West Magnolia Campground

Gorgeous area and one of the only with reception. HUGE homeless and trash problem. When i got to my site i FILLED a large trash bag with garbage left from the last homeless encampment. Trash EVERYWHERE; mattresses, flattened tents, clothing, cans, bottles, batteries, anything you could imagine. Its obvious that homeless people setup here for the summer and just walk away when it gets cold leaving their entire camp to rot. This was confirmed by a forest service woman that stopped by to clean a bit. I think they are working on the issue as rangers and forest service drive through daily, but they were very nice and great for safety enforcement.
The natural area is beautiful and there is a ton of wildlife. Theres a moose family living the area which walked through my camp daily, also saw some elk on the road. Great views and trails around.
Would absolutely stay here again despite the trash. I hope they keep cleaning up the area, and i hope the homeless arent disturbing in the summer months.

When we stayed here in May 2018, the road for the campsites (10-15) was washed out, creating huge ruts in the road. We didn't find other campsites, although we didn't travel further down the county hwy, there were no signs for additional campsites. The road off the county highway was in terrible shape due to washout and vehicles that do not have 4x4 should not attempt it. The road to the other sites also is quite steep after site 14 (site 15 and 14 were first two sites). I would proceed with extreme caution and avoid bringing tow vehicles into West Magnolia.

There were no pit toilets, fire pits or picnic tables. Considering the area, it is a great area with lots of hiking/biking options. But it was rough camping.

Although the other reviews mention vagrants/gypsies and law enforcement, we did not experience any of that. We saw a park ranger drive by and one site was taken by people who didn't seem to own a vehicle, but no interactions with either. We could hear the traffic from Hwy 119 from the campground but it wasn't loud.

I've stayed here many times in the past, and over the recent few years it has gone down hill something bad. The vagrants who started living here for months at a time - trashing the place, causing all sorts of mayhem - are finally be pushed out by local law enforcement.

As of July 2017 there is noticeable improvement in the area. It isn't perfect yet, but it seems to be an option for a stay again. Still lots of trash (both in garbage and people) around, but it is better. The further you get away from the first few sites, the better/cleaner things get.

Were this a review of the town of Nederland, I would easily be able to write novels on how amazing the town is. Lovely bars, ever present music, good food, beautiful scenery...and nearly every resident knows how wonderful their town is and fights fiercely to keep even a Subway out.

As for West Mag, it's also a haven for the wandering types, vagabonds, hippies, traveling warriors. The kind of kids you see hanging around Boulder or Portland with their dog, dressed like they should be in a band but apparently finding a hat with a "please give me money" sign more effective. Those are bums, the folks in West Mag are tramps. One travels, the other doesn't.

I like tramps.

I should also note that I was a young man in an old VW Bus before I continue.

The other people camping here were, to put it lightly, interested in something for free, almost without fail.

For some, they just wanted someone to hang around a campfire with. For most, it was a ride here, a few bucks "just until Tuesday", or a beer. Clever, they'd always offer something small the first night, a PBR or a rolled smoke. The next night they'd be looking for an American Spirit or three, or a fancy bottled beer.

It irked me after awhile, and combined with freezing cold temperatures forced me back down the mountain, away from the absolute splendor this place has to offer, away from the perfect town of Nederland.

This was years ago. I returned last summer and while the views were still stunning, a forest fire had devastated the trees. I didn't camp here, but was giving someone a ride from town who needed to get out of his hotel and into a free camping situation. The place was still full of traveling warrior types.

I saw the guy a few weeks later. He asked me for $20, "just until Friday."

Surprisingly, he showed up with the twenty only one day late.

West Magnolia is likely one of the best places to camp for free in this area of the Rockys, and is (was now?) a bit of a secret. Although there is not a lot of marked camp sites, there are many other places you can get a rig into and setup camp. Some of the marked sites are so large you can fit multiple campers into each. When I stayed in my van, I invited three car loads of tent campers and still did not feel crowded. I even got some free food and beer out of the deal :)

Arriving pre-weekend will be key in peak season. No reservations makes it first-come-first-camped, and even though there is a 14 day limit it is clear that some stay beyond that. If all else fails, walk or bike the road to see if someone is leaving soon.

There are numerous hiking/biking trails leading in all directions from the campground. All are worth hiking, some more than others, but all are worthy.

The town of Nederland is very cool. With restaurants and shopping just like you might find in Boulder it makes for a great date-night. There is even a buss that runs between Nederland and Boulder for longer adventures into the city.