Morning light hits Mount Princeton before it reaches the valley, and by the time the coffee's done the whole Collegiate wall is lit. Buena Vista sits right under it, with national forest climbing west toward Cottonwood Pass and Chalk Creek, and Forest Service and BLM hills folding east into Fourmile. There's a lot of free camping here. The catch is that each valley plays by slightly different rules, so start with where you want to wake up.
- Land
- San Isabel National Forest and BLM
- Free camping
- most of the forest, BLM at designated sites
- Stay
- 14 days in 30 on the national forest
- Road map
- Salida Ranger District MVUM
Pick a place to camp
The dots are the area's official campgrounds. Pick a place to see it on the map, with its roads in highlighted.
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South Cottonwood and Chalk Creek west of town under the Collegiates, the high roads above St. Elmo, Browns Creek to the south, and Fourmile's forest and BLM hills to the east.
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The road up South Cottonwood Creek toward Cottonwood Lake. Within a quarter mile of the road you can camp and build a fire only at a designated site or campground, all the way to half a mile past the lake.
- Designated sites only
- Cottonwood Lake Campground
- Open Apr 17–Nov 30 (MVUM 344)
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Hot springs country below Mount Princeton. Within half a mile of Chalk Creek, from the forest boundary up to St. Elmo, you camp in the developed campgrounds: Mount Princeton, Chalk Lake, Cascade and Iron City.
- Campgrounds only
- No camping or fires outside them
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Where the Forest Service sends campers when Chalk Creek is full: past the St. Elmo townsite on the Tincup Pass road, or south toward Hancock. No restrooms or drinking water.
- No services
- Open May 16 (MVUM 267, 295)
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South of Chalk Creek, west of US 285. The Forest Service is laying out designated sites here first; until it announces them, regular dispersed camping continues.
- Designated sites coming
- Open Apr 17–Nov 30 (MVUM 272)
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About 100,000 acres of Forest Service and BLM hills east of town. Forest land follows the usual forest rules; on BLM land you camp at designated sites. Turtle Rock Campground is BLM's, at $20 a night.
- BLM: designated sites only
- Gates close Dec 1–Apr 30
- No drinking water
Campground and road locations are from the Forest Service, the BLM and the Forest Service MVUM; seasons are the MVUM's dates for passenger vehicles. Chaffee County has no signed designated dispersed sites yet, so they aren't on the map.
Know before you go
Who manages the land
- San Isabel National Forest, Salida Ranger District. Despite the name, the Salida district covers the forest around Buena Vista too. (Salida Ranger District)
- BLM, Royal Gorge Field Office. About 38,000 acres in Chaffee County, mostly the lower hills east and north of town. (BLM decision, Feb 2023)
- Fourmile Travel Management Area. About 100,000 acres of Forest Service and BLM land managed together for roads and trails. (Fourmile TMA)
- Private land fills much of the valley floor along the Arkansas River and US 24. Posted signs win.
Camping rules on the national forest
On most of the forest you can camp outside developed campgrounds for free, with no reservation. Stay no more than 14 days in any 30-day period within the same 20-mile radius, and don't camp within 100 feet of water except at a developed or designated site. In the South Cottonwood and Chalk Creek zones above, camping and fires, stove fires included, are allowed only at developed or designated sites. (San Isabel occupancy and use order, district map of the zones)
More designated sites are coming. The forest's decision to move parts of the Leadville and Salida districts to vehicle-based designated dispersed sites is signed, with no fees and no reservations, and layout started at Browns Creek in early 2026. Regular dispersed camping continues in each area until the forest announces its final site designations. (Forest Service release, Feb 2026)
In Chalk Creek Canyon, the Forest Service names the overflow areas above St. Elmo on County Road 267, toward Hancock on Forest Road 295, and Browns Creek south of County Road 162. (Chalk Creek Canyon)
Camping rules on BLM land
The BLM's 2023 plan for Chaffee County allows camping in designated sites only and limits driving to designated routes, with fire rings and site markers installed. (BLM decision) Some sites charge: primitive sites at Shavano, Burmac, Browns Grotto and the County Road 304 area are $10 a night, and Turtle Rock Campground is $20. (Federal Register fee notice, 2024) Statewide, BLM stays are 14 days in any 30, then move at least 30 miles, and nothing may be left unattended for more than 48 hours. (BLM Colorado camping rules)
Roads and seasons
If a road isn't on the Motor Vehicle Use Map, it isn't open to motor vehicles. Buena Vista is on the Salida Ranger District MVUM, a free PDF updated every January; Fourmile has its own area map. (Motor Vehicle Use Maps) Download both before you lose signal.
- Fourmile: seasonal gates close December 1 and open April 30. (Fourmile TMA)
- Cottonwood Pass (County Road 306): the road over the pass closes for winter. Chaffee County Road and Bridge posts the dates. (Chaffee County Road and Bridge)
- Forest roads: the season dates on each card come from the current MVUM.
Fire restrictions
Chaffee County, the national forest and the BLM each set their own. Check all of them on the day you go:
- Chaffee County Sheriff: fire restrictions
- Pike and San Isabel National Forests: fire restrictions
- BLM Rocky Mountain District
- Colorado's statewide list of fire bans
Sources
Checked November 2, 2026. Rules change; the agency pages are the authority.
- San Isabel National Forest occupancy and use restrictions
- Chalk Creek Canyon
- Fourmile Travel Management Area
- Designated dispersed campsite layout underway (Feb 2026)
- BLM Chaffee County camping and travel management decision
- BLM Colorado camping and occupancy rules
- Pike and San Isabel Motor Vehicle Use Maps
- Map: public land from PAD-US, roads from the Forest Service MVUM and BLM, and campground locations from the Forest Service and BLM, as Camplore's map draws them.
