Agency-listedUSFSFree

Columbine Campground

Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CO · 38.42498, -108.38176

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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

USGS topographic map of Columbine Campground

Aerial — USGS / NAIP

Weather outlook

Loading the latest forecast…

Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 9,071 ft.

Fire & smokeNIFC · 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 camp

Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer

Nearest of each

FFuel18 mi
GGrocery18 mi
@Mail18 mi
WWater25 mi
MMechanic27 mi
HHardware28 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). Open in Google Maps ↗

The site

Access

Drive-up

Land

U.S. Forest Service

Elevation

9,071 ft

State

Coordinates

38.42498, -108.38176

Cost

Free

Nearby & resupply (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

Nearby restrooms — 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 this spot elsewhere

Google satellite →Gaia GPS →CalTopo →Back to the map →

Other camps nearby

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 this camp

Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions are set by the unit, not by the campsite — check there before you go.

Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests →

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.

Columbine Pass snowpack, from NRCS →

How we know this

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.

How it was placed

auto: drive (road/trail right there)

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

A land record can put you within a few metres 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

Before you go

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 →