[DSR]

Question. We're having some work done on the house, so I need to get out the next two nights. Rest of the fam is out of town. Was thinking of just dropping down under the stars somewhere. Any good rec's near some good relatively local riding? Are those spots up around South St Vrain or Peaceful Valley ok or do I need a permit? If so, maybe I'll just swing by the park service. Anyway, any rec's? Thanks. S

 

[ignazjr]

Question. We're having some work done on the house, so I need to get out the next two nights. Rest of the fam is out of town. Was thinking of just dropping down under the stars somewhere. Any good rec's near some good relatively local riding? Are those spots up around South St Vrain or Peaceful Valley ok or do I need a permit? If so, maybe I'll just swing by the park service. Anyway, any rec's? Thanks. S

Camp Dick is an "official" USFS campground. It's pay to camp and usually very busy. It's booked up most every weekend but you should be fine on a weekday. That said, pretty much anything else in the Forest is fair game for camping, unless it's posted otherwise. Bunch School Rd heads North from Camp Dick. That's all free camping. Heavy moto use on weekends, but should be good mid week. Ceran St Vrain trailhead is free (I think) and shouldn't be too crowded on a weekday. The road up to the Boy Scout Camp (where SSV dumps out) has some good camping up to the west, where SD crosses.

Hope this helps. Have fun!

 

[Debaser]

the Dick

Question. We're having some work done on the house, so I need to get out the next two nights. Rest of the fam is out of town. Was thinking of just dropping down under the stars somewhere. Any good rec's near some good relatively local riding? Are those spots up around South St Vrain or Peaceful Valley ok or do I need a permit? If so, maybe I'll just swing by the park service. Anyway, any rec's? Thanks. S

You could do Camp Dick, but you have to pay for that privledge. You could camp off Bunce School Road, for free (dispersed camping). There's also some near the Switz Trail near Sugarloaf, and there's West Mag. There's a fair amount of free forest service stuff if you poke around.

Oh, and Bunce school is pretty easily Cheokeeable.

 

[billybobzia]

Buffalo Creek

Buffalo Creek is where i go when i need a night or two out, close to home. county road 550 has lots of free camping spots (most of the free camping is before the 2 pay campsites).. during the week you won't see many people out there. can get some nice long rides in as well

 

[DSR]

Coolio. Thanks all. Will probably do one night in GGSP (just because I've somehow never ridden there) and night #2 up around SD, SSV, Buch, Dick, etc. Thanks! S

 

[Debaser]

GGSP is awfully nice... of course, you pay to get in and camp, but hey, it's awfully nice...

 

[Organ]

where do you get permits?

The Middle St. Vrain trail/road that starts at the far end of the Camp Dick campground has "camping permit required" signs posted at least as far as the intersection with Coney Flats trail. Does anyone know where get these permits? Do you pay at camp dick? I see people camping close to camp dick, but up a mile or two and I rarely see anyone.

Camp Dick is an "official" USFS campground. It's pay to camp and usually very busy. It's booked up most every weekend but you should be fine on a weekday. That said, pretty much anything else in the Forest is fair game for camping, unless it's posted otherwise. Bunch School Rd heads North from Camp Dick. That's all free camping. Heavy moto use on weekends, but should be good mid week. Ceran St Vrain trailhead is free (I think) and shouldn't be too crowded on a weekday. The road up to the Boy Scout Camp (where SSV dumps out) has some good camping up to the west, where SD crosses.

Hope this helps. Have fun!

 

[ignazjr]

The Middle St. Vrain trail/road that starts at the far end of the Camp Dick campground has "camping permit required" signs posted at least as far as the intersection with Coney Flats trail. Does anyone know where get these permits? Do you pay at camp dick? I see people camping close to camp dick, but up a mile or two and I rarely see anyone.

I know of lots of signs re: Permit required for camping in Indian Peaks Wilderness, but not I'm not as familiar with that specific area on forest land. To my knowledge, the pay at Camp Dick stuff is only for the designated spots there. If you do need a permit to camp off of Middle St Vrain, it's in the Roosevelt Nat'l Forest, Boulder Ranger District. Give 'em a call:

Office Hours
Daily: 8:00 - 4:30
Monday - Friday

Visitor Information
303-541-2500

Office Address
Boulder Ranger District
2140 Yarmouth Avenue
Boulder, CO 80301

 

[DSR]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that the permits are only required for camping within the wilderness area which doesn't start until the very top of Buchanan. You probably also need a permit for one of the designated spots at the bottom at Camp Dick. I do know from a backpack trip a couple years ago that you need a backpack/camp permit to drop down within the actual wilderness area - like on the trails up to Audabon, Sawtooth, etc. No bikes in wilderness either obviously.

I did stay at GGSP last night. $5 fee to get in and then $12 for a tent spot. Very nice though and they have shower facilities down the way which is nice post-ride, pre-sleeping bag. The pre-camp ride though ended in tears as I somehow managed to rip my pedal right out of my brandnew XT crank arm. That was a first. My guess is that I slammed it hard on a rock (180mm arms) which bent the axle within the arm threads and then just ripped the threads up when torqueing back up on the climb. Noticed the problem, tried to snug it, but within another mile the pedal ripped completely out of the arm. Then it was miles of either one-legged pedaling or pushing back to the campgrounds. In the rain. Less than ideal. Rant over. S