Pole Mountain Area Dispersed Camping

Pole Mountain Camping Area. Not far from town with gas and a Walmart. Coordinates will lead you to the parking lot for the camping area. Continue past the gate to sites. Camping is limited to established sites but each site has ample space and fire rings. Arrived right before sunset and still got a nice spot with several open around us. Lots of people camping nearby but very spaced out camp sites. Fires were allowed in the rings. No bear warnings either which is a plus. Super cool rocks for privacy and climbing. Very windy during the night and early morning. Really enjoyed a beautiful sunset and a restful nights sleep before traveling to our next stop!

Stayed here 8/24/2020 to 9/4/2020. This area is enormous and there are tons of great sites to pick from. I came in on a Monday and the place was practically empty, but by Friday it really starts filling up. The road is definitely washboarded, but it's actually one of the better maintained BLM roads I've seen. No ruts or holes or anything, just some washboard.

I stayed at a really nice secluded site right off the road at coordinates 41.206142, -105.388410. Everything about this site was great, except that it was extremely unlevel. Probably the most unlevel site I've ever tried to camp in. I made it work but it was janky... I had to put blocks under my back tires and then the tongue of the trailer was down in the dirt. Overall I probably wouldn't really recommend this site for a trailer, but someone else may have better luck finding a flat spot.

And now for the biggest problem I had at this site... the mice. They tormented me for 12 straight days here. I found them in my truck, in my rig, and at night I could even see them running around on the ground outside. I used LED lights around everything and literally watched them just run over the lights like they weren't even there. I spent an entire day "mouse-proofing" my rig with spray foam and steel wool and thought I had them beat until one night I heard them in my walls and that was the last straw... I left. Up to this point I had only ever had a mouse on one other occasion and I've been on the road for nearly 2 years now. So just a fair warning, if you're coming to stay out here for an extended period (at least around this time of year) make sure your rig is basically bomb proof.

One note about Verizon too... I was able to pick up a bar or two from my site, but it really wasn't very usable without my booster. It would show a bar but would cut in and out. With the booster I'd get 2-3 bars and it was solid most of the time. It did seem that if you went over the hill I was camped on, Verizon signal was gone completely though.

Even though I described all these issues with an unlevel site, mice, and not-so-great Verizon, I still can't dock a star from this place. It's absolutely beautiful out here, quiet and secluded, and tons of hiking and driving trails. Despite the setbacks, I had an awesome time here.

It was pretty full--probably because everyone thought it would be a good idea to go camping on the weekend due to COVID-19. But even so, the camp sites are really spaced out and so you always had privacy and never felt that anyone was too close.

The road in was a little rough in spots.... washboard coming in with some bigger ruts on the smaller roads. I recommend getting there early in the day to find a spot because a lot of the good sites will be taken and it might take a while to find a decent site in the high season.

Road in good but lots of washboards, 10mph max. Parked off 707af, lots of people camped on widely dispersed sites. Total seclusion, gorgeous views from high meadow. Lots of birds and cows, no visible wildlife but not camped near stream. Turned off 707 when road became too steep for our comfort zone. Very windy, don’t camp broadside to wind. Fire rings are only evidence of usage.

Be sure you don't pass the entry as my GPS took us past it but luckily we had a turn around shortly after we realized we passed it easy enough for our 15' Jayco Swift to turn around. Lots of Boondockers in this area so we kept going up the road. Great place to stay for our first night out from Kansas to Washington. Dusty, ruts and gravel just so you are ready but the views are fabulous. Plenty of Cows so the ranger said the higher you go the better. Of course you could park right at the entrance if you don't want the views.

We stayed two days...we took the wrong road in....make sure you enter on road 707A, not 707C which is where Apple Maps sent us...at least you'll want to stay on that road if you have a 35 foot Airstream. At any rate it provided great entertainment for the local sheriff when he assured us the road went through.

Great views. I enjoyed the cows. The dogs liked being able to go on walks, and the berries were ripe so we ate good.

We had a great cell signal and the trip back out over road 707A was pleasant.

We love boondocking and this place is rich with wildlife and lots of seclusion. We saw huge moose, deer, and if you’re a bird watcher this place is for you.

Our site was right near the river (didn’t see any fish) and it is a point at which many game trails lead to and from the water. We knew we would we see various wildlife at this location.

There are herds of free-ranging cows (all tagged) and many came right up to our rig! We saw moose every day at dusk and dawn. They were huge! We also saw a cow (momma moose) with her calf. Too cute!

We did some hiking and had a great time. There are no marked trails so use a gps or compass for long hikes so you don’t get lost.

While there are mountain lions and bears in this area, we did not see any.

The weather was chilly in the morning with lows around 41F and the highs were in the low 80s.

The road is rough with a washer-board type surface in many areas, just take it slow.