Off Pavement
04-23-2012, 09:46 PM
A trip to the Denver area had us staying at Bear Creek Lake Park in Lakewood. This is a city owned and operated campground and park with multiple recreation opportunities such as fishing, hiking horse riding, archery, bike paths and more. All sites have 30 and 20a service and the campground has water and dump station. The $20 per night charge included the park entrance fee.
Normally, I'd prefer staying in Chatfield State Park which is about 10 miles south, but I had an early AM RV alignment appointment so wanted to be as close as possible.
The campground is just OK. The sites are close together and somewhat level.
After getting family visits and RV repairs accomplished, we headed into the Pawnee National Grassland for some boondocking. Weather was good with some wind, but I guess that should be expected since there is a huge wind farm near the Pawnee Buttes.
I plan on contacting the US Forest Service about their MVUM (motor vehicle use map) for the Pawnee Buttes area. According to the map, dispersed camping is permitted in numerous locations, but there is a no camping sign at the beginning of one road so I'm slightly confused by the map.
In and out is a lot of gravel road, and those with big rigs would be wise to check road conditions before heading into this area. We hit a spot that I think would be very difficult to get through going uphill as the road was pretty torn up. If it was wet, forget it!
Here is a link to the Pawnee Pioneer Trails Scenic Byway (http://www.coloradodot.info/travel/scenic-byways/northeast/pawnee-pioneer-trails)
And here is a photo...
http://www.rv-camping.org/colorado/brush/pawnee-buttes.jpg
Normally, I'd prefer staying in Chatfield State Park which is about 10 miles south, but I had an early AM RV alignment appointment so wanted to be as close as possible.
The campground is just OK. The sites are close together and somewhat level.
After getting family visits and RV repairs accomplished, we headed into the Pawnee National Grassland for some boondocking. Weather was good with some wind, but I guess that should be expected since there is a huge wind farm near the Pawnee Buttes.
I plan on contacting the US Forest Service about their MVUM (motor vehicle use map) for the Pawnee Buttes area. According to the map, dispersed camping is permitted in numerous locations, but there is a no camping sign at the beginning of one road so I'm slightly confused by the map.
In and out is a lot of gravel road, and those with big rigs would be wise to check road conditions before heading into this area. We hit a spot that I think would be very difficult to get through going uphill as the road was pretty torn up. If it was wet, forget it!
Here is a link to the Pawnee Pioneer Trails Scenic Byway (http://www.coloradodot.info/travel/scenic-byways/northeast/pawnee-pioneer-trails)
And here is a photo...
http://www.rv-camping.org/colorado/brush/pawnee-buttes.jpg