Colorado Overlanding

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JDGreens

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Englewood Co.
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Stony Pass. Very quiet, very clean, great elevation, creek and lake access, lots of pullouts for dispersed camping.

Yup, we camped on the south side of stoy pass on the last day of our trip. The north side wasn't a trail she would like. But those campsites and the trail was very nice. And I want to return there with her some day, just coming from the reservoir side.

Another area mentioned already I love to visit because it's only a couple hour from my home (which my daughter and I are going to for a overnighter/hiking trip tomorrow) is 4 mile area next to Buena Vista and St. Elmo area is a great place too. 14 ners to hike, trails to enjoy, river rafting, dispersed camping everywhere, and a Hot Springs resort to boot. Right with in 25 miles. Tincup pass my wife and I have done twice. It only has about 50 yards of shelf road and really was'nt that bad. Except this time half of it was snow covered, for her it was scary.
 

billum v2.0

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It's at Alta Lakes, near Telluride. There are about 15 free campsites there near the lake.
Is there a trick to securing a campsite at Alta Lakes? We've been several times in the Fall (Late August to mid September) and the campground has always been full.

Appreciate any insight you can provide.

It's not a total loss. We always end up at Molas Lake Campground outside of Silverton, which has become a favorite.
 

RocKraken

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The one trail that you need to avoid is Mineral Creek off the highway just south of Ouray. It is part of the Alpine loop, but would be to difficult to tackle with the tundra. Not worth taking any unnecessary risks while enjoying your vacation. You can start your adventure from Silverton if you want to do the historic Alpine loop. There are so many places to enjoy and the scenery is second to very few, and though it is very busy place, just take it at your own pace and it will be a place you will long to go back to. Like I have said in so many other threads, my favorite place to go in Colorado and I try to go there every chance I can.

Since my wife doesn't like to do shelf roads so she sends me off with her blessing, I have been searching out dispersed camp sites that she won't mind the drive to so that we can enjoy some hiking and the towns in the area.
We just returned from Colorado. While we were there we took the Mineral Creek trail from the loop to 550 with our stock 200 Land Cruiser. Wish I had read this before the trip :grinning: Got through safely, but the skidplate saw some action, and the running boards were reimagined. Sliders are on the todo list now.
 

JDGreens

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Englewood Co.
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We just returned from Colorado. While we were there we took the Mineral Creek trail from the loop to 550 with our stock 200 Land Cruiser. Wish I had read this before the trip :grinning: Got through safely, but the skidplate saw some action, and the running boards were reimagined. Sliders are on the todo list now.
Yeah we ran that trail down hill the second time I was down there exploring the area. And even though we have built Jeeps it was pretty scetchy, was pretty fun too!