Agency-listedUSFSUnpriced · confirm
Buffalo Pass Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CO · 38.18498, -106.51703
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 Buffalo Pass Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 9,122 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Buffalo Pass CampgroundNIFC · 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 Buffalo Pass Campground · Rio Grande National Forest · CO
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- GGrocery16 mi
- FFuel16 mi
- +Urgent care22 mi
- @Mail22 mi
- WWater31 mi
- LLaundry31 mi
- OOutfitter32 mi
- EVEV fast charger33 mi
- HHardware33 mi
- MMechanic34 mi
- RxPharmacy34 mi
- DDump35 mi
- AAir-up37 mi
- ShShower38 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 31-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 16 mi out, the nearest EV fast charger is a 33-mi run (and back).
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 — Buffalo Pass Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
9,122 ft
State
CO
Coordinates
38.18498, -106.51703
Cost
Unpriced — no source gives a price; assume it may cost something and confirm before you go
Nearby & resupply — around Buffalo Pass Campground · Rio Grande National Forest · CO (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureEast Pass Creek (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townSargents · ~16.1 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~16.3 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesSaguache Town Market · ~21.5 mi
EV charging — from Buffalo Pass Campground · Rio Grande National Forest · CO — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger32.9 mi straight-line NE — Poncha Springs, CO - Tesla Supercharger (at a gas station) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 8 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · 17 within 50 · 85 within 100 · 418 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS33.3 mi — GUNNISON GUNNISON PL2, Gunnison
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO33.3 mi — GUNNISON GUNNISON PL2, Gunnison
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)16.2 mi — Tomichi Creek Trading Post, Sargents, CO (at a restaurant) · Non-Networked · J1772 · 1 Level 2 port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2024-11-06 · 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 122271 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Buffalo Pass Campground · Rio Grande National Forest · CO — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletBuffalo Pass · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletBuffalo Pass · ~0.4 mi NE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletLuders Creek · ~3.6 mi W · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletUpper Crossing Guard Station · ~4.6 mi SE · USFS
Open Buffalo Pass Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Buffalo Pass Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Luders Creek~3.6 mi · fee
- Needle Creek Reservoir~11.9 mi
- Needle Creek Reservoir Camping Area~11.9 mi
- Salt House~12.5 mi
The unit that manages Buffalo Pass Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Buffalo Pass Campground are set by Rio Grande National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Cochetopa Pass at 10,020 ft, about 5 miles away. It sits about 898 ft higher 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 — Buffalo Pass Campground
Source
OpenStreetMap contributors
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.
Agency page
fs.usda.gov — the land manager's own page for this site. Fees, seasons and closures are stated there first; if it disagrees with this page, it wins.
How it was placed
auto: drive (road/trail right there)
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 Buffalo Pass Campground
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 — Buffalo Pass Campground
Camping at altitude →When the high country opens →Winter vs summer roads →Reading the aerial →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 →