Dispersed camping near Silverton, CO can be found in numerous places due to the town being surrounded by U.S. Forest Service lands and BLM lands. Free camping and boondocking is plentiful near Silverton. Below we have assembled a list of the more popular places to camp…
Dispersed Camping Near Silverton, CO
All of the site listed below are located inside San Juan National Forest. But there are some boondocking areas east of Silverton that lie on BLM lands. These are not recommended in this list due to difficulty in reaching sites, bumpy washboarded roads and high-traffic and dust.
Kendall Camping Area – (GPS 37.8194, -107.7143) – Lying right along Mineral Creek, Kendall Camping Area is only 3.0 miles from Silverton. The camping area is part of San Juan National Forest. It’s the most popular place for free camping near town. While it’s technically not dispersed camping, it’s not campground camping either. It’s just a large flat area by the creek, and RVs are allowed set up camp anywhere within this flat area.
Sultan & Anvil Camping Area – (GPS 37.8209, -107.7196) – Also located along Mineral Creek, Sultan & Anvil Camping Area is only 3.2 from Silverton. The camping area is part of San Juan National Forest. It is similar to Kendall Camping Area, but much smaller, accommodating no more than 6-8 RVs. It’s free, and you park your rig wherever you want, you just won’t find much room. However, it’s still one of the closer camping options to Silverton.
Golden Horn Camping Area – (GPS 37.8126, -107.7437) – Located a little more further along Mineral Creek, Golden Horn Camping Area is only 4.6 miles from Silverton. This is another free camping area set up by San Juan National Forest. It’s about the same size as Kendall Camping Area, and could hold up to 30 RVs. It’s right on Mineral Creek, so every camper should have creek-front accommodations.
Ophir Dispersed Camping Area – (GPS 37.8505, -107.7262) – This is a small camping area with maybe 3-4 campsites at best, and suitable only for small to medium sized rigs. It’s located right along Mineral Creek, and is 5.0 miles into Silverton. It’s run by San Juan National Forest.
Sultan Creek Dispersed Area (GPS 37.7662, -107.6778) – Located right along US-550, this little dispersed camping area features a dirt road that runs about 1,000 feet with several campsites. It’s managed by San Juan National Forest, and is only 3.9 miles from town.
Little Molas Lake Campground (GPS 37.7449, -107.7088) – One of the furthest from Silverton in our list of recommendations, this little dispersed camping area is 6.9 miles from Silverton. This is also run by San Juan National Forest. There are about 6-8 campsites here depending on how small or large your rig is. There are a few sites for large RVs, otherwise Little Molas Lake Campground is suitable for small to medium sized rigs.
Can you set up tents in DISPERSED CAMPING AREAS ? OR IS IT FOR RV’S ONLY ?
Tent camping is always permitted in dispersed camping areas.