I am a wannabe RVer. My "RV" is a volvo 850 station wagon. The seats fold down and the "awning" can be held up with sticks and a prayer. I want to go boondocking in Colorado this june or july. I only get a few vacation days a year and want to actually find a good place to go. Since I know few of you will give up your best spots! Anyone want to post some colorado boondocking photos and PM me with the location My requirements are within hiking distance to good fishing (fly fishing in particular) and quiet, no people, no nothing- I need to detox from life for a few days before returning to the rat race and dreaming of getting a real RV. Will send a case of beer or wine to anyone whose spot provides the perfect vacation!
I've always found the Upper Arkansas Valley to be some of the best boondocking.
Specifically around Clear Creek Reservoir north of Buena Vista. Also Cottonwood Lake west of Buena Vista has some excellent spots.
You can also find good spots on the Marshall Pass road, behind (north) O'Havre Lake between Salida and Sargents.
It's easy to find many spots, with good fishing and hiking, in the whole Upper Arkansas Valley.
Rich,and Tobi (the rescued dog)
Prowler 5ver, 84 Ford F250 KCOCOLOR78 Weather
Colo. Spgs. CO
Pick a spot and do your homework on the area. Brook trout will yeild the most fun for your short vacation. There easy to catch on a fly, put up a good fight, and can be easyly returned to the water, if that's what you want or taste really good. Always fish upstream wearing sunglasses.
I would pick a area in S.central, SW or NW, 60miles away from any major towns, streams only. That should only give you a choice of under 1000 places or so
Have fun!
T_Bone
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32ft RKSS Serria
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You've got a tough question there. The biggest problem is finding a place that is away from people that you can drive to with a Volvo 850. There are just so many people in the CO mountains in June and July that it's tough to get away from them. However, if you can go on weekdays and avoid Friday and Saturday nights, you will find some solitude.
One area mentioned by NGRRFan is the upper Arkansas River Valley. There's some good boondocking above Cottonwood Lake CG, but after the first few miles, the road condition may deteriorate too much for your wagon. I've seen some good sized fish come out of that lake. Just above the lake for a distance is some good fly fishing. Lots of tall willows can make the access a little difficult in places, and take your waders as there are hidden pools you accidentally step in.
West of Leadville, we also like to go up Halfmoon Creek. There a mile or two section around the entrance to the canyon that is rough (not difficult to drive, just not very smooth) but further up the road conditions improve and there's lots of boondocking along both sides of the road. Once past the irrigation dam the river has some slower stretches back in the trees. There are also a couple of NF CG's up there a ways. Once you get a mile or so past the trailheads to Mt. Elbert and Mt. Massive, the road again deteriorates and you probably won't want to drive much further. There's a little lake right near the road (Emerald Lake) that can be pretty productive, although on weekends it's quite busy. Above the Mt. Massive trailhead, the river valley opens up and there are lots of ponds along the meandering stream. Never fished there, but it looks inviting. (BTW, in the evening, take a trip into Leadville and try Rosie's Brewpub).
Another great area is north of Gunnison in the area around Taylor Park Reservoir. The fly fishing can be quite good where Willow Creek flows into the reservoir. Above Tincup, the road to Mirror Lake has some boondocking (and fishing in East Willow Creek) on it before you get to Mirror Lake. Mirror Lake can also be quite productive as well. Also above Tincup (south), West Willow Creek has numerous beaver ponds. Take the road toward Cumberland Pass. You can also park at the first switchback and hike up the creek from there for a mile or so. It's away from the road so it gets less fishing pressure, but lots of pools. There's also more boondocking and fishing on the road heading north from Taylor Park Reservoir. (There's also some NF CG's along this stretch of road.)
BTW, quite of few of these roads are graded gravel -- easy enough but if you're not one to take your car off of pavement . . .
Along the Cache La Poudre River, CO area there are tons of places to boon-dock. The DH and I have been there many times and never have to worry about 'finding' a place to camp.
Nothing is provided....no pit toilets or anything. Go online and check out BML lands in that area.
You might come across this area we and DH with friends have camped in:
My 2 cents worth: Sounds a bit silly, but choose a general area and follow the front of your car where it leads you. Paved roads are fine, but don't ignore the dirt roads that are marked on the maps as ok for passenger cars. One of my all time favorites is the one north of Silverton to Animas Forks. It's very nice for 2/3rds, and the last 3rd slows down a low ground clearance car like my VW. The side road up Cunningham Gulch is also nice and smooth.
When in doubt about the condition of the road ahead, get out and explore on foot, or ride a bike to make faster headway. Strap one on your Volvo or get one of those fold-up bikes to keep inside, you won't regret it. I've been exploring the Colorado Rockies for 20 summers on my own now in two different hatchback cars. Might have to do one more if my Chalet isn't 100% fixed up by July....
Don't know beans about fly fishing, but maybe there's a few flies to be caught in Clear Lake
Photo below is an area just off the summit of Red Mountain Pass between Silverton and Ouray.
This is mine, they're rare and I'm trying to document every one still in existence. Seen one? PM me with a location, contact info, and or photo.
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My requirements are within hiking distance to good fishing (fly fishing in particular) and quiet, no people, no nothing- I need to detox from life for a few days before returning to the rat race and dreaming of getting a real RV. Will send a case of beer or wine to anyone whose spot provides the perfect vacation!
MonaK 
