Suggestions for camping around Boulder Co

[Greg In Austin]

Soooo if someone were going to be in the Boulder Co area for the first weekend of October for a couple of nights (and maybe a football game), where might they find a place to camp or boondock?

 

[lactic]

There are several campgrounds up near Nederland just west of Boulder on the Peak to Peak Highway (119). You can also boondock in the West Magnolia area just south of Nederland. The trailhead is just south of town on the Peak To Peak and you can follow the gravel road back to progressively smaller roads.

Remember, the altitude is around 8K-9K' in the foothills outside Boulder so be prepared for any kind of weather. Might snow up here tonight above 10K'.

 

[BC]

Go BUFFS !! :a2:
Oh wait, the last time they played the Longhorns it was like, 70 to nothing...never mind

 

[Greg In Austin]

....and I was at that game too.... wow

 

[Greg In Austin]

We are still looking for suggestions on places to spend the night for a couple of nights while in the Boulder area....

 

[reidt]

Boulder Mountain Lodge has 7 campsites about 5-6 from downtown.
My wife camped there last weekend and said it was very nice.

www.bouldermountainlodge.com

 

[stanton-SMB]

Both latic, and reidt have good suggestions. Sadly, there is no legal camping in Boulder proper. You'll have to go a bit out of town.

Like latic said, campgrounds and forest roads off the Peak to Peak highway (72/119) up Boulder Canyon are great choices. Getting to and from the Peak to Peak to Boulder is pretty easy and a nice drive. By October many of the campgrounds will be closed, so expect to boondock. The Peak to Peak highway is up high so be prepared to bundle up at night-- fall foliage may still be in full effect.


A few other suggestions:

The Boulder County Fairgrounds in Longmont (an easy/quick 9 miles north of Boulder) offers RV camping (not in the mountains, urban). Might make a good choice based on convenience.

There are few RV Parks near Blackhawk and Central City (Google it). Its about 40-50 minutes from Boulder -- main here attraction is casinos. Probably not worth it. If your that far out, camp in the woods!

Carter Lake County Park in the Loveland area-- a little far out.
Golden has a few private RV parks.


I could list a bunch more with details, but I'm not sure exactly what your looking for given you can't camp in right in Boulder proper.

Maybe we should have a little Colorado SMB get together around that time??

 

[Greg In Austin]

Here are some ideas I have received off list... Any thoughts?

Boulder Mountain Lodge: ~2 miles from Boulder
http://www.bouldermountainlodge.com/

Gross Reservoir: ~9 miles from Boulder
http://www.rmskc.org/places/gross-res.html

Kelly Dahl Campground: ~20 miles from Boulder
http://www.resourceanalysis.com/cam...apaho_roosevelt_nf/kelly_dahl/kelly_dahl.html

Rainbow Lakes: ~29 miles from Boulder
http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/arnf/recreation/camping-picnicking/developed/brd/rainbowlakes.shtml

Pawnee Campground / Brainerd Lake: ~30 miles from Boulder
http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/arnf/recreation/camping-picnicking/developed/brd/pawnee.shtml

http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/arnf/recreation/brainard/index.shtml

 

[Greg In Austin]

...and from the husband of a friend who live in the Boulder area :

"I am very familiar with Sportsmobiles. I’d love to have one. Yours is a great looking rig!

I have a few suggestions for you depending on where you would like to be.

Caribou – Caribou is up high and quite beautiful. There was a mining community, mines, and a mill that once stood up there in the late 1800s. It will be chilly at night (if not cold) but it’s a dang nice spot. You can only camp in designated spots. They are marked by carsonsites the Forest Service has put out (you should have no trouble spotting them).

To get to Caribou drive up Boulder Canyon (CO Hwy 119) to Nederland (stopping at Boulder Falls along the way is always nice). When you hit the roundabout take the second right on CO Hwy 72. This will take you due west for a ½ a mile or so. As you are going through a big sweeping 180 degree turn there will be a dirt road on your left. There is also a green sign that says ‘Caribou’. Follow this road up for several miles. When you get to the top there near some ruins of old buildings will be two Forest Service dirt roads that for a bit of a ‘Y’. You can take either one and there is camping along both. The one to the left is likely to take you to some higher view points and the one on the right will have some more in the trees camping. They are both nice and prime Sportsmobile terrain.

Switzerland Trail - Switzerland trail is an old Railroad grade outside of Boulder. It is popular with mountain bikers, some dirt bikers and hikers. There are several little off shoots from the trail/road you can camp at. It’s a nice area, but is closer to Boulder and gets a little more use. There are several ways to get there I will give you one that should be fairly easy to follow.

In Boulder on Broadway find Mapleton Street (it’s just north of the main downtown). Turn on to Mapleton heading west. You will go up a steep hill through a very nice old residential area. Just keep going straight and you will end up in Sunshine canyon and begin climbing up out of town. You will hit the mountain community of Gold Hill. Keep going straight through Gold Hill (you make a slight left at the West end of town, but it more or less takes you straight). A few miles later (aprox 5) you will hit a trail head and sign for the Switzerland Trail. Hand a left. You will see some small pull outs as you go that lead to camp sites. Just before you hit the main turn off for Switzerland you will also see a few small Forest Service roads going up to the left. These also lead to a number of camp spots."

It was interesting to stumble upon someone that already knows about SMBs.

 

[Greg In Austin]

Caribou sounds ineresting, has anyone ever been there?

 

[jage]

Not very rustic but my driveway in Northglenn has pine trees.

 

[Greg In Austin]

Which is non-rustic? Caribou? ....oh...your driveway!! well, we may want to be a little more rustic.

We would of course love something hidden and scenic and quiet and off the beaten path,... but we are also going to need to be close to Boulder so we can see friends and attend the game Saturday night.

This is likely just for one night's accomodations.

 

[lactic]

Caribou is boondocking at its finest. I took the R turn at the Y in the road while fishing last year and did manage to get the new van is some pretty challenging terrain. My first lesson in 18 point turns with an EB!! :a5:

(Ignore the camera hams.)

General idea of the scenery. We were fishing a small creek down in the brush.

I would definitely recommend the Caribou site, Kelly Dahl if it's still open, and Rainbow Lakes. 29 miles sounds like a haul but its really not in the foothills of Colorado. Switzerland trail might be closer by the crow but the drive up Sunshine Canyon will be slower than Boulder Canyon. Gross Reservoir is biking distance from my house and scenic as well and located on the backside of the Flatirons in Boulder. This might be a slightly warmer option than the sites farther west.

I'd love to check out the rig so make sure you post when and where you might be and maybe we can have an impromptu Colorado rally with Jage and Stanton, etc!

 

[Greg In Austin]

We should be arriving in Boulder one week from Friday, on 03 Oct, probably later afternoon.

...but I am not really sure when. We will probably stop by and visit some folks I work with on Friday.

The football game is not until 5pm MT on Saturday, so we will have all Saturday morning and up until it is time for some tailgating. I think a little gathering would be fun.

 

[Greg In Austin]

Who all is in the Denver/Boulder area that might want to meet up on Saturday morning 04 Oct ?

 

[jage]

Oh noes! I'm supposed to be out camping that weekend. :a6:

 

[lactic]

I'd love to but it looks like we're going to head to Aspen for the weekend to check out the colors.

We were up by Nederland/Caribou/Rocky Mtn Nat Park today and the aspens were absolutely AMAZING! You should be able to catch some of the colors while you're here next weekend.