Agency-listedUSFSFee
Blue Lake
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CO · 37.31263, -105.13871
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 Blue Lake
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 10,513 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Blue LakeNIFC · 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 Blue Lake · Pike and San Isabel National Forests · CO
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- GGrocery13 mi
- FFuel15 mi
- +Urgent care15 mi
- LLaundry15 mi
- MMechanic15 mi
- @Mail15 mi
- EVEV fast charger16 mi
- HHardware18 mi
- DDump27 mi
- AAir-up35 mi
- WWater36 mi
- ShShower36 mi
- OOutfitter43 mi
- RxPharmacy44 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 36-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 13 mi out.
Not within 60 mi: Propane. Plan those before you head up.
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 — Blue Lake
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
10,513 ft
State
CO
Coordinates
37.31263, -105.13871
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around Blue Lake · Pike and San Isabel National Forests · CO (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townStonewall Gap · ~12.0 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelTrailhead General Store · ~14.7 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~27.0 mi
- GroceriesPicket Wire Convenience · ~12.9 mi
- Hospital / clinicHospital · ~14.7 mi
- HardwareHardware · ~17.8 mi
EV charging — from Blue Lake · Pike and San Isabel National Forests · CO — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger15.5 mi straight-line NE — La Veta Country Store (at a public site) · RED_E · CCS · 2 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: not listed · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach1 within 25 mi · 16 within 50 · 69 within 100 · 172 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)29.3 mi — Walsenburg, CO, Walsenburg
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO30.2 mi — George's Drive Inn, Walsenburg
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)17.8 mi — HISTORYCO FG MUSEUM SOUTH, Fort Garland, CO · ChargePoint Network · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
- 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 320689 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Blue Lake · Pike and San Isabel National Forests · CO — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletBlue Lake · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletBlue Lake · ~0.3 mi N · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletBear Lake · ~0.9 mi N · USFS
- RestroomBear Lake · ~0.9 mi N · USFS
Open Blue Lake elsewhere
Other camps near Blue Lake
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Bear Lake~0.9 mi · fee
- Purgatoire~4.4 mi · fee
- San Isabel National Forest~5.1 mi
- Cordova Pass~6.7 mi · fee
The unit that manages Blue Lake
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Blue Lake are set by Pike and San Isabel National Forests, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Apishapa at 10,000 ft, about 4 miles away. It sits about 513 ft lower than this camp, so treat it as a guide rather than a reading for this spot. We do not repeat a depth here, because any number we stored would be stale by the time you read it — the station publishes today's.
How we know this — Blue Lake
Area rules
First-come first-served sites must be occupied the first night
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. | Fee 2026-08-27: $25 per night per site for overnight camping, with two vehicles or one RV included and a third vehicle at $10. Cash, check or money order into a self-service fee tube; first-come first-served sites must be occupied the first night. Confirmed by two sources: the Pike-San Isabel NF campground page (updated Feb 3 2026) and recreation.gov facility 254082 'Blue Lake Campground - San Isabel NF (CO)', which charges $25 in peak, off-peak and walk-in seasons alike and sits 0.043 mi from this pin. Source: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r02/psicc/recreation/blue-lake-campground and https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/254082.
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 Blue Lake
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 — Blue Lake
Camping at altitude →When the high country opens →Winter vs summer roads →Reading your camp page →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 →