Carson NF - Forest Service Road 578 - Dispersed Camping
Reviewed Apr. 21, 2022

Primitive dispersed camping

I tent-camped off of Carson NF Forest Service Road 578 in mid April 2022. FS 578 is south of Tres Piedras about 5 miles on the west side of Hwy 285. There are several dirt road turn offs but FS 578 is clearly marked with a brown NFS sign (see photo) and has no gate but there is a cattle guard/grate. Here is a NFS road use map that shows dispersed camping along FS 578 and many other NFS roads: https://www.fs.fed.us/r3/gis/mvum/Carson/CarsonTresPiedrasCanjilonElRito.pdf (see also screenshot). My Tacoma had no problem on the dirt road, which has ruts and might be tough for an RV. There were few clearings suitable for dispersed camping but I found a nice spot with a small fire circle in a small clearing on the south side of the road just past a fork in the road. I carried two black boulders over to serve as a table and chair. I didn’t see anyone else camping or driving by. The forest is a nice mix of sage, juniper, and pine trees. I saw two elk across a swath of sage. I could see the snow capped peaks of the Sangre de Cristo range on the eastern horizon when I walked farther up the road. It got cold at night, like 27 F. It was a nice waypoint on my trip between Gunnison CO and El Paso TX but it didn’t look like many people camped there. I had intended to drive to Taos the next day on Hwy 64, but didn’t.

SiteDispersed site
Month of VisitApril
  • Review photo of Carson NF - Forest Service Road 578 - Dispersed Camping by Jacob  W., April 21, 2022
  • Review photo of Carson NF - Forest Service Road 578 - Dispersed Camping by Jacob  W., April 21, 2022
  • Review photo of Carson NF - Forest Service Road 578 - Dispersed Camping by Jacob  W., April 21, 2022
  • Review photo of Carson NF - Forest Service Road 578 - Dispersed Camping by Jacob  W., April 21, 2022
  • Review photo of Carson NF - Forest Service Road 578 - Dispersed Camping by Jacob  W., April 21, 2022
  • Review photo of Carson NF - Forest Service Road 578 - Dispersed Camping by Jacob  W., April 21, 2022
  • Review photo of Carson NF - Forest Service Road 578 - Dispersed Camping by Jacob  W., April 21, 2022
  • Review photo of Carson NF - Forest Service Road 578 - Dispersed Camping by Jacob  W., April 21, 2022