Free Camping Near Walden Reservoir | Gateway to Wilderness

Dispersed camping near Walden Reservoir is a nice destination in itself as well as a great location for accessing the incredible surrounding wilderness areas. This BLM land has a number of dispersed camping options including several shore side spots with nice scenic views of the mountains in the distance. Here you’ll also find a surprising diversity of birds frequenting the reservoir and likely a few too many mosquitoes. Whether as the destination, a home base or a resupply point, Walden is a nice little town with all of the necessities. Read on to find out more about free camping near Walden.

In the Area: Buffalo Pass Lakes Loop | Lake Katherine | Zirkel Circle

Quick Info: Free Camping Near Walden

Cost: Free

Ownership: BLM; 14 day limit

Directions: Click here to get directions for Walden Reservoir.

Solar: Great

Miles From Town: About 2.5 miles from Walden

Water: None but there is potable water as well as a donation based dump with rinse water in town.

Road Conditions: Great condition

Cell Service: Yes

Our Experience Camping Near Walden

Once we arrived at the south end of Walden, we turned towards the reservoir. Initially, we noticed the 4 or 5 camp spots right along the shore of the water. All of them were available when we arrived and we ended up choosing the second dispersed camp spot. Each of the spots were relatively level and quite roomy with nice views and proximity to the lake.

In the middle of the lake there is an island where a surprising diversity of birds congregate. They were pretty cool to see and hear throughout our stay. My favorite part about camping near Walden was seeing the pelicans flying around.

As we were getting all settled into spot it didn’t take long to notice the swarms of bugs. At first we weren’t sure what they were but we quickly realized that the majority of them were mosquitoes. We had read other reviews about camping near Walden and many of them mentioned the annoyance and abundance of bugs here. I think we should have heeded their warnings a bit more… I don’t like to complain, especially about a otherwise great and free place to camp, so I’ll keep it brief. There were an indescribable amount of mosquitoes here. Imagine a ridiculous amount of mosquitoes and then imagine that there are more than that.

Camp Here Later – Pin it Now!

They didn’t seem to mind our mosquito repellant at all but they did seem to prefer shade. So while we were camping near Walden we were happy to spend more time than usual inside working and being productive.

Once we geared up and got out to explore our surroundings a bit we discovered a few BLM roads that had more spots for dispersed camping near Walden. We also found a herd of cows enjoying the lakeside views.

While we were camping near Walden, there was minimal traffic and a couple of the spots got an overnighter here and there. But we found this spot to be convenient, clean and peaceful (with the exception of the mosquitoes). There is a cement plant nearby which we could hear every now and then but nothing too disruptive.

In the town of Walden, you can find basic services. We noticed a couple gas stations, library, town park, laundromat, Family Dollar and a couple places for enjoying food or drinks. There is also a ranger station at the end of town for information about what to see and do in the area. And there is a nice donation based dump station near the school that has rinse and potable water.

Thanks for Keeping Up with The Lost Longboarder!

We hope you found this article about dispersed camping near Walden helpful and informative. If you’d like to read more dispersed camping articles, check out the links below:

• Camping on Kebler Pass Road near Crested Butte
• Dispersed Camping and Exploring Flat Tops Wilderness
• Camping near Dinosaur National Monument
• Sheephole Valley Wilderness Camping

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