Best Dispersed Camping near Yampa, CO

Allen Basin Reservoir is roughly 1 mile from Crosho Lake. The only way to access this reservoir is by using trail #1181 and either hiking in, or using an ATV/dirtbike. You can not drive back to this reservoir. 

There are roughly 6-8 dispersed camp spots on the road towards Allen Basin Reservoir. We camped at this spot for 3 days, and 2 nights and loved it! Plenty of coverage from the close by trees, access to the trail directly behind our camp spot, and there was a make shift bench made from a fallen tree! We highly recommend this spot, but do recommend driving a 4x4 vehicle to get here, and don't forget the bug spray!

Road was REALLY rough. One portion looked like someone had just run around digging random holes in the road; however, once you got past the road, it was everything you'd want in a primitive site. Beautiful aspens, pines and a babbling stream made it one of our top picks for dispersed camping.

Plenty of dispersed camping up Red Sandstone Road. Go 2.5 miles up a smooth dirt road once you leave the paved road to reach the start of camping (head right at a junction after those 2.5 miles). The road gets much more rough here, so take it slow, definitely some clearance needed (I was clear in my Subaru Forester). I found a great spot for 2 nights just before the Piney Lake Road junction. Seemed like there were plenty more options on the way up to that junction and leading up to the Lost Lake Trailhead. Managed to camp here on a Friday and Saturday summer night without any issue. Super quiet and beautiful spot. Hard to find any better option for free in this area.

Just got back from a solo camping trip at the Ute pass dispersed camping site. My usual spot was under a fire ban, but I acted quick and found this place. Only one additional hour away so I made the well worth it trek.

A bad comment I saw in other reviews was the amount of loose trash. However, someone had collected it all and left it in a large pile to be removed. Much appreciated to that person, and if I had truck space I would have thrown some out.

This campsite was easy enough to find with gps to the coordinates on Dyrt. However each dirt road branching off to the left once you get off Ute Pass is a road to more camping sites.

The dirt trail is a bit bumpy but I’d imagine most cars can make it. I used the third dirt road, southern most fire circle next to the river off that road. The river is loud, but calming. and you can still hear your friends or listen to music. Overall great spot, was also able to hammock right next to the water so that was a big plus.

I’m the morning, the sun felt amazing as I made some breakfast, and eventually got too hot. Packed up and left, no disruptions at all which was great. I was here on a Tuesday night, Wednesday morning. And only saw one person on an atv as I was leaving.

Definitely will visit this spot again!

Very nice spot close to Steamboat Springs. (Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest) We arrived a little before noon on a Saturday in July. The road in was fine and very manageable with the OP 15 and a 1/2 ton truck. We found a beautiful spot 1.9 miles in on the East (left) side of the road. We saw 6-7 other campers set up on the way in… Mostly tent campers and a van or two. (Later in the weekend we did see some fairly sizable rigs occupying some “spots” along the 1.9 mile route to our spot) There may have been a place or two open that we could have chosen on the way in, but I’m glad that we kept going and settled in this spot. We had a beautiful view and the weather was perfect. Only downfall was the mosquitos. They were pretty bad this time of the year. Bring bug spray, or better yet, a misquote tent. We bought one in Steamboat Springs on our second day here and it was well worth the money! Verizon service was good and we had 2-3 bars all of the time. There was a little traffic on FR 302 but only about 1 car every 4-6 hours or so. Overall… Highly recommend!

USFS lists site as year round but it is gated and there is no entry, no parking, and not maintained in winter. USFS description is not correct.

Found a great little location on the creek. The area was busy, but the spots were separated very well. Off the main road we found a lightly traveled side road that led to the perfect camping spot. While the main road is well taken care of, some of the side roads definitely require an off-road vehicle. This is definitely going to be a place that we revisit.

We stumbled upon this amazing camping spot via the app. You can set up camp on the bluff next to the Blue River, and let me tell you, the views were absolutely majestic! Trails every which way. It is a great place to set up a basecamp. Vault toilets are clean and easily accessible. Terrain is rocky so tent sites aren't ideal but can be found if you look carefully. Our spot was great for the most part and we definitely had the best view of the valley and peaks. Night sky was beautiful. Fall colors were at peak while we there (Sept 25-29, 2023). Fire rings were everywhere but bring in wood unless you're planning on hiking and finding some. This site is rock and dirt and with sage bushes everywhere. The biggest drawback was the dust and wind at night. It was cold but manageable. Days were very warm.

Great free spot if you’re looking for somewhere not too far from the town. Awesome bike trails not very far. No bathroom or water it is dispersed. Not too hard of a road to get up either got up in a RWD Tacoma no problem.

This dispersed campsite has an incredible view, but it’s located on a “primitive road,” so google maps won’t show you the route all the way. I was using the OnX off-road app when I found it. If you approach from the south side (County Rd 48?), you will need a high clearance 4wd. If you approach from the north side (County Rd 51) it is accessible by any mid-clearance AWD vehicle, unless it’s wet. Then you’ll probably need a legit 4wd. I was there in mid-October, and there were hunters camped out all over the forest. But I found this place and had complete privacy, great view, and occasional Verizon service.

Several easy campsites near the river, very rocky but great for car camping and a few RV spots. Pretty windy through the valley but very pretty with the gore range to the west. Many rockpits for fires and places to pull aside and set up a quick camp for free.

I decided to ditch my bed on a monday night and setup camp by the river, and I was very pleased with the ease of access. 15 min from Silverthorne and felt out of the way.

Half of the ~10 spots were open by 5:30 when I got there but they seemed to almost all fill on a mid-september monday.

Good camping right close to the road. Secluded and private with beautiful views. Currently a stage 2 fire ban so no campfires allowed.

If you have low clearance, you will definitely have to be careful and take the road slow. The sites are secluded, and wildlife is prevalent!