Agency-listedUSFSFree
Needle Creek Reservoir Camping Area
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CO · 38.35341, -106.55971
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 Needle Creek Reservoir Camping Area
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 8,882 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Needle Creek Reservoir Camping AreaNIFC · 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 Needle Creek Reservoir Camping Area · Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests · CO
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- FFuel9 mi
- GGrocery9 mi
- WWater23 mi
- EVEV fast charger24 mi
- @Mail24 mi
- RxPharmacy24 mi
- MMechanic24 mi
- HHardware24 mi
- LLaundry24 mi
- DDump25 mi
- +Urgent care29 mi
- OOutfitter32 mi
- AAir-up33 mi
- ShShower42 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 23-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 9 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 — Needle Creek Reservoir Camping Area
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
8,882 ft
State
CO
Coordinates
38.35341, -106.55971
Cost
Free · dispersed public land, no fee in any source
Nearby & resupply — around Needle Creek Reservoir Camping Area · Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests · CO (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureNeedle Creek (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townDoyleville · ~7.3 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~8.6 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~25.0 mi
- GroceriesSafeway · ~24.0 mi
- PharmacyPharmacy · ~24.1 mi
- Hospital / clinicGunnison Valley Hospital · ~24.0 mi
- HardwareTrue Value · ~24.2 mi
EV charging — from Needle Creek Reservoir Camping Area · Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests · CO — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger23.8 mi straight-line NW — GUNNISON GUNNISON PL2 · ChargePoint Network · CHAdeMO, CCS · 1 fast port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach2 within 25 mi · 14 within 50 · 118 within 100 · 440 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)28.4 mi — Poncha Springs, CO - Tesla Supercharger, Poncha Springs
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)8.6 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 346789 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Needle Creek Reservoir Camping Area · Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests · CO — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletNeedle Creek Reservoir · at this camp · USFS
- RestroomCochetopa Restroom #1 · ~11.5 mi W · BLM
- Vault / pit toiletBuffalo Pass · ~11.6 mi S · USFS
- RestroomCochetopa Restroom #6 · ~11.7 mi W · BLM
Open Needle Creek Reservoir Camping Area elsewhere
Other camps near Needle Creek Reservoir Camping Area
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Needle Creek Reservoir~0.1 mi
- Buffalo Pass Campground~11.9 mi
- Luders Creek~12.1 mi · fee
- Snowblind Campground~14.0 mi
The unit that manages Needle Creek Reservoir Camping Area
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Needle Creek Reservoir Camping Area 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 Sargents Mesa at 11,490 ft, about 11 miles away. It sits about 2,608 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 — Needle Creek Reservoir Camping Area
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 Needle Creek Reservoir Camping Area
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 — Needle Creek Reservoir Camping Area
When the high country opens →Winter vs summer roads →Camping near a reservoir →Reading your camp page →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 →