Agency-listedUSFSFeeRoad season: open (MVUM)
South Mineral Cg
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CO · 37.80561, -107.77511
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 as a developed campground. Expect marked sites, a fee station or a reservation, and the usual campground rules. The dispersed-camping freedom of the surrounding forest does not apply inside it. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.
Nearest road on the Forest Service MVUM — South Mineral Cg · San Juan National Forest · CO
The nearest road on the Forest Service MVUM is FR 700 (South Mineral Cg), 30 ft from the pin. The MVUM lists it as crushed aggregate or gravel surface and maintenance level 3 – suitable for passenger cars.
Road season: open (MVUM) The MVUM lists FR 700 (South Mineral Cg), 30 ft from the pin, open to passenger vehicles year-round.
MVUM record for FR 700 (South Mineral Cg): “01/01-12/31” Read against the calendar on 2026-09-22; with JavaScript your browser re-checks it against today.
From the Forest Service's own Motor Vehicle Use Map roads layer (EDW, Clearinghouse refresh Aug 30, 2026), straight-line from the pin to the nearest mapped segment. The nearest segment is not necessarily the way in, a maintenance level is the agency's class and not a report on today, and a road's season is the road's — it is not a campground order. What the levels mean → What an MVUM is →
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at South Mineral Cg
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 9,842 ft.
Fire & smoke — around South Mineral CgNIFC · 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 South Mineral Cg · San Juan National Forest · CO
▲ your camp. Rings are 15, 30 and 60 straight-line miles; bearings are approximate and roads run longer.
Nearest of each
- FFuel6 mi
- GGrocery6 mi
- @Mail6 mi
- WWater6 mi
- ShShower6 mi
- OOutfitter9 mi
- HHardware9 mi
- RxPharmacy9 mi
- EVEV fast charger10 mi
- +Urgent care12 mi
- DDump19 mi
- LLaundry19 mi
- MMechanic38 mi
- PPropane40 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 6 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 — South Mineral Cg
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
9,842 ft
Ground slope
4% · gentle
Nearest rail line
~5.8 mi · main line
State
CO
Coordinates
37.80561, -107.77511
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around South Mineral Cg · San Juan National Forest · CO (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureSouth Fork Mineral Creek · ~0.1 mi · USGS: perennial stream
- Nearest townOphir · ~4.7 mi
- Nearest rail line~5.8 mi · main line
- Nearest highwayno interstate or US route within 10 mi
- Drinking waterWater · ~6.4 mi
- FuelConoco · ~5.7 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~19.4 mi
- GroceriesConoco · ~5.7 mi
- PharmacySunshine Pharmacy · ~9.4 mi
- Hospital / clinicMercy Medical Clinic · ~12.4 mi
- HardwareTimberline Ace Hardware · ~9.3 mi
EV charging — from South Mineral Cg · San Juan National Forest · CO — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger9.8 mi straight-line NW — Mountain Village, CO - Tesla Supercharger · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 8 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. NACS partner enabled. · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach5 within 25 mi · 18 within 50 · 62 within 100 · 144 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS12.2 mi — PURGATORY PURGATORY PL2, Durango
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO12.2 mi — PURGATORY PURGATORY PL2, Durango
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)6.1 mi — The Wyman Hotel - Tesla Destination, Silverton, CO · Tesla Destination · J1772, NACS (Tesla) · 4 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-08-27 · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to all vehicles.
- 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 201303 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around South Mineral Cg · San Juan National Forest · CO — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletSouth Mineral Cg · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletSouth Mineral Dispersed Area · ~3.5 mi E · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletLittle Molas Dispersed Campground · ~5.5 mi SE · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletPriest Lake · ~6.1 mi W · USFS
Coming out here — South Mineral Cg · San Juan National Forest · CO
- Surface water mapped nearby: USGS maps South Fork Mineral Creek as a perennial stream, ~0.1 mi from the pin (National Hydrography Dataset, data refreshed October 2022). Mapped as perennial is not the same as flowing today. Nobody has checked it for you. Filter or boil anything you drink.
- Ground slope around the pin: about 4% — gentle. Measured on USGS's 3DEP elevation model (1 m data here), sampled every 10 metres around the point. That is the hillside, not the ground under your wheels — a graded pullout or a bench a few metres across is too small to show up at that spacing, and nobody has checked this one for you.
- Rail line mapped ~5.8 mi from the pin — the national rail atlas classes it as a main line. The atlas also records tourist, museum or scenic passenger service on it. That is the FRA/BTS North American Rail Network (data updated Jul 21, 2026), which records that a line is there and what class of track it is. Whether anything runs on it, how often, and at what hour, it does not say, and nobody has checked this one for you.
- No interstate or US route is mapped within 10 mi of the pin in the Census's TIGER/Line primary roads (TIGER/Line 2025, released Oct 2025). That file holds the divided, limited-access highways only — a state expressway or a two-lane US route near this camp would not be in it.
- 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 South Mineral Cg elsewhere
Other camps near South Mineral Cg
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- South Mineral Dispersed Area~3.5 mi
- Little Molas Lake Campground~5.5 mi
- Priest Lake Designated Camping Area~6.1 mi
- Matterhorn Campground~6.4 mi · fee
The unit that manages South Mineral Cg
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at South Mineral Cg are set by San Juan National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Mineral Creek at 10,030 ft, about 4 miles 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 — South Mineral Cg
Source
U.S. Forest Service recreation data
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
Developed FEE campground (not free) - review | auto:usfs-fee 2026-08-20: US Forest Service developed campground, agency coordinates, agency states a fee. No dollar amount in the agency record -- expect a charge and confirm the current rate before you go. Not field-verified. | Fee 2026-08-21: $40 per night, single site, maximum 8 people per site. The 2026 recreation.gov season (May 22 to Sep 19) lists the same $40. Page updated Aug 3 2026 and flagged Site Open. Source: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r02/sanjuan/recreation/south-mineral-campground.
Nearest MVUM road
US Forest Service Motor Vehicle Use Map roads layer (EDW_MVUM_01, layer 1), Clearinghouse refresh Aug 30, 2026. Straight-line distance from the pin to the nearest mapped segment within 1 mi; surface type, maintenance level and open dates are the agency's own values for that segment, expanded from its codes and otherwise unedited. Nothing here says which road reaches the site.
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 South Mineral Cg
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.
- Whether that MVUM road is the way in, and the last stretch beyond it
- Whether the site itself closes on its own schedule — only the road's season is on record
- How many rigs actually fit
- Cell coverage by carrier
- 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 — South Mineral Cg
Camping at altitude →When the high country opens →Winter vs summer roads →Getting unstuck →All field notes →