (but what isn't?). There's several creeks that run through the area and a network of trails that intersect the Colorado Trail and the road. The area is popular with mountain bikers.

It was completely snow free when we visited for Memorial Day, and the creek was flowing high. There were some fish in the creek, but nothing big enough to catch. We chose to park at a designated parking area and hike a short distance on the Colorado Trail to camp. We found a nice spot that had clearly been camped in before as there was already a fire ring. 

Overall, lots of space to camp and play and a good option for the shoulder season when higher options are under snow.

While free, it does go without saying that people do leave stuff behind, mainly trash and A LOT of shell casings. Be careful for broken glass as well. But the views…the site I’m at has a beautiful view of Pikes peak! Campsite already had a fire pit built and plenty of wood cut down for a nice fire. Would have given more stars if not for the debris left by previous campers. Also, very secluded as mentioned in other reviews…hardly anyone comes this far out I guess?