Stillwater Pass

We stayed here two separate occasions for about for 15 days total. We stayed here early August and after some medical issues detoured us, came back in the first part of September. Overall, it was a nice, free area for camping, and we would stay here again.

The road coming in is paved until it hits the National Forest and becomes dirt and rock. It was somewhat washboard, but not too bad and easy if you take it slow. Not sure of the exact distance, but around a mile or so there is a fork in the road. We stayed on the right-side of the fork. We scouted the left (which I think is more of what this posting is about). There were a few spots that way, but we didn’t like the entry points to any of them. There was one huge section with tons of RVs in the valley. Again, we weren’t liking the entry and the number of campers and decided to check out the right-side. In our opinion, the right-side of the fork has more options. There are still plenty that are tent or very small RVs only, but there were several options for ours or ones bigger than us.

The first time we stayed near 40.2691999,-105.893030. It was a great, secluded spot, but would not be doable for a rig bigger than ours. We barely got back there due to navigating around the large tree stumps all while trying not to scrape the RV with tree limbs. It overlooked a valley, but it was a haul to get back there. It was a good 15-20-minute drive to get back to the main road. The second time, that spot was unavailable, so we ended up at 40.257325,-105.893548. It was a nice spot too, but it was closer to the road (dust). This spot was a little worse for solar because it was more forested, but we did OK. Some of the spots were shady, but there were still probably 4-5 with good solar availability and accessible. There was a great spot near 40.2523198,-105.9034646, but it was taken both times we were there. No trouble leveling in either spot we stayed, and it was beyond quiet both times as well. There were some spots with tents that were clearly abandoned, and a few RVs looked like they had been there awhile.

Scenery
The area was nice and there were a few spots that had a good view, but most were wooded and had no view. Easy access to Rocky Mountain National Park and surrounding beauty.

Cell/Internet Access
The further back you went, the higher the elevation and the better the connection. We have AT&T for cell phones and AT&T & Verizon hotspots for internet. Both were good with 3-4 bars of LTE without boosting. Some of the early spots did not seem to have good connectivity.

Amenity Access
We dumped and filled water in Granby, CO because it was on the way. We dumped there again on the way out. I think there is access to water and dump closer, but we used it because we knew for sure it was there and it wasn’t a far drive from there to the spot. We went to Granby for groceries too. They have a decent size City Market while the ones in Grand Lake were dinky and expensive. Trash was a bit more difficult. Everyone has locks on their trash cans, but Grand Lake has a “Pay as You Throw - PAYT” program. You purchase a trash bag at one of several retailers. I think it was $3 for a 30-gallon and $4 for a 40-gallon. All our trash for our stay fit in one 30-gallon bag. You can then dump your trash at the trash station near the post office in Grand Lake. Great service for people like us. Wish more towns near popular boondocking areas would do this. We certainly don’t mind paying a few bucks to dump our trash.

Overall, great place to stay to explore the Rocky Mountain National Park.

Weekends can be completely full — both campers and ATV riders.

There are about 20 turnout sites along the main road up to route 455, which is the last place anything larger than a car appears to be able to turn around. About half of the sites can accommodate one or a few RVs. There are also some designated forest service “camp grounds” which are really just a cluster of fire rings near to a vault toilet.

Many sites along the road had some tree cover or shade but most are pretty exposed.

It is a gravel dirt road that gets worse in terms of condition the further you go.

Cell service is minimal on Verizon and ATT. If that matters for you, that will reduce the number of eligible sites. Sometimes the service was veeeery slow, almost unusable on Verizon.

There is a forest service sign saying there is a fourteen day limit at one of the more formal campground spots. No fees and no registration.

I’d say if you show up any day other than Friday or Saturday and are not too picky you should be able to find a spot. I could be wrong but that’s my guess.

There is a washout in the road towards the “end” (ie, the junction with 455) that, if it gets any worse, may make it impossible....certainly for larger rigs.

Although I saw one large class A, most people were in smaller trailers or tent camping.

Good location for the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park.

We found this to be dispersed camping, which was a pleasant surprise. Rolled in on a Friday night in mid-July and snagged the last spot, although it was admittedly less than ideal...down a steep incline, and unfortunately left littered with trash and about 100 cigarette butts from the previous campers.

Somewhat level, very wooded. All spots are close to the road, which was much busier than expected. Road was in good condition though, perhaps it's been paved since prior reviews.

Last thing, we actually got harassed by multiple bears our second night, which was surprising because we didn't cook and the previous night practiced perfect camping etiquette with our food prep, cleaning, etc. Guessing that a lot of other campers haven't done the same, so the bears come around often. Ended up having to sleep in the car because they were aggressive and would not leave. Also had a moose run right through the site in the same night. Wild kingdom!

Great spot if you get there early during the week. We got there late Friday night when it was raining. The dirt mountain roads became a little sketchy pulling a camper, but we got to a site safe and sound. We also had to drive 45 to an hour back into the National Forrest as all the close spots were taken, but it’s also free so you can’t complain. On the weekends expect to hear lots of gun shots. If you have an atv/utv/ dirt bike and like camping in nature I’d recommend this place. Overall I’d go back with my family once we get a rzr. Another thing to think about is trash I didn’t see any dumpsters. Also no power and we didn’t have any cell service at all. This place is a nice get away, just make sure you’ve got everything you need before you get out there, that was our mistake.

This was our first time at Stillwater and we had a blast. We camped at two different beautiful campgrounds and went on a hike to Lost Lake! The campsites were pretty clean and there are sites for miles and miles off CR4 so you can be as close to or as far away from the start of the pass as you'd like. We saw a moose and lots of other wildlife! There were a lot of ATVs and there were some people shooting off guns during a stage 2 fire ban which was frustrating but other than that it was an amazing weekend! We will definitely come camp here again.

There are a ton of sites up this road and also the one next to it...for miles, depending how far into the forest you want to venture. Not all of the sites have cell coverage (Verizon) but we did close to the top of the ridge. (Same GPS location as the Singh's) Most sites were large enough to have multiple rigs together. One weekend we were there, there was a spot that must have had 15 large rigs that were all together. You can find privacy too if you are looking for it.

There is very good hiking in the area and the ATV trails are also available for hiking and biking. Because we have a dog, we hiked most days in the area instead of the National Park. Lost Lake is up over the mountain and there is dry camping on the other side as well and if you were to come in through Granby, you could access that side easier and have highway for quite some distance. (If you search Vagabond Ranch, you will find the back way up.)

Note: Because of the ATV trails up the road, there will be MANY 4 wheelers driving past all day.

We love this place! There are a couple spots at the start of the road, but the best spots are a bit farther up. The road is so smooth, no bumps or even washboard for quite a while, and not too curvy either. We made it easily in our 24 foot class c. We LOVE our site, it has a gorgeous view of the mountains and is just a bit farther up the road. Here are the coordinates: 40.2303030, -105.8903037. We have 1-2 bars of LTE here with both ATT and Verizon. With a booster its better. For a Wednesday it is pretty busy, but there were a couple open spots. Its June in Colorado, so to be expected!