Camping along the Conejos River road follows a special designated-site order

Forest Service Road 250 follows the Conejos River up into the Rio Grande National Forest from Horca toward Stunner Pass, and it is a popular place to camp. But this corridor is not open to camp-anywhere dispersed camping the way much of the forest is.

A special Forest Service order limits where you can park and camp along this stretch of road. Instead of pulling off wherever you like, camping is steered into designated, signed areas, with names like Trail Creek and Upper South Fork. The idea is to protect the riverbanks and meadows from being worn down by heavy use right next to the water.

Even where dispersed camping is allowed on the wider forest, the basic rules still hold. Stays are limited to 14 days within any 30-day period, you camp well back from water, and you pack out everything you bring in. Fire restrictions can come and go with the season and the year.

These special orders can change, so do not rely on what a campsite looked like last year. Check the current dispersed-camping rules and any signed restrictions for the Conejos corridor with the Conejos Peak Ranger District of the Rio Grande National Forest before you set up.