Agency-listedUSFS · dispersedFree
Trail Creek Camping Area
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CO · 37.26420, -106.47054
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 Trail Creek Camping Area
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at the elevation shown above.
Fire & smoke — around Trail Creek 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 Trail Creek Camping Area · Rio Grande National Forest · CO
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- @Mail20 mi
- EVEV fast charger23 mi
- DDump25 mi
- +Urgent care25 mi
- FFuel26 mi
- RxPharmacy27 mi
- GGrocery27 mi
- HHardware27 mi
- MMechanic28 mi
- LLaundry28 mi
- WWater30 mi
- OOutfitter33 mi
- AAir-up39 mi
- ShShower49 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 30-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 26 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 — Trail Creek Camping Area
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service · dispersed
State
CO
Coordinates
37.26420, -106.47054
Cost
Free
Nearby & resupply — around Trail Creek Camping Area · Rio Grande National Forest · CO (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureValdez Creek (stream) · nearby
- Nearest townPlatoro · ~7.0 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~25.7 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~25.3 mi
- GroceriesStore · ~5.5 mi
- PharmacyPharmacy · ~26.9 mi
- Hospital / clinicChama Dunham Memorial Clinic · ~25.3 mi
- HardwareAce Hardware · ~27.2 mi
EV charging — from Trail Creek Camping Area · Rio Grande National Forest · CO — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger22.8 mi straight-line NW — WCSA LEVEL 3 ESP250, Pagosa Springs, CO · 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 reach1 within 25 mi · 18 within 50 · 71 within 100 · 203 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)29.8 mi — CENTENNIAL PARK PAGOSA SPGS PL2, Pagosa Springs
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)22.8 mi — WCSA LEVEL 2 - RIGHT, Pagosa Springs, CO · ChargePoint Network · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · 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 191393 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Trail Creek Camping Area · Rio Grande National Forest · CO — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- RestroomValdez · ~0.3 mi SE · USFS
- RestroomUpper South Fork · ~2.1 mi S · USFS
- RestroomLower South Fork · ~2.3 mi S · USFS
- RestroomBear Lake · ~2.3 mi NW · USFS
Open Trail Creek Camping Area elsewhere
Other camps near Trail Creek Camping Area
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Lake Fork Campground~3.1 mi
- Conejos Campground~6.6 mi
- Spectacle Lake Campground~7.0 mi
- Mix Lake Campground~7.7 mi · fee
The unit that manages Trail Creek Camping Area
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Trail Creek Camping Area are set by Rio Grande National Forest, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Lily Pond at 11,070 ft, about 9 miles away. 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 — Trail Creek Camping Area
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
USFS/BLM authoritative: free & dispersed. Access not field-checked (assumed drive-up).
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 Trail Creek 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 — Trail Creek Camping Area
Finding water out here →What “dispersed” means here →Reading a forest MVUM →Dispersed camping tips →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 →