Washington Gulch Designated Dispersed Campsite #28

The road into Washington Gulch is paved to the end of the small subdivision by Long Lake. After that it becomes a two lane maintained dirt road that is oiled for dust until the Snodgrass Trailhead. Past this trailhead the road narrows to 1.5 car widths and is very winding. Care should be taken due to blind curves and fast Jeep drivers. It is doable for any large rig if one goes slow. The road at this point is less well cared for but still passable for all rigs. The further back one travels, the worse the road becomes and eventually degrades into 4X4. Note: in early season the road may be blocked by snow or landslides.

The road to this point is accessible to any vehicle.

This back-in campsite is fairly level and full sun. A great site for solar or Starlink users. The side access road has a steep incline with some ruts. Due to this large rigs may not be able to make it to the site depending on their clearance from their rear tire to end of rig. Also the road can become very slick when wet requiring 4X4 during monsoon. The road is very dusty at this part so this site receives a lot of flying dirt if the wind is right, but in general it is set back enough for some privacy from the main road.

Stayed here for the allotted time and enjoyed the views, wildlife, and other areas around during this time. I’m a digital nomad and had plenty of access to Verizon with two bars. Had enough bandwidth to have video calls. My friend has AT&T and had hit or miss service. Even with WeBoost and a WiFi router.

This site sits on top of the hill with plenty of sunlight for solar. There’s a fire pit we used a couple nights. You can burn fires here currently but, they must be completely extinguished. Some days we had cows roaming around our site and other days we had some moose. Our dog enjoy the wildlife and the land around us.

Most people are respectful of others. We did have one Saturday night where they were up late and loud but for the most part it’s peaceful, especially during the week. I can’t wait to return to this site again and explore more.

Please note there is no trash dumpsters in this camping area but, we did find a dumpster in town (Crested Butte) that was $5 to dump. So please pack out what you bring in. Some of the roads are rough; it’s a steep, rutted climb to where this site is located but, was able to do it in my van and also saw some small cars climb it too. There’s a road to the right of the restrooms when entering the camping area that is pretty rough and those sites aren’t as nice as the ones further up 811. Some of the sites are off the road a bit and some are walk-in only. We walked the area a good bit and found our site to be the best for us so please explore and find what’s suitable for you. It’s a beautiful area and worth the hiking around to find sites. Enjoy!