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Camper submitted image from Hartman Rocks Recreation Area - 1

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Roads

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Activities

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People

Free Camping Collection

Dispersed Camping

Hartman Rocks Recreation Area

18 Reviews

About

Bureau of Land Management

Hartman Rocks Recreation Area is dominated by the "Ring Dike," a spectacular monzogranite rock formation about six miles in diameter. This multi-use area features high quality single-track trails and rugged dirt roads. Visitors will enjoy fantastic mountain biking, rock climbing, bouldering and more. During the winter months, much of the road system is groomed for cross-country skiing. Activities: Camping Hiking Horseback riding Mountain biking Off-highway vehicles Rock climbing Winter sports 4x4 and jeep touring

Fee Info

No Fee

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Location

Hartman Rocks Recreation Area is located in Colorado

Directions

From Gunnison, travel west on US-50. Just before the Twin Bridges, turn left onto West Airport Road/County Road 38. Continue for about 2.5 miles to the parking area entrance, which will be through a wooden fence.

Coordinates

38.45567212 N
106.97775382 W

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Access

Drive-In
Park next to your site
Walk-In
Park in a lot, walk to your site.
Hike-In
Backcountry sites.

Stay Connected

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

Site Types

Tent Sites
RV Sites
Standard (Tent/RV)
Dispersed
Group
Equestrian

Features

For Campers

Trash
Picnic Table
Phone Service
Toilets
Alcohol
Pets
Fires

For Vehicles

Big Rig Friendly

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.

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Contact

General Info

Mitch H.

Traveler

Reviewed Sep. 3, 2023

Go-to Spot in Gunnison

Great area with plenty of camp sites. Make sure to get there early as the area often fills up before sunset. Watched a lot of people come, make the rounds, and leave (myself included once lol).

Month of VisitOctober

Tierney L.

Traveler

Reviewed Jun. 10, 2023

Hartman ROCKS!

Great dispersed camping. Sites with plenty of space. Close to town. Great trails and dirt roads for all types of activities. Excellent cell coverage.

Month of VisitJune

joy

Scout

Reviewed Aug. 29, 2022

Party spot

What should have been a cool camp spot was full of partying kids. Do yourself a favor and ride on down the road to Elk Creek campground. $16 but you can’t go wrong with huge sites and flush toilets

Month of VisitSeptember

Christopher E.

Guide

Reviewed Jun. 27, 2022

Awesome Rock Formations

AT&T 5G off and on 2 bars. Fire metal rings, pit toilets in few areas. No water, no garbage (might be garbage at entrance?). Roads spread throughout, pretty rough in some areas. Plenty of places here, views are pretty cool. Lots of hiking, biking trails. Rock formations are the star of the show. Dog friendly. 14 day limit. Town not too far maybe 5 miles for supplies. Creek near town. Not too bad for 5-14 days.

Month of VisitJuly

CC C.

Legend

Reviewed Oct. 18, 2021

Badass Boondocking

We were intending to stay one night on our way to Silverton but ended up staying 2! This place was so secluded, but you will 100% need a high clearance 4x4 to access the best spots. There are a few camping spots close to the entrance that are accessible by smaller vehicles, they are decently spaced out. We have T-Mobile and had a solid 2 bars and LTE at campsite M-10. Driving in we had little to no service. Close to town and very little noise from the nearby quarry.

SiteM-10

Month of VisitNovember

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Heather E.

Ranger

Reviewed Sep. 27, 2021

Wonderful spot for biking, climbing, and star gazing

Wow! We loved it here! Stayed for 3 nights at a nice private spot. 4X4 highly recommended…I think even needed. Not big rig friendly for sure, which makes it even better 🤷🏼‍♀️ each site has a fire ring, bring your own firewood though as there is a no gathering rule and nothing around anyways! We had a blast taking our bikes around and loved exploring the rock formations as well. Definitely one of our favorite spots this far! Oh, and if you love the night sky, it will not disappoint!

Month of VisitOctober

(12) View All

Ian B.

Guide

Reviewed Aug. 23, 2021

Fantastic for a 4x4 drive up

Stayed here two nights at two different sites. Several of the campgrounds have stunning views, others don’t. It’s a blast getting up on 4x4 roads. Quite windy at some of the campsite, as it’s a pretty barren landscape. Overall a fun unique camping spot.

Month of VisitSeptember

Rayna D.

Guide

Reviewed Aug. 14, 2021

Nice

It’s about 10 minutes from downtown Gunnison. You can get to most of the sites without a 4WD. The sites are dispersed enough so each site has pretty good privacy. You can still get phone service at some of the higher elevation sites.

Month of VisitSeptember

N I.

Legend

Reviewed Mar. 29, 2021

March 29 2021 Mud clousure reopened date unknown

Not sure when site will reopen from mud closure

Elizabeth A.

Guide

Reviewed Mar. 15, 2021

Amazing Area

Hartman’s is MASSIVE and has tons of sites! It’s all dispersed camping. There are smaller more remote sites, big sites, as well as areas where there are a few sites in clusters. There are shady areas, non-shady areas, spots with views, and more hidden spots. There really is something for everyone. I live here in Gunnison, and it’s a great last minute spot if you want to get out for the night. There are no water sources, as the area is just rocks and dirt. There are many different ways to explore the array of trails, so you can bike, take a four-wheeler, horse-back ride, hike, or just drive your car. There are about 3 toilets (nothing fancy). It’s an overall great area if you don’t want to get too far out of town!

(8) View All

Hunt

Traveler

Reviewed Sep. 14, 2020

Great spot!

Great spot with many sites, also, roads aren’t that bad, my car does not have great clearance and I had no issue with these roads!

Tyler K.

Scout

Reviewed Oct. 4, 2019

Beautiful High Desert Camping

Plenty of camping spots with amazing rock outcrops perfect for exploring!

Dan E.

Traveler

Reviewed Sep. 2, 2019

Super fun area if your car can handle it

This area is large and has tons of dispersed campsites, but they’re connected by a network of bumpy and rocky roads. You’ll need a high-clearance vehicle with 4WD (like a Jeep Wrangler) - otherwise, don’t even attempt. Take a picture of the map at the entrance too. Once you find a spot though, it’s a beautiful area with lots of rock features and a full starry sky (if lucky enough to have a clear night). We had a great time here

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Austin H.

Scout

Reviewed Jun. 20, 2019

unnavigable

Came in about 10pm. Almost hit a stray dog. Map is absolute spaghetti. Camp sites are marked on the map but it doesn't matter because there are dozens of paths between any two points that vary from two way maintained gravel to one way rocky ravines with puddles where you can't see the bottom. Entering the area where there is supposed to be sites is a 30% grade gravel road full of potholes. You will not make it with 2 wheel drive. Signs were incredibly unhelpful. "3350b: hike, camp, motocross, bike, everything else" for every direction. Kiosks inside have topo maps instead of campsite maps. Are also outdated because many paths shown were closed.

Do not attempt at night or without 4wd. Might be fine during day if you can see farther than a stones throw? If you're a tired dude just trying to find a place to sleep, this isn't it.

Dustin V.

Scout

Reviewed Jun. 18, 2018

Wide open spaces

I have camped at Hartman Rocks two different summers and enjoyed the remote location of the park. Adequate campsites are 100yd-500yds apart. Milky Way views on dark nights.

Renata S.

Scout

Reviewed May. 30, 2018

Dispersed camping. Rock, sage and occasional aspens

Camping areas now have camp sign and fire rings. Some campsites hidden in the shade of large rock formations, others on sage plain or small aspen groves. Beautiful sunsets and starry nights. Close to town. Stop by the Gunnison Observatory when you visit.

Month of VisitOctober

Leah W.

Legend

Reviewed Oct. 1, 2016

Completely unexpected

We arrived here for the mountain biking and didn't realize you could camp here until we read the brochure. It was a relief since we had no plans on where we were staying for the night. It is "walk in" camping, find a fire ring and you can set up... we found a bunch of areas between the climbing crags. It is allowed for up to 14 days. No amenities, if you are looking for showers, swing by the nearby KOA.

Kelly Z.

Ranger

Reviewed Sep. 28, 2016

Busy Area

This area has some cool rock formations and an interesting landscape. It also offers free camping anywhere you see a fire pit, and has restrooms at the entrance. It is also quite busy, even into the late hours of the night. People were driving around blaring music until 1 or 2am when we camped there. It did not make for a great camping experience but we were also near the entrance. I think I would go back, just as a place to stay, but camp further out and maybe it would be better.