Where is a good place to go camping this weekend within a few hours of Denver, CO?

June 24, 2008 7:59 AM

Where is a good place to go camping this weekend within a few hours of Denver, CO?

A friend and I are looking for some place semi-primitive to go camping this weekend within a couple hours drive of Denver, CO. By "semi-primitive" I mean not a campground with dozens of other people but some place we need to hike in to that has some decent hiking around it.

Diamond Lake is a place we've gone before that we like but the problem we're running in to is that certain elevations still have a ton of snow making them pretty much inaccessible for camping.

posted by JPigford to sports, hobbies, & recreation (7 comments total)

In national forest areas (covering nearly the entire expanse of western Colorado), camping is fair game, primitive, and free. Take a look here for several great locations within a couple hours of Danver. I know you'll have a great time.
posted by netbros at 8:36 AM on June 24

State Forest State Park is awesome. My wife and I spent a couple nights at the Crags campground a year or two ago at the height of summer, and it was almost completely empty. The campground was accessible by car, but the hiking around the site was amazing, especially being able to look over into Rocky Mountain National Park from Thunderhead Pass. State Forest also has yurts, cabins and maybe some primitive sites that you hike into. I highly recommend it.
posted by cog_nate at 8:37 AM on June 24

@netbros I think you missed what I said about most places still being covered in snow. I'm looking for places people can confirm are _not_ still covered in snow right now.
posted by JPigford at 8:50 AM on June 24

"places people can confirm are _not_ still covered in snow right now."

Can't speak for the link that netbros provided, but the State Parks site has a "Conditions" link in each park's page and (a) contact phone number(s) and e-mail address.
posted by cog_nate at 9:00 AM on June 24

Estes Park? Like an hour north of Boulder IIRC.
posted by crickets at 11:15 AM on June 24

Stop by a local outdoor gear shop and ask a staffer or two. They'll be able to tell you what's good.
posted by andythebean at 11:29 AM on June 24

Just sent you a message (on mefi mail, whatever that is) with current trail conditions. Happy camping!
posted by genug at 7:57 AM on June 25