Stillwater Pass Dispersed Camping

Arriving on the Saturday evening of Labor Day weekend, I was half expecting not to find any spots. However, after driving 10 minutes or so past the Idleglen parking area, we found one near what seemed to be the top of the mountain (although there was still road left). It was the quietest place I have ever been. We could only hear the wind rattling our tent. All of the trees were burned up in the fires last year, so there weren’t many branches to blow in the wind, no critters scampering, no birds singing. If it weren’t so unique, it may have been eerie. We stayed for dinner one night because we had reservations in nearby Rocky Mountain National Park’s campground the following night. We were able to easily access our spot, but we were driving a Toyota Tacoma with plenty of clearance. May have been more difficult with other vehicles. Road is a little rougher the higher you go.

I have wanted to try this place out for a while. We were going to River Run RV resort for the fourth of July and decided to go up a day early and explore. I expected the fire last summer impacted it but it was really unfortunate to see how bad it was. It has been a rainy summer this year so the ground is muddy and covered in black ash. The creek was very sooty. We drove down past the creek and turned around because everything was full. Our 30' travel trailer and F-150 had no issue but we did get muddy.

We ended up staying in the parking lot. There were two class A RVs there already and plenty of room for us. This was 7pm on the Friday before the 4th. We camped there and left first thing in the morning. The OHV traffic picked up in the morning but we slept fine. The parking lot has vault toilets so there was more traffic there. A lot of roads are closed back further but people moved the barricades and had setup back there. The best sites right now were the first few on the road past the GPS coordinates on the listing. There was no real Verizon or T-Mobile service to speak of. I'd love to go back some day when the forrest recovers.

The GPS coordinates were right on. The turn off Rt 34 takes you through a small neighborhood and then onto the National Forest road. This road is dirt, but very wide and pretty level. There are several designated campsites along the early part of the road - we did not feel any were appropriate for our RV as the entries were steep and rutted. However, if you keep going you will come to the Idleglen Trailhead parking lot. This lot is very large and level. We pulled up to the far end and had a nice view of the surrounding forrest (badly fire damaged from last Fall's fire). The road continues past the parking lot but was still closed when we were there (opens in June). But we still used this road for biking and hiking - and it was a good place to see moose.

There was a lot of trash/glass in the parking lot when we arrived, but Dave always likes to leave a place cleaner than when we arrive and he picked up multiple bags of trash and by the time we left, it was quite clean. He also built a rugged fire pit on the edge of the parking lot. So, if you choose this place, go to the far side of the parking lot and use our fire pit!

Other great features:
There were very few people here (but probably gets busier later in summer). There are many more campsites down the closed road, but not as level as the parking lot!
There is a pit toilet.
Location is only about 7 miles from the beautiful town of Grand Lake and 10 miles to the National Park

Biggest negative - there is NO cell service! (Once you get to the town, there is great service)

10/12-10/14- on approach we stayed left per prior review and drove about a mile up the road but only saw the large crowded area with pit toilets and several other areas that did not have very good views. Turned around and went to the right instead. Lots of awesome private areas with fantastic views.

Area has been heavily used and while at first glance look clean and fairly free of trash, small bits of glass and trash, ground into the soil, can be seen everywhere in camping spots. Nothing that would turn anyone off though.

The road up was well maintained and to us seemed as if would accommodate any size motor home or camper.

Would definitely stay here again.

Keep driving a bit past the point where the coordinates here take you. Like other reviewers mentioned, keep left when you get to the fork and keep going to the Idleglen Parking - which has bathrooms! We stayed at a pull off spot to the right a bit before the fork which allowed for more privacy. Occasional sound/headlights of cars driving by but quiet inside the car, wasn’t an issue for us. Great spot in the forest super easy to get to. Oh! There are a couple of private properties on the way so pay close attention, google maps will lead you right to them but thankfully recalculates when you drive past. Had decent verizon cell service too.

There are several areas to park and camp along the road leading up to Idleglen parking area. I didn’t go any further than the large gravel parking lot. It can accommodate large RVs. There are vault toilets. There is a Y in the road and you will stay left to reach the parking lot and other potential camping spaces. Nice and quiet. I had 1 bar at times with ATT service.

Drove 2hr 15 min to the ends of every road in the area seeking a spot. On a Thursday, every single spot was taken. There are a few good spots for larger RVs, but most are pretty close to the road with heavy ATV traffic. Not the best area for peace and quiet. There is a large parking area next to a bathroom on CR-4, but I would consider this a pullover spot for the night rather than a peaceful place to camp. The challenge with these dirt roads is they start out pretty flat and the further you go, the more narrow and bumpy they become, but the biggest problem is finding a suitable place to turn around an RV once you are in the road (other than the large parking lot towards the beginning of CR-4). Luckily we had a separate vehicle to scout with. If you are looking for peace and quiet, this is not your place. Being that every place was full on a Thursday, it might be a better game plan to pay $ and stay at a local RV park and not bother with the hassle, ATV noise, and full sites.