American Adventurer
Agency-listedUSFSFree

Spruce Campground

Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CO · 38.04709, -107.11736
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
USGS topographic map of Spruce Campground
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Aerial image of Spruce Campground
XFacebookReddit
Weather outlook
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 9,335 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

15 MI30 MI60 MIYOUR CAMPN ↑Water · 17 miWDump · 11 miDSportsmen's BBQ Station · Fuel · 11 miFCountry Store Grocery · Grocery · 10 miGPharmacy · 36 miRxOuray Hardware and Mercantile · Hardware · 30 miHGunnison Tire & Auto · Mechanic · 36 miMLaundry · 11 miLShower · 32 miShAir-up · 59 miALake City Area Medical Center · Urgent care · 11 mi+Outfitter · 17 miOPowderhorn Post Office · Mail · 16 mi@
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
  • GGrocery10 mi
  • LLaundry11 mi
  • +Urgent care11 mi
  • DDump11 mi
  • FFuel11 mi
  • @Mail16 mi
  • OOutfitter17 mi
  • WWater17 mi
  • HHardware30 mi
  • ShShower32 mi
  • MMechanic36 mi
  • RxPharmacy36 mi
  • AAir-up59 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water

The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 10 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
9,335 ft
State
CO
Coordinates
38.04709, -107.11736
Cost
Free

Nearby & resupply (OpenStreetMap)

  • Water featureCebolla Creek (stream) · nearby
  • Nearest townLake City · ~10.9 mi
  • Drinking waternone within 10 mi
  • FuelFuel · ~17.3 mi
  • Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
  • Dump station~10.8 mi
  • GroceriesGet Some Groceries · ~10.9 mi
  • Hospital / clinicLake City Area Medical Center · ~10.6 mi

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

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 Slumgullion at 11,560 ft, about 6 miles away. It sits about 2,225 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.

Slumgullion 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.

Before you go

Camping at altitude →When the high country opens →Winter vs summer roads →Gear & rig loadout →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 →