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Dispersed Camping

Fall River Reservoir Dispersed Camping Trail

11 Reviews

About

National Forest

Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland

Dispersed Camping information: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd577265.pdf

With a few exceptions, dispersed camping is allowed on national forest public lands. Camping in the national forest at one location is limited to 14 consecutive days. The campsite must then be moved a minimum of three miles. Camping can then continue for an additional 14 days. Camping is restricted to a maximum of 28 days in any 60-day period.

More than 40% of lands within the Arapaho National Forest boundary are private or otherwise owned. A map showing land ownership is recommended. It is YOUR responsibility to know if you are on private, city, county, state, national park or national forest land.

Pack out all trash. There are no services.

Practice Leave No Trace ethics

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Location

Fall River Reservoir Dispersed Camping Trail is located in Colorado

Directions

I-70 westbound, take exit #238 Fall River Road. Drive approx. 6 miles to the 2nd switchback and turn left on the dirt road, Rainbow Road. Continue on this road until you see the sign and split for Fall River Reservoir to the right and Chinns Lake to the left.

Coordinates

39.81918270922694 N
105.68887192056769 W

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Access

Drive-In
Park next to your site

Stay Connected

WiFi
Good
Verizon
Unknown
AT&T
Unknown
T-Mobile
Unknown

Site Types

Tent Sites
Standard (Tent/RV)
Dispersed
Group

Features

For Campers

Alcohol
Pets
Fires

Enjoy dispersed camping on government land and leave no trace. Pack in and pack out. No (or limited) services at this camping area. Permit may be required.

PERMIT might be REQUIRED

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Contact

General Info

Dustin D.

Traveler

Reviewed Oct. 3, 2023

Rocky road central

To get to the, bring a vehicle with high clearance or else you won’t make it to the top. Slow and steady wins the race.

Month of VisitNovember

kate B.

Traveler

Reviewed Aug. 21, 2023

Fall River Reservoir

Pretty spot. My Forester was able to make it to the top fine. Make sure to bring bug spray, mosquitos everywhere.

Didn’t love that there seemed to be a lot of trash at the campsites (a lot of broken glass). Also I had multiple dogs walk into my site, take that as you will.

Month of VisitSeptember

(5) View All

Jinho T.

Guide

Reviewed Jul. 17, 2023

Fall River Res

Easier to get to than Chinns lake, but not near as beautiful and camping spots are not as close to the water. Still a nice spot to get away and enjoy the weekend, just not my favorite.

Month of VisitJuly

Claire B.

Traveler

Reviewed Jul. 2, 2023

Pretty and cold

Was gorgeous area. Wasn’t able to get to the lake due to the snow. In some areas snow was knee to waist deep. Got very cold at night. The creek was gorgeous and amazing to listen to.

Month of VisitJuly

Cameron B.

Ranger

Reviewed Sep. 18, 2022

Love this spot

Head down the dirt road, you will see a lot of private property signs but the road all the way to the reservoir is not private property. Beautiful reservoir area can get busy at times.

Month of VisitJuly

(7) View All

Alan J.

Scout

Reviewed Sep. 6, 2022

Pin on private property

All areas are posted as private property and warn not to trespass. Whoever posted the pin is a liar

Month of VisitOctober

jimi A.

Scout

Reviewed Aug. 25, 2022

May not be available for camping

While I enjoyed the night we spent there, most of what clearly were previously campsites are now signed as private property. In fact the one we found without such a sign, someone came and posted a realtor for sale sign while I was making dinner.

Month of VisitSeptember

nicole V.

Guide

Reviewed Aug. 15, 2022

Beautiful quiet place

This is definitely a great camping spot. Very cool at night with the reservoir right there and the stream. It is a light off road trail and would recommend having high vehicle clearance and 4x4. We were unable to park right next to the reservoir because it was closed off. The spot right below is very close to it. The hiking around it is beautiful. Would definitely camp there again

Month of VisitAugust

(8) View All

Francesca M.

Scout

Reviewed Jul. 26, 2022

Amazing getaway!

Such a nice escape from denver, the lake is soooo beautiful!! We showed up on a Saturday morning in July around 10 AM and still found a spot.

People, CLEAN UP YOUR TRASH🙃

Month of VisitAugust

Zack B.

Traveler

Reviewed Jul. 5, 2022

The perfect escape from society

So this is a really cool camp area. We wanted to send a trip last minute but knew it would be tough on a holiday weekend. Ended up being multiple spots available and it wasn’t to crowded. I agree with the review above, you definitely need 4x4 but not necessarily any clearance issues if you know what you’re doing. The camp sites are not numbered but are visible from the road. We picked a spot about a quarter mile from the reservoir. There is a beautiful creek right across the road that is great for filtering water and cooling off. The reservoir itself is gorgeous. There are a few falls that flow in and some good bouldering routes towards the back. Had a successful time fishing. The res holds browns and cutthroat as well as some other species. The weather changes drastically up there and all three days we got 3/5 hours of rain. Great spot if you’re not comfortable going deep into the wilderness as 70 is fairly close.

Month of VisitAugust

(4) View All

Andrew W.

Guide

Reviewed Jun. 28, 2022

My first Colorado camping spot!

I first camped in Colorado last year with a friend and we chose this dispersed due to it being close to travel too- yet still dispersed. I’ve come back 4 other times to camp here!

This trail does require some 4x4 action to get to the top. Lots of rocks, bumps, and pools of water to travel through to get anywhere.

The trail has a decent amount of dispersed sites along the way up to the top, although you can not camp the first mile or two, they are residential.

Even at the end of the trail, next to the reservoir there are some great spots to camp at. And a hike around the reservoir would show you that you could even do a bit of backpacking if you wanted to camp by a waterfall for the night.

This place has become a favorite camping spot of mine, and a place I love to bring friends. Quite clean, very scenic, and a beautiful creek rushing by most of the camp sites. There is also a really cool teepee stand waiting to be used to camp under at the top!

Month of VisitSeptember

(18) View All