Where can you camp at the Garden of the Gods?

I see a lot of RV parks. Looking for a camp site just for 1 night, preferably close to the park, but it doesn't matter too much

Locker wrote:Whatever you do, keep an eye on your vehicle and DON'T leave anything visible or there's a good chance Jonny Crack MethBOI will rip your shit off down there. ;-)

I'm going to have my car literally full to the brim with everything I own... I'm moving and will have everything I own in my car. Is Colorado Springs really that bad?

It's not that bad. Certain areas where your vehicle will be isolated you might not want to leave your car but most of the The Garden itself is so crowded as to not be that bad. There are no real campgrounds that close to the park. You could head up to Cheyenne Mtn. State Park. It's about twenty minutes away. There is no shade. You could also just throw down a tent in the national forest up Gold Camp Rd. It's a little farther and there are no amenities.

It a wide open place not that many places to stealth camp.
Drive up to Manitou Springs and the Pike's Peak trailhead, about 15 mins away. Set up tent next to car and you should be okay for a night or two.

Locker wrote:Whatever you do, keep an eye on your vehicle and DON'T leave anything visible or there's a good chance Jonny Crack MethBOI will rip your shit off down there. ;-)

An unattended vehicle full of shiny stuff is a prize for thieves in any location Locker!

Jeff you might look into driving up and out highway 24 through Woodland Park to Rampart reservoir due to all the smoke from the fires. the altitude might get you above the smoke
I can't see Pikes Peak from my house any longer due to the haze.
Prolly not going to sleep with the widows open for a while.

We are smoky up here in Divide. Look into the National Forest, nothing in the Garden that is legal.

Free camping around here is a little problematic now that Rampart Range Road is closed from this side. That was one of the more convenient free spots. You could drive up Old Stage Road and camp somewhere along there, but that involves looking at topo maps to find a kosher stopping point.

When are you planning on climbing at the Garden? Message me.

Stich wrote:Free camping around here is a little problematic now that Rampart Range Road is closed from this side. That was one of the more convenient free spots. You could drive up Old Stage Road and camp somewhere along there, but that involves looking at topo maps to find a kosher stopping point.

I forgot about Old Stage, Stitch.
I suppose a level camp site might be found near the pull out for the Martyr? One might park at the St Peter's Dome pull out and scrounge some sleep on the closed portion of Gold Camp rd.
Rosemont reservoir lies further west but the washboards will rattle the fillings out of your teeth
If you wanted to tear down your tent every morning there's always the wal-world on 8th st. off Hwy 24 or car camp discretely along Monument creek behind furniture row?
Just a suggestion.

Locker wrote:"can't see Pikes Peak from my house any longer due to the haze." Take a better look! It's not the haze! It's paint! You're in the process of being ripped off!!! Call the cops!

Locker, be honest.
Huffin the barge again aren't you?

Oh, you can do better than a pullout along Old Stage. At the Martyr, I think you are then on Gold Camp Road. The two join at some point, but you can't take Gold Camp all the way into town due to the road block for the unstable tunnel. There are forest service roads off Gold Camp all along it's length that might provide some free camping. There's private property mixed in there, so you really need a good current topo map to help you figure it out.

Didn't they ban camping in the city limits because of the whole homeless thing along Monument Creek?

jmeizis wrote:Didn't they ban camping in the city limits because of the whole homeless thing along Monument Creek?

Correct.
As I drive along the interstate and occasionally riding the mountain bike up the trail system I've seen tents and people camping, or in their cars at various locations that are somewhat secluded. I think you could get away with it for one or two nights without incident.
More of an emergency bivy, than camping.

I took these pictures this morning while biking along Monument Valley Creek north with the Mrs.

I think you would be far enough from the deviant population on the south end of Monument Creek, and if you didn't have a blaze orange tent you could probably get away with staying here for a while.

Drive down the dirt road off Mark Dabling Rd. and drop off your gear. Then drive all the way around and park at Furniture Row skip across the creek bottom and you'd be golden.
You can keep tabs on your vehicle from your bivy site.