Skoolie camping near Estes Park

My GF and I are planning on climbing in RMNP later this month and are looking for a place to park our bus that is free and secluded. Anyone know of any forest service sites or BLM land that would accomodate a 40ft school bus ?

There are 2 forest service campgrounds, Olive Ridge and Meeker, in Allenspark but I don't think they are free.  There are some roadside pullouts where I have seen vans parked overnight, but those are hardly secluded.

I looked up the fee schedule and its gonna put us way over budget. We were planning on hitting up turkey rocks and lumpys on our way to WY. Do you think we could park at The TH ?

The Lumpy lot is laid out for cars, the bus won't fit.  Overnight parking is not allowed there anyway.  There is a pullout about 10 minutes away on Forest Service Land where I've seen campers.  It is right off the road and hardly secluded but you could park there for the night and not get bothered.  It is a bit rough getting in and out since it is not maintained and is down off the road. No campfires. PM me if you are interested and I can tell you how to find it. You'll have to park the bus along the road by the Lumpy entrance and walk about 1/4 mile to reach the trailhead.

Just an FYI.  You need at least an SUV to get to the turkey rocks trailhead. 

Todd Bruns wrote:

Just an FYI.  You need at least an SUV to get to the turkey rocks trailhead. 

what kind of ground clearance ? Our bus is 18" at its lowest point. 

I haven't been there in a couple of years but I'm pretty sure there is no way a 40 foot school bus is gonna make it down the road to turkey rocks.

christof wrote:

what kind of ground clearance ? Our bus is 18" at its lowest point. 

No way a bus would make it. The wheel base is way to long. 

christof wrote:

what kind of ground clearance ? Our bus is 18" at its lowest point. 

LOL. Not a chance. You couldn't do it with a 20' bus.  

RE Estes: you're going to have to pay for a site, or pull off on the side of the road. Free Forrest Service/BLM camping with a 40 foot school bus is a tall order anywhere, especially Estes Park in summer.    

If you haven't yet, refer to the car camping around Boulder thread pinned to the top of this forum.  It's good info if not good news.