Free Camping Near Leadville | Halfmoon Creek Road
After spending some time in the Crested Butte area and seeing some beautiful Colorado landscapes, it was time to explore a new area. We travelled south through Gunnison to stock up on essentials then drove up past Buena Vista towards Leadville. Along the way we were looking for dispersed camping opportunities but there weren’t very many forest roads and even less accessible with a trailer. So as we got closer to Leadville, we turned off on one of the few forest roads in the area. And that’s when we found lots of free camping near Leadville on Halfmoon Creek Road.
Quick Info: Camping Near Leadville on Halfmoon Creek Road
Cost: Free
Ownership: Forest Service; 14 day limit
Directions: From Leadville, follow US-24 E for 3.3 miles and then turn right onto CO-300 W. After 0.8 miles, turn left on Halfmoon Road. And after 1.3 miles, turn right to continue on Halfmoon Road. Follow Halfmoon Road until you pass the Forest Service boundary sign and there are a lot of dispersed camp spots all along this road. Our spot was about 5 miles in on the right.
Solar: Ok – our spot was in the woods so sunlight was limited but there are spots available that are more open.
Water: No drinking water but there is a creek nearby if you’re set up to filter your water.
Miles from Town: About 12 miles but it depends on how far down Halfmoon Road the spot that you choose is.
Cell Service: Yes – but we lost it when we drove further down the road.
Road Conditions: Dirt road – well maintained but still bumpy. If you go past the Mount Massive Trailhead, the road conditions become rougher and narrower.
Our Experience Camping Near Leadville on Halfmoon Creek Road
As we drove between Crested Butte and Leadville we knew that there were a lot of adventures in the surrounding mountains. But we weren’t sure where our next home base would be. After looking at a Motor Vehicle Use Map provided by the Forest Service, we noticed that there was not an excess of forest roads in the area!
Finally, we turned down Halfmoon Creek Road and saw that there were dispersed campsites everywhere! We even noticed that people were set up camping before the forest service boundary sign. So we drove along and quickly learned that dispersed camping near Leadville on Halfmoon Creek Road was no secret.
There were numerous nice sites being used near Halfmoon Creek. And as we got further in, there was a huge meadow where several campers were spread out. Just a bit further from the meadow was a maze with layers of campspots among the trees, all empty. So we walked around and looked for an optimal spot – nice and level with good solar conditions. And that spot became our home base for the next two weeks!
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After getting set up, we of course went exploring. We found that there were still a lot of great sites further along Halfmoon Creek Road. Many of them had more privacy than ours. We contemplated moving but our spot happened to have service whereas the others didn’t and we needed to get some work done. So we stayed. But if you’re going to be camping on Halfmoon Creek Road and don’t need to have service, just know that there are some really nice spots if you keep looking.
We were also really happy to have the beautiful Halfmoon Creek in view. Several times we made our way down to the water and walked in either direction just enjoying the water.
During our stay, we experienced plenty of peace and solitude during the week. But don’t be surprised when nearly all of the dispersed camp spots fill up on the weekends! Even so, from our experience camping on Halfmoon Creek Road it was never loud or crazy. There was definitely traffic, lots of people going to and from the Mount Elbert Trailhead.
In the Area
There are also three pay forest service campgrounds. They are $20/night and have vault toilets, picnic tables, and fire rings.
About two miles from our campspot, is a day use area for Emerald Lake. It’s a beautiful lake to visit if you’re camping in the area. It’s also a fee area but we walked from our campspot and checked it out.
Besides the obvious perks of having a camp spot near the creek, another awesome perk of camping on Halfmoon Creek Road is having convenient access to multiple trailheads. Two of them being the trailheads for the two tallest mountains in Colorado – Mount Elbert (14,433 feet) and Mount Massive (14,421 feet).
Another trailhead on this road that we were able to explore was North Halfmoon Lakes Trailhead. We set off on an amazing backpacking trip from this particular trailhead to the three gorgeous North Halfmoon Lakes and added on hiking to the peak of Mount Massive. Incredible.
Camping on Halfmoon Creek Road made for a pretty convenient location for running into Leadville for groceries and whatnot. And of course, we had to check out the Leadville Skatepark which was a lot of fun!
Also nearby is the beautiful Turquoise Lake. And from there, there are also multiple trailheads that can be accessed.
Thanks for reading about our experience camping near Leadville!
We had a nice time camping on Halfmoon Creek Road. The location was great and it’s always nice having water nearby while camping. After some great adventures in the Mount Massive Wilderness Area, we decided to continue north. This time, we already had a spot in mind. While we were camping near Leadville on Halfmoon Creek Road, we drove up to a trailhead for a backpacking trip in the Holy Cross Wilderness. And on the way we noticed that there were numerous spots for dispersed camping in the area so we headed that way!
If you’d like to see some other places that we’ve boondocked, check out the links below:
While were boondocking and exploring these beautiful places, we’re also working hard creating our hand painted Lost Coast Longboarding longboards! To see our latest lineup, head over to our Lost Coast Longboarding Shop!
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