Hey y'all, I am looking to camp a few nights in the Poudre a,d was very suprised by the campsite prices. Does anyone know if there is free camping anywhere in the canyon?
My understanding is that you have to go 1.5 miles up an established trail in the NF surrounding yhe canyon, or get an arbitrary distance away from any Trail or road to disperse camp (I don't know how far). I think you can camp for free in Pingree Park though; I've done it once or twice and know others that have. There are camping spots right off the dirt road up there and it seems to be okay to use them.
Farther upstream you can also car-camp near: -King Fin Boulder across from Big Bend Campground -Poudre Falls if your low-key, otherwise walk-in camping -Laramie River Road/Chambers Lake
Red Feather has a lot of "free" camping as well...Prairie Divide Road.
+1 for Pingree, we've camped there several times and it's always been great.
You can pick up a Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM) from your local BLM for free. You can also get really handy digital copies for free via an app called "PDF Maps." We've used these all over Colorado and Wyoming.
The local ranger district responsible for the Poudre Canyon is the "Canyon Lakes" district and they're the ones who publish the MVUM for the area.