Best Dispersed Camping near Wellington, 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.

29 really spread out dispersed camping spots along a very long road. Some of them are hard to find. A few really awesome hiking trails a couple different lakes to choose from for fishing kayaking. It’s along rd 151 you also have Peterson lake nearby as well. I found two group campgrounds that are pay per night (22 a night) they have toilets and water. The dispersed by Peterson lake was very rough road high clearance recommended. The 151 to long draw relatively smooth and vehicle could make it

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 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

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.

Gold Lake Road is one of the best spots for dispersed camping in the area. There are a ton of spots on the way to the lake. I've been able to find a spot even on a summer Saturday, which can be hard to do in many of these dispersed camping zones outside of Boulder. Convenient access to RMNP and Indian Peaks Wilderness.

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

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.

We foolishly thought we might find a dispersed spot at Vedauwoo in mid-July and were disappointed, but not really surprised. We had another pin dropped on our map for the dry camping at Government Gully Rd and headed there in the late afternoon.

The road in is pretty good, our low slung front wheel drive Travato made it easily, although there is a bit of a short, steep hill to climb if you can't find a spot in the lower area.

During our visit, the lower area could probably have supported one or two more rigs, but it would start getting a bit crowded at that point. We headed up the hill and found a great spot overlooking a mountain meadow (and some really cool dispersed camping sites if it hadn't been closed for a reclamation project). There were plenty of rigs up there, including some pretty big travel trailers and fifth wheels, but it was still pretty quiet. We could see the lights of Laramie in the distance out our back door, which was kind of nice.

So a decent campsite if you don't mind neighbors!

Great section of national Forest between Cheyenne and Laramie. Easy access off the interstate. Lots of atv traffic but otherwise quiet and easy to find your own spot away from 'neighbors'

This site (and all Rocky Mountain National Park wilderness sites) is reservation only. Reservations can be made by searching "Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness Permits" on Recreation.gov. The price per permit is $36. There is no dispersed camping within the park. 

Hard-sided bear canisters are required for storage of food and all other scented items from April 1st-October 31st. 

For more information on wilderness camping in Rocky Mountain National Park visit https://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/wilderness-camping.htm