Agency-listedUSFSFee
Ansel Watrous
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CO · 40.69073, -105.34439
Ask an AI about this campsiteOpens Grok already loaded with this site. It reads the same records this page is built from, and links whatever it tells you.
Ask about this camp →U.S. Forest Service lists this as a developed campground. Expect marked sites, a fee station or a reservation, and the usual campground rules. The dispersed-camping freedom of the surrounding forest does not apply inside it. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Ansel Watrous
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 5,822 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Ansel WatrousNIFC · AirNow
Checking active fires & air quality…
Active wildfires from NIFC (within ~50 mi); air quality from AirNow. Always confirm current fire restrictions with the managing office before you go.
Everything you need — measured from Ansel Watrous · Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests · CO
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- WWater0 mi
- FFuel8 mi
- GGrocery8 mi
- ShShower9 mi
- HHardware12 mi
- @Mail12 mi
- MMechanic12 mi
- OOutfitter13 mi
- PPropane14 mi
- +Urgent care14 mi
- RxPharmacy14 mi
- LLaundry14 mi
- EVEV fast charger15 mi
- AAir-up16 mi
- DDump24 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 8 mi out.
One dot per need — the nearest of each kind, straight-line from camp. Places from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors); the EV fast charger from the US DOE station locator. Open in Google Maps ↗
The site — Ansel Watrous
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
5,822 ft
State
CO
Coordinates
40.69073, -105.34439
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around Ansel Watrous · Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests · CO (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townLaporte · ~11.1 mi
- Drinking waterWater · ~0.0 mi
- FuelShell · ~8.3 mi
- Propane / LPG7-Eleven · ~14.0 mi
- Dump station~23.9 mi
- GroceriesShell · ~8.3 mi
- PharmacyKing Soopers Pharmacy · ~14.4 mi
- Hospital / clinicSalud Medical Center · ~14.1 mi
- HardwareLaporte Hardware and variety · ~11.7 mi
EV charging — from Ansel Watrous · Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests · CO — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger15.4 mi straight-line SE — Jax Outdoor Gear, Fort Collins, CO · eVgo Network · CHAdeMO, CCS · 1 fast port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-15 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach16 within 25 mi · 86 within 50 · 317 within 100 · 402 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)21.3 mi — Walmart EV Charging, Loveland
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)12.2 mi — LARIMERCOUNTY SOES-1, Fort Collins, CO · ChargePoint Network · J1772 · 1 Level 2 port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Also listed, not counted aboveNACS-only Level 2 — Forks Mercantile & Saloon - Tesla Destination, Livermore, 9.8 mi · NACS (Tesla) · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · AFDC lists it “Free”
Level 2, restricted access — Howling Cow Café, Bellvue, 9.0 mi · J1772 · hours: 24 hours daily; for customers only · AFDC lists it “Free” - Pricing at the fast chargernot listed
- Power (kW)not listed by AFDC — “DC fast” spans roughly 24 to 350 kW, so ask the network.
- Read this honestlyStraight-line miles, like every distance on this site. Roads run longer than this, and you have to get back. We know where a charger is listed. We don’t know if it works today, how fast it is, or the road miles. Check the network before you commit.
Snapshot 2026-09-16 · AFDC record 228450 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Ansel Watrous · Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests · CO — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletAnsel Watrous · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletOuzel · ~0.3 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletDiamond Rock · ~0.7 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletPoudre Park · ~1.0 mi E · USFS
Open Ansel Watrous elsewhere
Other camps near Ansel Watrous
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Stove Prairie Landing~2.8 mi · fee
- Narrows~4.6 mi · fee
- Lower Narrows~4.6 mi
- Dutch George~5.4 mi · fee
The unit that manages Ansel Watrous
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Ansel Watrous are set by Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
How we know this — Ansel Watrous
Source
U.S. Forest Service recreation data
Confidence
Likely — The record is good enough to put a pin on, but thin in places. Treat the details as a starting point, not gospel.
How it was placed
Developed FEE campground (not free) - review | auto:usfs-fee 2026-08-20: US Forest Service developed campground, agency coordinates, agency states a fee. No dollar amount in the agency record -- expect a charge and confirm the current rate before you go. Not field-verified.
EV chargers
US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center station locator, snapshot 2026-09-16. Straight-line miles to the nearest public, open, unrestricted station; restricted and planned units are shown but never counted.
Field check
On the agency's books. The land manager inventoried this site, so its existence is not in question — current conditions are. Nobody from here has camped it recently.
What we don’t know about Ansel Watrous
A land record can put you within a few meters of a spot. It cannot tell you any of this — so check it yourself, and treat anything below as the open question it is.
- Road surface & last-mile access
- How many rigs actually fit
- Cell coverage by carrier
- Seasonal & winter access
- Current fire restrictions
- Whether any water here is drinkable
- Shade & wind exposure
- Noise and who else shows up
- Whether a listed EV charger works today, or the road miles to it
Before you go — Ansel Watrous
What “dispersed” means here →Cold-weather camping →Fire rules & restrictions →Dispersed camping tips →All field notes →
Been here? Tell us what changed. This page is built from public records, so the fastest way it gets better is somebody who has actually pulled in. Road washed out, site gone, gate locked, or it is exactly as described — all of it useful. Send a report →