Agency-listedUSFSFree

Deep Lake

Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CO · 39.77144, -107.29804

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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

Aerial — USGS / NAIP

Weather outlook

Loading the latest forecast…

Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 10,503 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

WWater0 mi
FFuel15 mi
GGrocery15 mi
HHardware15 mi
MMechanic15 mi
OOutfitter15 mi
RxPharmacy16 mi
ShShower16 mi
@Mail20 mi
+Urgent care24 mi
PPropane26 mi
LLaundry26 mi
DDump39 mi

≤30 mi30–4545+water

The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 15 mi out.

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

10,503 ft

State

Coordinates

39.77144, -107.29804

Cost

Free

Nearby & resupply (OpenStreetMap)

Water featureDeep Lake (water) · nearby
Nearest townCarbonate · ~3.3 mi
Drinking waterDrinking water · ~0.3 mi
FuelFuel · ~16.8 mi
Propane / LPGLPG · ~23.4 mi
GroceriesVitamin Cottage Natural Grocers · ~15.1 mi
PharmacyDowntown Drug · ~15.7 mi
Hospital / clinicValley View Hospital · ~16.5 mi
HardwareACE · ~17.0 mi

Nearby restrooms — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)

Vault / pit toiletDeep Lake Fishing / Picnic Area · ~0.2 mi W · USFS
Vault / pit toiletDeep Lake · ~0.2 mi SW · USFS
RestroomPatterson · ~6.1 mi W · USFS
Vault / pit toiletSweetwater Lake · ~7.5 mi E · USFS

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.

Sweetwater Lake Campground~7.5 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.

White River National Forest →

Snow, and when this opens

The nearest automatic snow station is Bison Lake at 10,950 ft, about 3 miles away. It sits about 447 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.

Bison Lake 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 →Camping with a dog →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 →