//WILLIAMS FORK RESERVOIR//

Woke up to this stunning view. We pulled in late at night after taking a few detours around the Medicine Now Forest fire.

The campsites have fire rings, trash cans, vault toilets, and decent Verizon cell service. Plenty of room for big rigs and tent camping. Didn't cost us a penny 💸

The site wasn't terribly busy despite being the weekend, but it was a bit chilly with some high winds. We will definitely be back 😍

williamsfork #review #campendium #campers #suvcamping #carcamping #travelleisure #travel #roadtrip #dispersedcamping #free #freecamping

We have loved discovering all of the FREE camping Colorado has to offer. This is a neat little campground run by Denver Water that has designated campsites right on the reservoir. There is decent Verizon service on the South East camping area of the lake as previously mentioned by another reviewer. The more picturesque spots under the trees as soon as you come down the hill had zero connectivity for us, which was a problem since we needed to work. Our spot across the lake was still beautiful. During our stay at the end of August, there were about 7 other rigs. It was still peaceful and everyone was respectful with generators and noise.

There are pit toilets and trash cans throughout plus fire rings and picnic tables. There's even a dump station on site which is amazing!

We drove into nearby Granby one day to upload some work for faster internet and it was about a 25 minute (very scenic) drive into town.

We arrived on a Wednesday. Most sites were full by Thursday night except the one we called Skeeter Hole. We were in the area to the left after you turn in that has tables and fire rings with a concrete outhouse. You can get level here with not too much trouble. The rest of the sites were spread around the peninsula (see satellite view) and varied as to difficulty for leveling but you could be right on the water or up higher with a nice view. The mosquitoes were really not that bad except right around sunset. It's conveniently located between Kremmling and Granby, so primo trout fishing. We didn't fish the lake. We hiked at Lake Granby and biked and hiked at Winter Park. We hiked up Gore Canyon. There is a dump across the lake at the east unit, but no water at either one. There is a bonafide boat puti-n at the east unit. You aren't supposed to put in boats here. The east unit also has a few sites with trees and all the sites are along the water. I don't know why it is not listed here. It would help a lot if there were water. John cleans the toilets three times a week and they are spotless. The people near us on the weekend respected the 10 p.m. noise rule. Most everybody cleared out Sunday morning. Cell coverage was better up on the hill.

After driving around Lake Granby for hours on a Wednesday trying to find a first-come first-served spot, we thought we’d have to turn around until we stumbled upon this spot (thanks, Campendium!). I was so surprised these sites are free. There are toilets, dumpsters, fire pits, and picnic tables at some sites. Many sites are right on the water. We’ll definitely make this one of our regular spots.

We stayed here for two weeks in the first part of August 2019. Beautiful water, quiet, serene and peaceful spot. However, the mosquitoes were brutal. We would think twice about staying here only because of the mosquitoes. Otherwise, it is a great spot.

Road/Site Condition
The road coming in after the main paved road is dirt and gravel, but very smooth. After you turn into the reservoir itself, the road is not as good, but is passable. The reservoir road is one-lane, so things can get tight if there is a vehicle coming the other direction. Thankfully, when we were there, it was not busy and that almost never happened. There are some spots near the main entrance and the road loops around. At the peninsula, there is a boat ramp and if necessary, you can turn around there. There are probably around 10 spots throughout the area. Some are for tents or smaller rigs, but there are several we could have fit in and others bigger than us could have as well. The main issue with us and bigger rigs is leveling. Most of the spots were not level. I think some bigger rigs could have some trouble (unless you stick to the entrance area). It an easy place to navigate and it’s worth a drive around to see if you can find something that works before settling into the entrance area. We ended up finding (in our opinion) the best spot in the whole place. We were right by the water with no spots anywhere near us. The “road” leading to this particular spot is rough, but doable if you go slow and try to avoid the bigger ruts. We didn’t have a lot of problem. Leveling was a challenge, but we were able to get it level. All the areas are open, so no obstruction for solar. Mosquitoes were ridiculous. Day and night, they were EVERYWHERE! The only time there was a small reprieve was when it was very windy. Disappointing because it was a great spot to have a fire (there are fire rings in some spots) and enjoy the beautiful water. That was not happening with the number of mosquitoes. Bug spray would keep them from biting you, but not help with them buzzing right by you – by the hundreds.

Scenery
The water and surrounding areas were beautiful. The area is very quiet, serene and peaceful. There is some boat activity, but when we were there, it was minimal and nothing loud.

Cell/Internet Access
We have AT&T for cell phones and AT&T and Verizon hotspots for internet. AT&T was spotty at best. We would have a few bars here and there, but it was not usable most of the time. The Verizon hotspot had 3-4 bars of 4G LTE. I was able to work with it. We were able to use the Verizon to make calls with Wifi calling. Without that, phone calls with AT&T were not happening.

Amenity Access
The reservoir has pit toilets spread around. There are also dumpsters near the entrance. There is no water or dump at this specific camping area. There are other areas of camping at the reservoir. None have water (as far as I know). There is a dump on the other side of the reservoir from this area (about 15-20 minute drive), but it has no water – not even flush. We ended up going to Granby and dumping at the Kaibab park dump. We were headed that way anyway and it was more convenient than the dump at the reservoir. For water, we found a water source in Kremmling. It was $.25 for 2.5 minutes of water flow. We needed $.50 for 36 gallons and had some time to spare. Unfortunately, I didn’t mark its exact location on my map, but it was around 3rd St and Central. There is a sign on Hwy 40 that says “water sales” that will direct you to it. Easy to use and convenient. It is about a 25-minute drive to Kremmling. We tried to time it to go get water when we had to go to town anyway. There is a small grocery store and gas in Kremmling. Granby is a few minutes farther but has more options and a bigger grocery store. You can also get water at the Kaibab park in Granby for a small donation (same area as the dump station). Not sure if there is a place for propane in Kremmling, but there is an Ace Hardware in Granby that has propane.

Overall, we would stay again during non-mosquito season (if there is such a thing).

Stayed 2 weeks in August, fantastic stay. Quite busy in the weekends but nice during the week. Extremely well maintained. Was informed it would no longer be free in 2020 due to abuse. Quite sad really the disrespect as it isn't often you get such amenities along with a tremendous view for free. Picnic tables, firepits, clean bathrooms and an RV dumpsite (no water).

This camp site is AMAZING! The views are astounding and the site is well maintained. Added bonuses are, a bathroom facility, dumpsters for your garbage, and excellent Verizon cell service.

Be advised that the mosquitos are HORRIBLE. We couldn’t even sit outside with non-deet spray on. Be sure to bring your deet and a thermocell if you have one.

Our 24’ RV had no issues getting into or out of this location.

Don't have much to add to the other reviews but we had a terrific experience here last weekend. We arrived late afternoon to a busy park and were fortunate to get a spot on the (or a) peninsula overlooking the water in 270 degrees from our site. Easy access to the water for the kids to splash and play, good privacy, quiet, fantastic views, fire pits, toilets were clean, easy access, level site. Terrific. A little bit of trash on the site but only enough for one shopping bag when we picked it up. Strong breeze picked up about 6pm that put whitecaps on the water and blew over some of our stuff but made for comfy temps inside the van. The breeze died around sunset and the the mosquitoes were out in FORCE. Luckily we were inside for movie-time by then but a campfire would've been spoiled. We don't fish but it would've been ideal if one does. It did make us think we need a set of kayaks or canoes to get on the water. More $$ ;) The rest of the campground was quite busy.
The roads are dirt and undulate up/down over the coast of the reservoir but no 4WD required; we saw all types of vehicles (next site to us was a Chevy Malibu).

About a 40 minute drive to RMNP the next morning so a great launching point for a day there.

Ditto to all the other reviews. We also stayed on the peninsula at the highest point with the best views of water all around. Glad we were off the water as the mosquitoes were not as bad as at the water's edge. Bring repellant. It was raining when we arrived. After turning off county road 33 on to the peninsula, the roads are mostly single lane dirt and a little rough in spots but passable. The wet roads in were manageable. Also on the peninsula, some roads are steep, so be aware. We did do some fishing but no catching.