Stillwater Pass Dispersed Camping

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.

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!

This is a great free campground! Views of the Mountians! There are 3-4 sites with fire rings that can hold 3-4 small campers / tents/ vans. Most of them you drive down into, so I wouldn’t try to park any big rvs here.

Theres a parking lot at the very end of the Road That could hold any size RV.

Grandby is nearby, Free dump station/ potable water, the people are friendly, nice grocery store, Dollar Gen, and anything else you Might need.

We did the Lone Eagle Peak hike to Crater / Mirror Lake 14.3 miles up and back in one day, punching through snow the last 1/3, of you do this, recommend staying overnight on the mtn, came back in the dark.

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.