Salida North Dispersed Camping

BLM has moved in boulders, so sites are limited now. We chose the first one for flatness, length, and sun. The road noise is not bad. It's the same further down the canyon, as the canyon catches the noise from the other end. Most of the sites are not flat, so good luck with leveling. Some van lifers would come in each night and a couple other trailers stayed a few days. It was very peaceful. Cell signal for Verizon or T-Mobile is pretty slow. We saw bighorn sheep down in the bottom of the canyon. The road in is not currently great. It's a convenient location for either Salida or BV.

We needed a quick stop before our next location and we knew about this place since we like staying at Hecla Junction but we never stopped to check it out.
We are so glad we did it.
They have redone the place, it's clearly signed and they have built allotted sites for you to park. There are 3 right as you turn (close to the road and minimal shade) but as you drive in, you will see more.
We parked at the first site on the right that you back in. There are two next to each other.
Please note that the road isn't the best so take it slowly there. More sites towards the end but it's say it's more for tents, vans, or small trailers.
We have a 27' foot trailer and we had plenty of space.
You will need to level the trailer.
You can hear the road noise but once we put some music on or go inside the trailer, you can't hear anything.
Cell signal is bad.
Brand new fire rings!

We stayed for 7 days in our 35ft Class A. It’s not far off the road but far enough to get away from noise and be in Nature. We had 2 different groups of Bighorn Sheep hanging around camp 3 different days. Saw them smashing horns and all. It was pretty amazing to witness. BLM office has established camp spots, shaping most vegetated areas to help control the impact on the land. Most spots are on slight inclines so bring blocks. Great for vans and small trailers but doable up to 35’ The entrance is deeply rutted and gets muddy fast but it drys quickly. Free potable water and $10 cc dump station 8 miles away at Poncho Springs Welcome Center.

This is a great spot, quiet, nice views, easy access, approximately midpoint between Salida and Buena Vista, and FREE.
We stay here every time we visit Salida (often) and love this place.
However...
Last weekend (4/14-4/17) we stayed here and found the BLM had done some "improvements". They put boulders in place to better regulate the spaces which was fine. They also graded everything to clean up the ruts. That grading has caused the whole place to be covered in about 2" of moon dust over the hardpack.
It being spring in Colorado, the winds made everything a dust bowl. Sitting outside was completely out of the question. Came home to do a huge camper (and everything else) cleanup.

This place will need to go through a good monsoon season to wash everything away before I'd recommend staying here.

In the meantime, we'll be going up to Browns Canyon (Hecla Junction Campsite) and pay the $26/day (no hookups, reservations required) just continue on 194 up over the pass.
https://cpw.state.co.us/placestogo/parks/ArkansasHeadwatersRecreationArea/Pages/Camping.aspx

I'm rating this based on the current conditions. When this gets fixed I'd give it 5 stars across the board.

This is truly an amazing spot..with free not even being the best part! First, its very easy to find and access, being right off the highway. There is some rutted areas but its really not bad. We got a Class A 27’ Winnebago and a Honda Civic follow car through with no issue..just taking it slow! Next, there are plenty of spots for boondocking without being right on top of each other and we were lucky enough to get a great spot down nestled down in between canyon walls and backed up to some private land blocked off by a gate..that no one ever accessed during our entire stay there. So it wasn’t an issue at all. The views of the mountains are spectacular!! Last, a big reason this area was so awesome (particularly where we snagged), was because there are great horned owls living in these rather large openings in the canyon walls and they are majestic!! The make their presence known every night and they hoot/communicate with one another every evening and its such a treat! There were campers showing up looking for these owls..so it must be a thing? We had no idea but we’re absolutely amazed by these guys and it was very cool! Again, we were even luckier to have gotten the spot we did! We were able to drive to Buena Vista in 20 minutes or so and to Salida in probably 10-15 minutes.

Right off 285 on forest road 194, turn off for Hecla Junction. Short drive to right hand turn in. Very large flat spits immediately left and right of turn in, accommodating for big rigs. Mountain View’s but also road noise. Further along are 6-8 spots along the cliff walls. Dead end turn around is tight and there are large rocks impeding easy turn around if not cautious. Easy trip in to Salida or Poncha Springs. $5 showers available at Wilderness Expedition RV Park across from Sonic in P. Springs. Salida hot springs closed due to Covid. Wallys in Buena Vista still allows showers. $7 coin operated. No problem getting signal; Verizon