Agency-listedUSFSFree
Mirror Lake Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CO · 38.74741, -106.43182
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
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at the elevation shown above.
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
- GGrocery6 mi
- FFuel8 mi
- WWater11 mi
- HHardware17 mi
- @Mail17 mi
- LLaundry17 mi
- +Urgent care17 mi
- OOutfitter17 mi
- ShShower18 mi
- DDump19 mi
- MMechanic27 mi
- RxPharmacy28 mi
- AAir-up28 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 6 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
State
CO
Coordinates
38.74741, -106.43182
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply (OpenStreetMap)
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~8.5 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~18.9 mi
- GroceriesSt. Elmo General Store · ~5.6 mi
- PharmacySalida Pharmacy & Fountain · ~27.9 mi
- Hospital / clinicValley Wide Buena Vista · ~17.4 mi
- HardwareAce Hardware · ~17.3 mi
Nearby restrooms — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletMirror Lake · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletGarden Basin · ~0.3 mi NW · USFS
- RestroomCottonwood Pass · ~5.7 mi N · USFS
- RestroomGrizzly Gulch · ~5.8 mi SE · USFS
Open this spot elsewhere
Other camps nearby
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Stage Stop Meadows Dispersed Camping Area~7.3 mi
- Quartz Creek Campground~7.8 mi
- Middle Quartz Creek Campground~8.7 mi
- Gold Creek Campground~10.0 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.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Saint Elmo at 10,420 ft, about 5 miles away. 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
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 near a reservoir →Water on public land →What “dispersed” means here →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 →