Slate River Road Designated Dispersed

It’s private property now. Cannot access.

Only try if you have a 4x4. Very narrow and steep downhill climb

A few miles from the site there is a closed gate labeled private property

There are 12 decent spots of a several mile dirt road suitable for 2 wheel drive in summer along the spectacular slate river valley that leads up to the 4x4 paradise divide. The sites begin about 5 miles from town and end at the hairpin turn that begins the 4x4 section. Mostly open and clearly marked, sites 6-9 were most attractive to us in that they offered some shade and a bit of distance from road. They were all taken when we arrived mid weekday in July so we stayed at the currently unlisted musicians camp NFS campground still in it's infancy as a solution to previously unmitigated dispersed camping mayhem that i will review in detail when dyrt lists it. The campground offered movers sites (#15-17) than were the dispersed camping options and were (as of July 2021) also free.

Great dispersed camping! Spots were clearly marked and had easy access. The views were fantastic! We would definitely go back. Some of the spots are more exposed and offer less privacy than others. Our spot felt very secluded even though it was right by the road.

One negative was the dust/dirt. The dirt here is very fine and sticks to everything, so be prepared to get dusty/dirty, especially if you have kids.

Beautiful waterfall view and an amazing vista. Will definitely be back here again.

Stayed 3 nights at site SR 12. Pretty close to the access road so expect dust. Nice stream nearby the camp and shade for sitting. If you enjoy hiking, mountain biking, there are some nice opportunities further up the road. There's a jeep road that goes to Paradise Divine (see photo), which is at 11,250' - Great Hike! There was snow over the road a few miles up so no jeep traffic. There were a few dirt bikes. Overall nice place to stay just outside of Crested Butte. Vault toilet in the larger camp area prior to SR sites.

Beautiful views, went on a weekend and there were a lot of spots available, not far from town. Awesome spot.

This was a really spectacular spot. The view was incredible (one of the best we’ve ever had) and the drive there was smooth and easy to find/access.

There was a well maintained bathroom-basic but well maintained. There were a ton of spots, some dispersed, others close to one another. We went on Memorial Day weekend expecting it to be crowded but there were a ton of open spots. If it was crowded though, you could easily be on top of one another.

We have a 22 foot trailer and it made it up the road and through the sites very easily. I would highly recommend this spot.

Didn’t have any service with t-mobile but my husband did with Verizon. It’s not too far from the city but just far enough to get that mountain beauty.

Good luck finding an Air BNB in Crested Butte. If you're smart, you'll bring a tent and set up camp here off of Slate River road. The camping incredible. The dispersed spots fill up quickly though, especially in the summer but it's obvious why. Don't expect typical campground amenities, these are just dirt pull offs with the occasional fire ring from the previous visitors. Mountain bikers frequent the area and line the road in the summer months. Some single track trails are close to some of the more southeastern spots but you're still not a very far drive from town out here. Slate River runs through the valley where the dispersed camping exists and offers a cool reprieve on the warm summer days and the rising ridge lines on either side are beautiful. If you take the road far enough, you can get to iconic crystal mill as well but I haven't made the trek so I can't speak to what that drive looks like. As far as this dispersed camping goes, no need for a 4WD or high clearance, these sites are easily accessible.

We ended up in a dispersed site right next to the road on a whim one evening on August 17th. It's a long, rough dirt road that you share with bikers, other cars, and cows. Yes, cows. Where we stayed was a round parking space next to the road and just on the top of a hill that led down to the creek. We were able to pull our car over and camp right next to it. We had two sets of neighbors no closer than thirty yards away who kept to themselves. The only thing I can see people seeing as a drawback were the slightly noisy neighbors... cows. They wandered through the campsites and relatively close to the tents, trailers, and vehicles and mooed late into the night and early the next day. Honestly didn't bother us at all, we thought they were hilarious, but obviously some folks might not be happy about their presence. The space is very dusty though, so expect your vehicle, equipment, and yourself to get a little dirty.

Just past the Oh Be Joyful Campground. GPS Coordinates: 38.93123,-107.05068 I spent two nights in a row here in mid August. There were plenty of people near by but I didn’t feel over crowded. Things to know: •Verizon service was decent •15-20 min from Crested Butte proper •Vaulted toilets near my coordinates •River/stream near by for rinsing off if need be, be warned tho it is quite cold. •If, by chance, this location is full, you can continue driving along the road and there are miles and miles of available spots.

Oh do enjoy!

Located about 20 minutes from the town of Crested Butte, Slate River Road is home to a bunch of campgrounds. Note: These areas differ from the BLM section you will drive through. After the Oh Be Joyful BLM land, you will then make your way into Forest Service operated areas where there is tons of dispersed camping and it is free. 

We spent some time here around 4th of July and all the spots were filled as expected. Camp grounds are all dispersed, free and have no amenities at the site except some areas have vault toilets. There are a few campgrounds on the left side of the road and if those are all full there are many other spots just along the sides of the roads. The spot where the pin is for this site is one of the few “Camp grounds” where there is a small parking lot built and spots are somewhat defined. 

Most of them were big enough for multiple cars and tents as well as full sized RV’s. The forest service does patrol this area and we saw them writing tickets for people who were parked in areas they should not be in. It seems they used rocks to define camping areas and people were parked beyond them. Keep that in mind when selecting a spot. 

If you cannot find a spot in one of these campgrounds, keep driving. A good portion of the road is Forest Service and camping is allowed on the sides of the road. We saw people camping for miles up the road. 

As is with most of Crested Butte, there is tons to do in this area. Drives, hikes, mountain biking, fishing…the list goes on. We spent a long weekend here, it was a great base camp spot however our spot was pretty exposed to the sun. 

Bonus: We saw tons of wildlife every day right across the river from our camp chairs. Deer. Moose and a Bear!