Agency-listedUSFSFree
Columbine Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CO · 38.42498, -108.38176
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 site. On most of their ground you can camp away from developed sites pretty much anywhere — so treat this as a known-good spot, not the only one allowed. The unit sets stay limits and how far off road and water you must be. 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 Columbine Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 9,071 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Columbine 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 Columbine Campground · Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests · CO
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel18 mi
- GGrocery18 mi
- @Mail18 mi
- WWater25 mi
- MMechanic27 mi
- HHardware28 mi
- EVEV fast charger28 mi
- RxPharmacy28 mi
- ShShower28 mi
- +Urgent care28 mi
- LLaundry28 mi
- OOutfitter28 mi
- DDump44 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 25-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 18 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 — Columbine Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
9,071 ft
State
CO
Coordinates
38.42498, -108.38176
Cost
Free · Forest Service inventory: no fee
Nearby & resupply — around Columbine Campground · Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests · CO (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureMonitor Creek (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townNucla · ~14.0 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~17.6 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- GroceriesClark's market · ~20.9 mi
- PharmacyHartman Brothers · ~27.7 mi
- Hospital / clinicHospital · ~27.7 mi
- HardwareDelta Hardware · ~28.0 mi
EV charging — from Columbine Campground · Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests · CO — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger27.5 mi straight-line NE — DELTA LIBRARY 1 PUBLIC PARKING · ChargePoint Network · CCS · 2 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · 28 within 50 · 73 within 100 · 144 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)27.6 mi — Montrose, CO - N 1st St - Tesla Supercharger, Montrose
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO27.6 mi — MONTROSE EV 1 MONTROSE PL1, Montrose
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)14.4 mi — SMPA NUCLA · 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 349042 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Columbine Campground · Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests · CO — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletColumbine Pass · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletColumbine · ~0.2 mi E · USFS
- RestroomLedges Cottonwood Restroom · ~12.3 mi S · BLM
- RestroomLedges Rockhouse Restroom · ~13.1 mi S · BLM
Open Columbine Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Columbine Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Columbine~0.2 mi
- Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area~10.7 mi
- Antone Spring~12.8 mi
- Iron Springs Campground~14.0 mi
The unit that manages Columbine Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Columbine Campground are set by Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Columbine Pass at 9,160 ft, less than a mile away. That is about the height of this camp, so it is a fair proxy. 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 — Columbine 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 Columbine 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 — Columbine Campground
Camping at altitude →When the high country opens →Winter vs summer roads →Power off-grid →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 →