Camping near Telluride & Ophir

Planning a trip and looking for camping options, preferable free. PM if you wish to keep the information private.

I see several campgrounds along Hwy 145. Can you easily get a campsite on Thursday evening? What is the best campground?

Thanks

Stayed in Telluride for 3 days for the film festival last year. Budget was basically non existent and the two campgrounds in town were filled up (and not really the experience I was seeking either, TBH).

Got some good beta from a local on the camping though....find the Jed Wiebe trailhead. It's a mild uphill walk a little less than a mile to a nice stand of Aspens that will easily conceal a few 2-3 man tents. Bears are in the area though, so take adequate precautions. The view overlooking Telluride (probably 500' above) is stellar.

Don't bother wasting your time bringing gear though....the rock is something called "conglomerate", which is basically river stones held together by crappy, crumbly concrete. I led one pitch and called it a day. The Via Ferrata is definitely fun though!

There is really good free camping on top of Lizard Head Pass. Coming from Telluride it is on the left right at the top. Great area.

coop--

there are several different camping options depending on what you're looking for. if you're looking to be in town, then there is a pretty nice campground in the town park. a two minute walk to downtown, nice sites right along a river, good views and easy access to climbing in the telluride valley. info is here:

telluride-co.gov/index.aspx…

if you're looking for something a bit more removed from civilization with pretty views, but some basic amenities, there are lots of options here: fs.usda.gov/recarea/gmug/re…

sunshine campground is the closest to telluride and ophir (the two biggest climbing locations). it is in a nice aspen forest with views of wilson peak and other fourteeners. matterhorn isn't too much further from ophir but it is a bit further away from telluride. it has similarly great mountain views and it's a bit higher in elevation for cooler temps.

if you're looking for free, there are some other options, including camping in the ophir valley though i'm not sure what the current situation is regarding what spots are allowed. yes, you could camp off the jud wiebe i suppose, but it's a bit dodgy with other transient types often camping there and it is technically illegal, so you would perhaps have to pack up each day to be safe (and avoid a fine). so, i would recommend one of the forest service campground or town park, depending on your preferences.

not sure about the availability though. you might want to call the town park staff (parks and rec) and ask them how busy they expect it to be. and look into the forest service stuff (though i think it's unlikely they'll fill up completely).

as for rock, colorado is full of choss. learn to love it. being that you're from the western slope, you already know this. in all seriousness, there is plenty of good rock to be found- ophir wall, cracked canyon, the falls walls, mill creek, and plenty of good bouldering too.

hope that helps.

Ha! Just returned from both Ouray and Telluride. Rained the entire 5 days--except in the mornings, which were perfect.
The best campground in Ouray is the Ampitheatre Campground, about a mile south of downtown as you head up towards Red Mountain Pass, just the next switchback past the Box Canyon Ice Park. And there's a great city-owned hot springs in town for relaxing after a climbing/driving/hiking day.

Over in Telluride, the closest campground to the excellent climbing in Ophir (Ophir Wall, Cracked Canyon, etc) is the Matterhorn Campground--it has hot showers, a nice change from most USFS campgrounds. It is a couple miles south of Ophir on 145, below Lizard Head Pass. Even if you don't camp there, you can buy a shower, good if you're camped for free up by Lizard Head.
The city campground in the town of Telluride is also pretty nice--it's at the east end of town, but it can be loud and crowded at times.
If you don't want to put up with the ridiculous parking situation in Telluride, park up at the gondola in Mountain Village, and ride the free gondola down into Telluride--it dumps you right into the middle of town. Parking is free for the first 3 hours, and it runs until midnight or 1 am, can't remember.

The Ophir wall parking lot has a nice meadow you can camp in. Alta lakes rd has tons of spots too.

Thank you everyone

You can camp in the small meadow below Ophir Wall. Its free.

Any of these sites you guys have mentioned accessible in the winter to park a van at night?

Has anyone mentioned Sunshine CG? The CG is in a nice location and there are views towards Mt. Wilson from a little trail on the edge of the site. Bring some extra warm clothing, food and a tent heater if you want to stay somewhere more away from the crowds.