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Dispersed Camping

Ruby Gulch, Forest Road 328

4 Reviews

Ruby Gulch, near Boulder, Colorado, is a unique spot for those looking to immerse themselves in nature without breaking the bank. This area offers a chance to camp in a more rugged setting, where you can pitch your tent among beautiful hillsides and explore remnants of old mining history.

Visitors have enjoyed the adventurous hiking trails that wind through the gulch, leading to stunning views and the chance to discover abandoned mines. One camper mentioned, “There are so many abandoned mines out here and old trails; it's a fun adventure trekking up to the collapsed rubble of mining history.” The area is also pet-friendly, making it a great choice for families looking to create lasting memories together.

While the location is free and offers a sense of seclusion, it's important to note that amenities are limited. There’s no drinking water or trash service, so be prepared to pack out what you bring in. Some campers have pointed out that the road can be rough, so a vehicle with good clearance is recommended if you want to access the more remote sites.

If you’re up for a little adventure and don’t mind a bit of ruggedness, Ruby Gulch could be just the spot for your next camping trip. Just remember to leave no trace and enjoy the natural beauty that surrounds you.

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Location

Ruby Gulch, Forest Road 328 is located in Colorado

Coordinates

40.0411523 N
105.52348182 W

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Access

Drive-In
Park next to your site
Walk-In
Park in a lot, walk to your site.

Stay Connected

WiFi
Unknown
Verizon
Available
AT&T
Unknown
T-Mobile
Unknown

Site Types

Dispersed

Features

For Campers

Alcohol
Pets

For Vehicles

Pull-Through Sites

Enjoy dispersed camping on government land and leave no trace. Pack in and pack out. No (or limited) services at this camping area. Permit may be required.

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General Info

Drive Time

38 min from Boulder
1 hr 2 min from Denver
1 hr 19 min from Fort Collins
1 hr 20 min from Greeley

shawn L.

Guide

Reviewed Aug. 14, 2023

Great kid friendly camping with adventure

I have camped here multiple times in different spots and explored most of the gulch and old mining locations. It’s great to bring the kids and explore creating a story core memory for them. It is possible to get even lower clearance vehicles in just take it slow. There is a crick the flows through the gulch with tons of beautiful hillsides with abandoned,game made,and forest path through. It was apart of the abandoned oxbow mine. The hiking trail through the gulch does lead back up to the road and is about a 7mile hike that gets very arduous the last 2 miles but worth it. In total if you can find them there is 22 closed mining shafts from years ago. Lots of tree coverage and very cute camping. The downside is some campers that have rolled through are party animals or like to bring atv’s or dirt bikes which is dumb there is not much room for them to play here. Also the party animals seem to need an education lesson on leave no trace. But aside from them it’s a good family spot to take the kids or get away on a budget not many bugs low light and noise pollution overall.

Site5 of the 12 that are designated areas

Month of VisitJuly

(12) View All

Brittani M.

Traveler

Reviewed Sep. 9, 2022

Decent for car camping

Right off the highway and about :15 from Neaderland which was nice but quite noisy at night. Kind of trashed (sadly) so I was a little nervous camping.

Month of VisitSeptember

Cameron

Guide

Reviewed Oct. 1, 2020

Rough road, trash, but free

I think most of the campsites are only accessible via an extremely rough road that was impassable for my Honda Civic. If you can make it down that road, you’ll probably have a much better experience. I slept at the closest campsite to the highway. Tons of trash - I think somebody took all their belongings and dumped them out here, trash bags full of clothes, a mattress, plus lots of broken bottles and stuff. There’s a fire pit and plenty of deadfall to burn. The highway was quite busy all night. No bugs. No water access of any kind. There’s only one campsite that doesn’t require you to take the rough road, so 4WD probably improves campsite availability quite a bit.

Amanda V.

Guide

Reviewed Sep. 30, 2018

Stunning views & adventurous hikes

This is a really awesome spot for hiking and camping. There are so many abandoned mines out here and old trails, it's a fun adventure trekking up to the collapsed rubble of mining history. When the fire ban is not in effect there are also a lot of great shooting spots out here. There only downside is there are not very many camping spots, and the last one is quite a drive into rugged roads. There is a possibility of driving all the way in just to turn right back around due to no vacant camp grounds. If you get a chance to camp out here I highly recommend it. There is also a really beautiful spring with some of the freshest pure water that's tough to find but worth the hike to get to it!

Month of VisitSeptember