/out/ - Outdoors » Thread #1222078

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Anonymous Fri 09 Mar 2018 06:53:51 No.1222078 View View Reply Original Report

Quoted By: >>1222086 >>1222119 >>1222263

hey /out/, I am new to camping and have been wanting to go camping in Colorado for some time now.
I live in Oklahoma

I'm in Uni and my spring break is in two weeks: March 19-23.

I've been reading that Colorado is still snowing and still pretty cold during the month of March.

I was wanting to just spend 5 days for the trip.
I originally wanted to go to the Great Sand Dunes for a night or two, and then go to either the Rio Grande National Forest, or Gunnison National Forest.

I mainly just want input on what type of weather I'll be facing and what I should bring to prepare for it.

Also, I'll be going wtih my girlfriend and we both are somewhat poor.

ples halp

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 09 Mar 2018 07:03:05 No.1222086 Report

Quoted By: >>1222092

>>1222078
sand dunes are usually pretty nice in spring. They're in a fairly hot and dry part of the state.

Gunnison NF is located around the coldest part of the state. It depends where you go, but yes- you should expect it to be snowing and there will almost certainly be several feet of snow on the ground. We're having a particularly warm and dry winter/spring here, but it's still deadly cold and more than a little bit snowy in the mountains.

I live in the San Isabel/White River National Forest, and I've got about 3 feet of snow in my yard right now and fully expect another couple feet to fall this month. Probably near the end of the month.

I personally wouldn't camp in the mountains until at least May/June, but even then we get snow above 10k feet clear into July. After July we get hail and thunderstorms pretty much daily until about September.

For gear I don't know what to tell you except bring bags rated for 0 degrees or lower, lots of clothing layers, and plan to camp in your vehicle. March is still very much winter here in the high altitudes.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 09 Mar 2018 07:11:58 No.1222092 Report

Quoted By: >>1222097 >>1222107

>>1222086
So i should probably just stick to the Sand Dunes and then to the Rio Grande?

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 09 Mar 2018 07:18:09 No.1222097 Report

Quoted By: >>1222104

>>1222092
sand dunes should be great.

parts of Gunni NF are probably fine, it depends where you're headed. The Forests here cover a lot of different climates.

Parts of Rio Grande NF will be fine also, but most of it will be snowed in.

so it really depends on where you want to go in each area. Protip: the really dangerous areas at high altitude aren't accessible by car in the winter anyways- so you're not going to be camping in the mountains unless you set up a tent by the side of a highway. Which won't work. So you're probably fine, just be aware most of the National Forest lands can only be reached on skis or snowmobile during spring break. So you're not going to be driving up most of our dirt roads in the NF. They aren't plowed and most of them are closed and gated until late May. This means most NF campgrounds are also closed.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 09 Mar 2018 07:27:37 No.1222104 Report

Quoted By: >>1222108

>>1222097
thanks my dude!

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 09 Mar 2018 07:30:21 No.1222107 Report

Quoted By:

>>1222092
also for reference I own a company that works with the Pike/San Isabel/White River National Forests maintaining Forest Service properties. We usually aim to open the roads and campgrounds on May 20th.

this date varies based on conditions, but I don't expect it to change this year. It looks like the roads will probably be clear into the forests around that time. There will still be several feet of snow on the ground by May 20th though. There always is. In some places there will still be over 15 feet of snow on the ground at that time.

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 09 Mar 2018 07:31:22 No.1222108 Report

Quoted By:

>>1222104
you're welcome.

Anonymous

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Anonymous Fri 09 Mar 2018 07:53:53 No.1222119 Report

Quoted By:

>>1222078
go hike up into grey rock. I used to do that all the time. I grew up in fort collins. bout a 45 minute, hour drive tops into the mountains and you've got a parking lot to leave yr car and just hike out into the middle of fuckin innawoods. feels good man

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO tumblr_loa1frbNyZ1qc6li3.jpg, 16KiB, 300x199

Anonymous Fri 09 Mar 2018 14:46:01 No.1222263 Report

Quoted By:

>>1222078
Waaahh noooo NATIVES only stay out :/

Anonymous

Anonymous Fri 09 Mar 2018 16:32:54 No.1222328 Report

Quoted By:

Great sand dunes is still going to be really cold at night even in april. I have camped there quite a bit in spring but I have a van with a heater.
Anon march is still winter in colorado ,you need 4 season gear which most here do not have.
The average low in april is a good chunk below freezing.
Try joshua tree

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