Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedUnpriced · confirm
Ripple Creek Pass
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CO · 40.11193, -107.29780
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 Ripple Creek Pass
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 10,331 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Ripple Creek PassNIFC · 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 Ripple Creek Pass · White River National Forest · CO
▲ your camp. Rings are 15, 30 and 60 straight-line miles; bearings are approximate and roads run longer.
Nearest of each
- GGrocery8 mi
- WWater8 mi
- ShShower8 mi
- FFuel21 mi
- @Mail21 mi
- DDump26 mi
- OOutfitter28 mi
- MMechanic30 mi
- +Urgent care31 mi
- RxPharmacy31 mi
- HHardware31 mi
- LLaundry36 mi
- PPropane49 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 8 mi out.
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 — Ripple Creek Pass
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
Elevation
10,331 ft
State
CO
Coordinates
40.11193, -107.29780
Cost
Unpriced — no source gives a price; assume it may cost something and confirm before you go
Nearby & resupply — around Ripple Creek Pass · White River National Forest · CO (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureWater · mapped within 1.6 mi
- Nearest townDunckley · ~14.1 mi
- Drinking waterDrinking water · ~8.3 mi
- FuelFuel · ~21.0 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~26.0 mi
- GroceriesMarina Store · ~26.2 mi
- Hospital / clinicPioneers Medical Center · ~31.2 mi
Nearby restrooms — around Ripple Creek Pass · White River National Forest · CO — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- RestroomRipple Creek Overlook · ~1.2 mi SW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletVaughan Lake · ~2.5 mi NE · USFS
- RestroomMirror Lake · ~3.5 mi S · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletEast Fork · ~4.9 mi NE · USFS
Coming out here — Ripple Creek Pass · White River National Forest · CO
- Surface water mapped nearby: Water. That is wash water at best, and nobody has checked it for you — a creek can be dry and a tank can be mud. Filter or boil anything you drink.
- Assume no services at all. Most dispersed camping in a national forest has none: no tap, no power, no dump, often no toilet. Everything you need, you bring.
- Power: Dave carries his own — batteries or solar. A generator will run your rig and it is also the thing everybody camped near you can hear.
- Getting online: Dave recommends Starlink. He has had it since SpaceX introduced it, used it for four years living on the road, and it delivers as promised — several hundred nights out, and he can count on one hand the places he could not connect. The cable on his unit runs 150 feet, which is usually all it takes to find enough sky. Starlink → Referral link — Starlink pays Dave $100 in cash if you sign up through it, and that money funds this site and the next trip. It costs you nothing and does not change the recommendation.
Open Ripple Creek Pass elsewhere
Other camps near Ripple Creek Pass
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Vaughan Lake~2.5 mi · fee
- Himes Peak~6.0 mi · fee
- North Fork Cg~8.1 mi · fee
- Shepherds Rim / Trappers Lake~8.6 mi · fee
The unit that manages Ripple Creek Pass
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Ripple Creek Pass are set by White River National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Ripple Creek at 10,340 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.
How we know this — Ripple Creek Pass
Area rules
Dispersed camping is prohibited within 1/4 mile of the Ripple Creek Overlook interpretive site. No camping within 100' of lakes, streams and Forest System trails.
Source
public land records
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
USFS Recreation Area Activities, activity 'Dispersed Camping', pulled 2026-09-19: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/whiteriver/recarea/?recid=64824 || REVIEW 2026-09-24 (nightshift-verified): The recid URL above now 301s to the forest's recreation landing page (a made-up recid does the same). Live page https://www.fs.usda.gov/r02/whiteriver/recreation/ripple-creek-pass (read 2026-09-24): 'Many dispersed camping sites are available along the Byway near the Ripple Creek Overlook.' 'Dispersed camping is prohibited within 1/4 mile of the Ripple Creek Overlook interpretive site. No camping within 100' of lakes, streams and Forest System trails.' Road not plowed in winter. APPROVED: the page confirms dispersed camping along the Flat Tops Byway here. Checked against the no-camping ring: the Overlook page (https://www.fs.usda.gov/r02/whiteriver/recreation/ripple-creek-overlook-interpretive-site) puts it at 40.096405,-107.308278, 1.9 km from this pin -- well outside 1/4 mile. Pin is 117 m from MVUM spur 284.4 'SUMMIT CAMP'. No fee stated -> unpriced. Nearest published camp #13305 Vaughan Lake 4 km.
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 Ripple Creek Pass
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 — Ripple Creek Pass
Camping at altitude →When the high country opens →Winter vs summer roads →Picking a spot →All field notes →