Category Archives: Camping

Dispersed camping is sometimes the best test of a marriage. Packing, meal prep, miles of rough roads with only the Colorado Gazetteer and hope to decide the boom or bust of a weekend in the wilderness can put an unnecessary strain on the bond between two typically easy going people. Add three restless girls andContinue reading “Dispersed Camping – Meadow Creek”

Remember that time you booked the trip of a lifetime to Thailand and a pandemic shut down the entire planet, except for the Trump Kool-Aid drinking South Dakota part and you decided to check out camping in another state instead? I mean, the Black Hills are sort of like Thailand. Except for literally everything. ButContinue reading “Campground (SD) – Grizzly Creek”

It must be the last day of our camping trip because my sore fingers are punctuated with pitch black parenthesis of dirt under every nail. The sloshing coolers are a little less heavy than they were four days ago, and my hair has the consistency of a stiffened grimy dish rag. When asked to beginContinue reading “The Camp Rollercoaster”

What a trip this was going to be! Two new dogs, 5 kids, two rafts, and camping in March. We were going to get this camping season started early in 2019 come hell or high water. The road from Denver to the Utah desert was long and Ned’s (our energetic canine) car legs were shakyContinue reading “Campground – The Ledge near Moab, UT”

Just a short 2 hour drive from Denver (depending on traffic) is a most magical area nestled snugly between Colorado’s highest peaks in a lush mountain valley. A clear stream feeds a picturesque lake held in place by sheer granite cliffs of the Elk Mountains. Cottonwood Lake Campground is a first come first serve campgroundContinue reading “Campground – Cottonwood Lake”

We got out once more last weekend and drove 3.5 hours from Denver to an area I’ve been curious about for years. From Google Earth, it looks as campy as a chipmunk in a flannel. Plus there is the all important river, and I assumed it held trout (it does). This place is remote. 90Continue reading “Dispersed Camping – Taylor Reservoir Area”

There have been times in life when I have made decisions I regret. A recent bicycle accident is the most fresh on my memory. Giving up one of the best dispersed campsites right here in this barely-read blog will surely be another one of them. Yet, this spot is far enough off the beaten pathContinue reading “Dispersed Camping – Elk Creek”

We didn’t know what to expect in Yellowstone. Being America’s most visited national park we assumed there would be lines of cars, pollution, a lack of services, and full of tourists. We stopped to get gas and ice in West Yellowstone before entering the park in anticipation. Little did we know that you can getContinue reading “Campgrounds – Yellowstone NP”

I sound like a broken record. Get to this dispersed area EARLY! This one is on The Dyrt for god’s sake. That website and app are okay, but there is nothing more exciting than taking a chance on a dispersed looking area, yelling at each other for an hour, then capitalizing on an amazing campsite.Continue reading “Dispersed Campsite – Clear Creek”

Last June we camped near Leadville, CO where it was in the upper 30’s at night and we cranked up the four dog camp stove every night. We wound down out of the mountains and across the desert into Utah near Moab where sleeping bags were quite unnecessary. Like trying to sleep in an ovenContinue reading “Campground – Grandstaff, Utah”

Ever think, “Man, it’s hot in Denver. Let’s take the kids out of school on Friday and go camping.” Then you get there and the mountains are still snowed in? If you haven’t put your kids through the discomfort of this, you should. They’ll learn more than they did in school that day anyway. TakeContinue reading “Dispersed Camping – Homestake Reservoir Road”

Byers Peak Wilderness. Camp on the banks of the easy flowing William’s Fork river. Catch and eat some fresh fish. The air here is clear and clean. Try not to let the giant Henderson Mill molybdenum mine just over Ute Pass disturb you. The campsites here are many but not as scenic as we areContinue reading “Dispersed Camping – Upper Williams Fork”

(This is now private, so don’t try to find this spot) The summer days were perfectly warm as Mary Helen and I sat in our cozy back yard one evening sipping cold beers listening to the exciting sounds of the city. Ambulance sirens, dogs barking, and the occasional gunshot. Suddenly it dawned on us thatContinue reading “Dispersed Camping – Winter Park Private Pond”

Scanning Google Earth for dispersed camping is in a sense, relaxing, yet nowhere near representative of an actual place on our little blue real planet. Whether it be the undulating Rocky Mountains or even your own neighborhood there is no way to get the feel of a space until you actually set foot on it.Continue reading “Dispersed Camping – Geneva Creek”

Our eldest child became a Summer Camper a couple years ago at wonderful Colvig Silver Camp in Durango. We love Durango. It is decidedly Colorado with a western flair, but stretches its internationalist palate with delectable eateries such as Jean Pierre Bakery and The Irish Embassy Pub. And if you are into outdoor sports, DuranglersContinue reading “Campground – Florida Campground”

Friday came fast that week and I was swamped at work with things that I thought I couldn’t put off until Monday for some stupid reason. Since we had just been up the week before, we loaded everything already organized in the car around 4:30 which is a very late start especially on a Friday.Continue reading “Dispersed Camping – Winter Park Cemetery Site”

You wanna know how to blow $1,000 bucks real quick like? Start a campfire during a Stage II Fire Ban in the Arapaho/Roosevelt National Forests, that’s how. Colorado. As I sometimes like to point out in the right company, the Colorado Rocky Mountains were once considered the northern portion of Texas. I sometimes have aContinue reading “Dispersed Camping – French Creek”