Stillwater Pass Dispersed Camping

Came here on 05/31/22 to boondocking near Rocky Mountain NP. I only saw two or three sites when coming through due to a broken down trailer that blocks the road that leads to more sites. When we arrived and started to level there was a motorcycle and four trucks driving up and down the road. We didn’t think much of it and continued to level as soon as we got inside our trailer someone shot off a gun literally down the road from where we were several times. That was our cue to Get the heck out of there, so we did. Right as it started snowing and the road was getting a bit muddy. We ended up staying at a first come first serve site at Stillwater Campground not far off. I would scout before you stay and get ready to leave if need be. Another thing we noticed as we came in a truck blocked another site we saw so we moved on down to a site right before the road forks. But when we left the truck wasn’t there anymore. I don’t know if they were with the group driving around or not. It was all very sketchy…

We came here early in the season for Colorado, and the majority of the road was still closed by a gate.

However there were 8 to 10ish spots open just off the road on the way up. We took the first one on the right as you are headed up the mountain and had no problem fitting our 28 foot Airstream in the spot. Fairly level for boondocking and the views were amazing.

If you continue up the road there were only 1 or 2 more spots depending on time of year, puddles etc that we would have tried staying at but they would be awesome for higher clearance vehicles.

At the point where the gate closes the road there is a large trailhead parking lot with vault toilet that any size rig could turn around in if needed. Picture attached.

From our spot we saw three moose in the creek below, a small herd of elk up the road from us and lots of fun bird life.

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.

Perfect for dry camping right outside of the Rocky Mountain NP. There are sites along the road getting to the parking lot but you have to drive down into the little campsite but the parking lot is huge with a lot of space to park a big rig. Just keep driving and you’ll find it. It was peaceful and you could really see the stars! And there was a restroom! The only downside is there are atv trails there so in the morning the parking lot started filling up and we could hear all the riders, they don’t ride at night though so it didn’t bother us!