Agency-listedUSFSUnpriced · confirm
Ward Lake Campground
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CO · 39.03753, -107.98213
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.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Ward Lake Campground
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 10,119 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Ward Lake CampgroundNIFC · 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 Ward Lake Campground · Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests · CO
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- EVEV fast charger10 mi
- @Mail12 mi
- +Urgent care12 mi
- FFuel13 mi
- GGrocery13 mi
- DDump15 mi
- ShShower15 mi
- HHardware20 mi
- MMechanic21 mi
- LLaundry21 mi
- RxPharmacy21 mi
- WWater25 mi
- OOutfitter31 mi
- PPropane48 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is a real 25-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 13 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 — Ward Lake Campground
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
10,119 ft
State
CO
Coordinates
39.03753, -107.98213
Cost
Unpriced — no source gives a price; assume it may cost something and confirm before you go
Nearby & resupply — around Ward Lake Campground · Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests · CO (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureWard Lake (water) · nearby
- Nearest townGrand Mesa · ~1.0 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~12.7 mi
- Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
- Dump station~15.3 mi
- GroceriesSafeway · ~20.2 mi
- PharmacyPalisade Pharmacy · ~20.8 mi
- Hospital / clinicMarilac Clinic · ~20.8 mi
- HardwareDelta Hardware · ~20.5 mi
EV charging — from Ward Lake Campground · Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests · CO — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger10.2 mi straight-line S — SCVHISTSOC PIONEER TOWN 1, Cedaredge, CO · ChargePoint Network · CCS, NACS (Tesla) · 1 fast port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach5 within 25 mi · 43 within 50 · 86 within 100 · 171 within 150
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO20.9 mi — City of Delta, Delta
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)20.4 mi — DELTA HEALTH EV-EAST · 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 332130 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Ward Lake Campground · Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests · CO — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletWard Lake · ~0.3 mi NE · USFS
- Flush restroomGrand Mesa Visitor Center · ~0.3 mi NW · USFS
- RestroomValley View · ~0.3 mi NW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletCobbett Lake · ~0.4 mi NW · USFS
Open Ward Lake Campground elsewhere
Other camps near Ward Lake Campground
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Ward Lake~0.3 mi · fee
- Cobbett Campground~0.3 mi · fee
- Little Bear~0.9 mi · fee
- Island Lake Campground~1.6 mi
The unit that manages Ward Lake Campground
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Ward Lake Campground are set by Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Mesa Lakes at 10,160 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 — Ward Lake Campground
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.
Agency page
fs.usda.gov — the land manager's own page for this site. Fees, seasons and closures are stated there first; if it disagrees with this page, it wins.
How it was placed
auto: drive (road/trail right there)
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 Ward Lake Campground
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 — Ward Lake Campground
Camping at altitude →When the high country opens →Winter vs summer roads →Getting unstuck →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 →