Agency-listedUSFSFee
West Lake
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CO · 40.78876, -105.56827
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 West Lake
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 8,212 ft.
Fire & smoke — around West LakeNIFC · 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 West Lake · Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests · CO
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- WWater0 mi
- ShShower4 mi
- GGrocery4 mi
- @Mail16 mi
- FFuel18 mi
- HHardware25 mi
- MMechanic26 mi
- OOutfitter26 mi
- PPropane27 mi
- +Urgent care28 mi
- RxPharmacy28 mi
- LLaundry28 mi
- EVEV fast charger28 mi
- AAir-up29 mi
- DDump30 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 4 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 — West Lake
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
8,212 ft
State
CO
Coordinates
40.78876, -105.56827
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around West Lake · Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests · CO (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townRed Feather Lakes · ~1.5 mi
- Drinking waterWater · ~0.1 mi
- FuelFuel · ~18.4 mi
- Propane / LPG7-Eleven · ~27.4 mi
- Dump station~30.5 mi
- GroceriesTrading Post · ~4.5 mi
- PharmacyKing Soopers Pharmacy · ~27.9 mi
- Hospital / clinicSalud Medical Center · ~27.7 mi
- HardwareLaporte Hardware and variety · ~25.1 mi
EV charging — from West Lake · Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests · CO — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger28.1 mi straight-line S — Estes Park, CO - Tesla Supercharger (at a hotel) · Tesla · NACS (Tesla) · 7 fast ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-06-18 · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reachnone within 25 mi · 46 within 50 · 310 within 100 · 411 within 150
- Nearest listing CCS28.5 mi — DC CORRIDOR ESTES PARK PL1, Estes Park
- Nearest listing CHAdeMO28.5 mi — DC CORRIDOR ESTES PARK PL1, Estes Park
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)1.5 mi — Red Feather Lakes Library (at a library) · Non-Networked · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2024-01-09 · hours: 10am-6pm daily
- Also listed, not counted aboveLevel 2, restricted access — Mountain Campus (seasonal), Bellvue, 15.1 mi · J1772 · hours: Contact campus gate for station availability; seasonal campus
- 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 102083 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around West Lake · Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests · CO — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletWest Lake · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletWest Lake · ~0.3 mi NW · USFS
- Flush restroomRed Feather · ~0.4 mi NW · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletDowdy Lake · ~0.6 mi N · USFS
Open West Lake elsewhere
Other camps near West Lake
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Dowdy Lake~0.6 mi · fee
- Bellaire Lake~2.8 mi · fee
- North Fork Poudre~7.6 mi · fee
- Kelly Flats~8.7 mi · fee
The unit that manages West Lake
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at West Lake are set by Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Black Mountain at 8,940 ft, about 8 miles away. It sits about 728 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.
How we know this — West Lake
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: $28 per night for a walk-to site and $41 per night for an electric site; doubles are $70 walk-to and $81 electric; season May 15 to Sep 20. The campground page itself defers to the forest's campground status table for the amount, and that table is the source of these figures. The 2026 recreation.gov season independently lists $28 walk-to and $81 electric. Camping fee includes use of the day-use area. Source: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r02/arp/conditions and https://www.fs.usda.gov/r02/arp/recreation/west-lake-campground.
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 West Lake
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 — West Lake
When the high country opens →Winter vs summer roads →Camping near a reservoir →Leave no trace →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 →