Agency-listedUSFSFree

Quartz Creek Campground

Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CO · 38.63817, -106.46853

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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 Quartz Creek Campground

Aerial — USGS / NAIP

Weather outlook

Loading the latest forecast…

Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 9,859 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

GGrocery8 mi
FFuel14 mi
WWater16 mi
LLaundry17 mi
HHardware23 mi
+Urgent care23 mi
OOutfitter23 mi
@Mail23 mi
ShShower23 mi
DDump24 mi
RxPharmacy25 mi
MMechanic26 mi
AAir-up27 mi

≤30 mi30–4545+water

The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 8 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

9,859 ft

State

Coordinates

38.63817, -106.46853

Cost

Free

Nearby & resupply (OpenStreetMap)

Water featureNorth Quartz Creek (stream) · nearby
Nearest townPitkin · ~3.3 mi
Drinking waternone within 10 mi
FuelFuel · ~13.5 mi
Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
Dump station~23.8 mi
GroceriesStore · ~17.3 mi
PharmacyPharmacy · ~25.4 mi
Hospital / clinicHospital · ~22.9 mi
HardwareTrue Value · ~22.9 mi

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

Vault / pit toiletQuartz · at this camp · USFS
Vault / pit toiletMiddle Quartz · ~2.5 mi SE · USFS
Vault / pit toiletPitkin · ~2.6 mi SW · USFS
Vault / pit toiletGold Creek · ~5.9 mi W · 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.

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 Saint Elmo at 10,420 ft, about 7 miles away. It sits about 561 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.

Saint Elmo 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 →Off-grid communication →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 →