denver/boulder/nothern CO area?

[steveh2112]

hi all, i'm just researching the living cheap lifestyle. i'd like to be based around the Boulder CO area, work a bit when i can find a job but still get plenty of time to enjoy the great outdoors.

i wonder what the boulder and surrounding area (Denver up to Fort Collins) are like for boondocking and stealth camping in and around town?

i see there are some good dispersed camping options about 30 miles out of town: http://www.fs.usda.gov/activity/arp/recreation/camping-cabins/?recid=28024&actid=34

i wonder whats a bit closer and the stealth parking options in Boulder?

thx

 

[jimindenver]

I've done some camping up that way but a lot of it was decades ago and has changed. I know there is some dispersed camping in the Boulder ranger district and up by Red Feather lakes just off the top of my head. I'll do some checking.

 

[steveh2112]

thanks, they both seem to be about 1hr outside boulder so same as the dispersed (free) options.

i was looking on craigslist for rentals and it seems there are a few small studios for about 600/mth which is $20/day so no point in living in a van in a campground for $20/day when you can live in an apartment in town or the same (unless you really want to be outdoors).

still looking at the free options anyhow, thx

by the way, the reason i'm trying to figure this out on line, vs. simply going there and finding out (other than the fact i'm in Thailand!) is i'm thinking about what vehicle to buy. i'f i'm living more or less full time in the van, i'll probably go for an Astro, but if the van is just for transport and occasional camping, living mostly in a building, i'll probably go with a minivan

 

[steveh2112]

i was thinking, even free parking in the dispersed camping areas about 30 miles from town isn't free if i need to commute into boulder every day to look for a job or work. if taking the van in to town, that's maybe 60miles/day at 15mpg (mountain roads) that's 4 gallons of gas. i guess gas prices are way down at the moment ($2.20/gal) so that's only $10 but there's wear and tear on van too so maybe close to $20. so given that, better to stealth camp in town or find a cheap rental

 

[steveh2112]

me again, i found a great one
https://www.denverwater.org/recreation/gross-resevoir
Camping
Limited access. High clearance vehicles required. West side managed by Roosevelt National Forest. Area has seasonal closure; check with Boulder District. Usually open for Memorial Day through until the first snowfall in the fall. There is not a fee or reservation for camping on the west side of the lake, access by a rough dirt road on the west side. Maps may show access from the East Side on Lake Shore Drive, but this access is blocked. The turn off of Magnolia is CO Hwy 68 to FS Road 359. You can use Google Maps to see the camping area.

that's only about 8 miles from down town boulder

http://freecampsites.net/#!8642&query=sitedetails

 

[Wabbit]

We are thinking of going out to Colorado Denver area in the beginning of April. We want to spend a week or few camping(tent) and to enjoy what they state has to offer recreationally. We want to stay within an hour or two of Denver because it seems that is where the best deals are with the new shops. Any other ideas/opinions on this area for camping I would love to hear!

 

[jimindenver]

We generally camp two hours away from Denver and that is with towing a 25 ft trailer. There are three National forest within 2 hours of Denver, Pike, Roosevelt and Arapahoe I believe and that represents a lot of boondocking. The four rangers districts I would check out are Pikes peak, South Platte, Boulder and South Park. I would imagine there is a difference in what is available for me with a RV vs tenting.

Some things to know.

Mountain traffic on the weekends is terrible in the mountains.

Bring warm sleeping bags. The trailers furnace runs nightly even if it was in the 80's the day before. We get a nightly freeze spring and fall and average in the 30's at night in the summer. Mid summer you may see the 40's at night at altitude. Stick to the front range around 5000 ft and it will stay warmer at night but then you will deal with 90-100 degree day time temps.

Call the rangers office of the district you are interested in and they will tell you where you can camp, what the rules are and if there are any fire bans in place. If nothing else we call to let them know we are in a area.

Now if you are talking the outlet malls, two things. First there is one on the very western edge of the metro area, butting right up to the foothills. That's a good hour closer to the mountains than I am. Second, outlet stores have a dirty little secret that was reported on the news. Take a coach bag from their regular store and set it next to a outlet store coach bag and you will see there are differences. They are running a second line of grade B bags with lighter fabrics and lower grade leather, etc for the outlet stores. Not that much different from the guy selling fakes out of his trunk except you know the stuff in the trunk is fake. The outlet store represents theirs as real. In any event there is a outlet mall in Silverthorn up in the mountains

Last thing is you may save a lot on gas finding a inexpensive pay camp ground closer to Denver. We are rarely in the camp grounds so i don't have much to offer. There are two state parks in the Metro but they are not cheap especially since you have to buy a park pass on top of the site fees.

I'll do some looking around later today.

 

[jimindenver]

Also you may wish to check out what spring weather is like here. No way of telling if it will be a heat wave or snow storm.

 

[steveh2112]

good point about traffic on the weekends.

one thought i have is to park up the van when i find a good spot then use the motorbike to 'commute' into town for shopping and work if i can find any. i wonder if the van would be safe left alone all day. guess i'd have to find a way to disable it and take all valuables with us.

 

[jimindenver]

me again, i found a great one
http://www.denverwater.org/Recreation/GrossReservoir/
Camping
Limited access. High clearance vehicles required. West side managed by Roosevelt National Forest. Area has seasonal closure; check with Boulder District. Usually open for Memorial Day through until the first snowfall in the fall. There is not a fee or reservation for camping on the west side of the lake, access by a rough dirt road on the west side. Maps may show access from the East Side on Lake Shore Drive, but this access is blocked. The turn off of Magnolia is CO Hwy 68 to FS Road 359. You can use Google Maps to see the camping area.

that's only about 8 miles from down town boulder

http://freecampsites.net/#!8642&query=sitedetails

Make sure you call the ranger station on this one. It looks like the road there is not Astro van friendly, even AWD.

Rents here are nuts and rentals can be hard to find. One thing to consider would be working in the mountain towns closer to the boondocking areas. I could easily bounce around the areas all summer, just not too close to the metro area.

 

[steveh2112]

thanks, well i think i like the idea of parking the van somewhere nice, maybe an hour or so outside of town, then motorbike in for internet, shopping, work, etc

occasionally drive the van into town too, then find a new spot to park

see how that works for a bit and keep an eye out for in town stealth options

 

[akrvbob]

Steveh, be aware that area gets very cold and usually gets a lot of snow in the winter. Most camping areas will be snowbound in winter and the roads won't be plowed or kept open. If they are open, they will be very muddy because that area gets a lot of snowstorm, freeze, thaw cycles all winter.

I'm a big fan of pulling a motorcycle/scooter, but most of those roads will require you travel 50-70 miles an hour carrying a full load and some freeway driving. I think you will need at least a 250 and probably more. I'd guess you could only ride 5-6 months out of the year and much of that will be in cold weather.

Unless you are locked into Boulder, I'd be looking at better weather in another state.
Bob

 

[jimindenver]

I agree. It's stunning on Denver most of the time. Heck you will see 70's in any month. Last month we set both a record for amount of snow and new high temps for a few days in the 70's. It's been so nice I have been using my solar ovens three or four times a week. Next week we expect snow. The mountains are another story all together.

Lots of views, lots of camping but I prefer my house in the winter.

 

[steveh2112]

i posted this in my welcome to the forum section already but: I live in Thailand full time now, i'm planning to van dwell in CO for 8 months a year (actually more like 6-7, and a month or so in CA where my kids live), every year starting next year, so i'm really only looking for May-Nov in CO, so hopefully miss the worst of the cold stuff. but i know it can get cold anytime up there. that's something we'll have to see if we can live with after been in the tropics for 10 years.

i grew up in England and hated the shit weather over there, love the country but would never go back, but i think at least cold in the mountains isn't like cold in Leeds, at least its clean, dry and fresh.

my next door neighbor here in Thailand is from boulder, he has a few rental units there that pays his bills over here. he can get me some odd job, maintenance kind of work when i''m over there so that's the plan right now.

(BTW, before anyone comments on this post, i'm a naturalized US citizen 20+ years already so can work legally in the US, and i'm in the process of getting my wife a green card now, hence the wait until next year to start traveling)

 

[steveh2112]

we got to boulder yesterday and almost got f'ed trying to find a boondocking location for the night.

the 2 site listed on freecampsites.net didn't work out, gross res was too rough for the van and five points was miles of dirt track on private land so we gave up.

anyhow, i asked in the gas station on nederland and got some good advice, a nat forest official dispersed camp site about 2 miles S of nederland, very easy to get to and 100% legal in marked campsites, not time limit that i can tell.

39.946874, -105.509494

only problem is, it was totally full with long term residents, but we looked sad and desperate at 7pm so someone offered to let us share the site (which are huge anyhow) so it all worked out.

closest we've come to no place to stay so far however.

 

[jimindenver]

Welcome to Colorado! It's not the driest year to be visiting our fair state but this week is suppose to be dry. I believe you are up in the Boulder rangers district and yes there are time restrictions of two weeks. A lot of that area was burned out a few years back by a fire started by a camper spilling a alcohol stove.

I was hoping to get us up in the hills for the nice weather before TS Bill makes it up here but if I even think of camping the phone rings.

 

[John_Camping]

In town I've often stayed at the Aurora Walmart off Tower's road. It's on the east edge of the Denver metro but right beside I-70. Wifi reaches the parking lot well and they appear to be relaxed on overnight parking. I've done 2-3 night stays there even before I had stealth set up.

 

[jimindenver]

Steve

This is the site for the Arapahoe national forest. In the upper right you will find the motor vehicle use map.

http://www.fs.usda.gov/arp

This is the listing of the dispersed camping areas.

http://www.fs.usda.gov/activity/arp/recreation/camping-cabins/?recid=28024&actid=34

You can download the map and use it to find the different areas. Add in google earth and you can follow the roads and see the campsites.

Not all of the National forest are the same, even those in the same state may be run differently. We use the South park rangers district when we camp and they are wide open to a point. They prefer you use a clearing that already has a fire pit but if you know where the spurs are, you can find a site a good distance off the trail.

 

[jimindenver]

John, I bet I've seen you and not known it. I can see that Walmart from my house just north of those warehouses on the other side of tower. I have seen a few van dwellers now that I have been here and pay attention. I know I've seen a trailer at the Walmart at I 70 and Quebec for more than a day, I can't say for the others.