Lovely treed in spots with awesome views of the mountains of Rocky Mountain National Park. There are two roads with pull outs to camp along: Johnny Park and Parachute Hill. We went down Johnny Park and found a spot just after the road splits despite there being a sign stating “Road Closed Ahead” – it probably is closed further down but you don’t need to go down very far. There are rock fire pits at most sites but no other facilities and no cell signal once you leave Lyons on the CO-7 (side note: We’ve been told there is a permanent fire ban in this area but check the USDA website for up-to-date info). The main downside of this spot is that most sites aren’t level so I wouldn’t come down in anything bigger than a van. Turn onto Cabin Creek Rd (82) from the CO-7 and follow it until you reach the 82E where you’ll turn right and continue on through 3mi of private road before reaching the National Forest land. Don’t get scared off by the private drive sign, it clearly states that you can drive on it, you just can’t stop and pull over along it. The road is well groomed and surrounded by nice cabins that all appeared to be empty in mid-May. We only heard one other car pass by the whole time we were here and barely saw any other humans at all in the whole area. Be conscious of surrounding wildlife and as always, leave no trace behind.
Max stay is 14 days.
*UPDATE: Stayed again on a weekend and it was MUCH busier. 3 or 4 other campers stayed each night and several other folks came through throughout the day. Still a nice area but it definitely does get busy and there’s only one spot that’s actually level.
