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RV Boondocking Near Silverton, CO – Maggie Gulch

| Updated Oct 16, 2013

maggiecampsiteLast week I wrote about our two week RV boondocking stay on Mineral Creek, three miles west of Silverton, Colorado. After getting run out of there by all the fifth wheelers showing up for the 4th of July weekend, we decamped to another spot about five miles north of town on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, and got through the holiday in fine style. It was a lot livelier than Mineral Creek, so we stayed entertained our entire two-week stay.

Map of the Animas Valley north of SilvertonFirst a little geography, and then I'll tell you about the entertainment. The Animas River flows down the valley toward Silverton, and Maggie Gulch is an old mining area off the road that goes north from Silverton, becomes a pretty hairy jeep trail, and eventually rejoins US 550 in Ouray, Colorado.  The first few miles of this are navigable by two wheel drive vehicles, so there we were, at 9800 feet up in the San Juan Mountains. This map shows the area- the yellow line is the continental divide. The miners had actually hauled a steam engine and stamp mill up to the Esmerelda Mine at 13,000 feet, and there it sits today. Gold fever is a powerful motivator.  All around us on the ground were reminders of the late 1800s mining operations – broken porcelain tableware, milk glass and cobalt glass fragments, and all kinds of strange and primitive machinery.

The night visitors. Very inconsiderate - didn't wash their paws or anything.
The night visitors. Very inconsiderate – didn't wash their paws or anything.

The first entertainment was the bears.  As we set up we were cautioned by nearby campers about the bears. They said there was a smaller one, around 300-400 pounds, and then there was the BIG bear. We saw the smaller one one afternoon, and were visited at night by one or the other of the bears. We slept through it, but Fiona was a little wide-eyed the next morning.  Sure enough, there were paw prints all over the cargo carrier, and paw prints on the side of the Roadtrek where they peeked in the windows. It make me grateful that Roadtrek does such a good job of building their units – Class Bs are the hardest of the hard-side campers, and there's not much for a bear to get their claws into.

Dusky Grouse - this is mom.
Dusky Grouse – this is mom.

Next were the dusky grouse, which are HUGE, chicken-sized game birds who come up here in the summer for some reason. Fiona again got motivated to get herself a chicken, but her resolve weakened as she approached and saw that the intended dinner was roughly her size.  Her step faltered, and she looked back to me, for suggestions, I suppose.

Baby grouse, if you look hard enough.
Baby grouse, if you look hard enough.

After Fiona flushed the adult, she started poking around near a rock, and there was a perfectly camouflaged baby grouse chick, frozen in place. That's why the adult was hanging around – she could fly, but the chicks couldn't yet.  There were about eight or ten of them. Fiona was put on Roadtrek restriction, happy grouse family was reunited, and they went off into the brush,  pecking away.

The mining boss' house in Animas Forks.
The mining boss' house in Animas Forks. Nice bay window.

A few days later, Harry Bawcom, a fellow Roadtrekker who follows my misadventures on the yahoo group, saw that I was in the area, and took me on a jeep ride up the valley to Animas Forks, an old mining town at 11,200 feet, that was pretty much evacuated every winter back when they were mining up here. Some of the old buildings are still standing, and the local preservation folks are doing a good job in this rough climate.

Engineer Pass looking northwest.
Engineer Pass looking northwest.

Harry then took me further up the jeep trail all the way to Engineer Pass at 12,800 feet. It's fourteeners as far as the eye can see in every direction from up there. Thanks for the memorable ride, Harry. It makes you realize what you miss staying on the paved roads.  At that altitude, there's still snow all over the place in mid-July. The plants are tundra plants – no grasses, because the ground's frozen solid half of the year.

We called this one the fire fairy flower.
We called this one the fire fairy flower.

For me, the most amazing thing about our stay there were the wildflowers around our campsite, which were just coming out in early July at that altitude. They are utterly alien to any I am used to – we just started making up names for them. A few like irises were familiar, but most of them were totally new to us. A stroll through the woods was magical discovery at every step. Summer is brief but vigorous up near 10,000 feet, and we really got to see all the flora and fauna close up.

RV Lifestyle

Published on 2013-10-16

59 Responses to “RV Boondocking Near Silverton, CO – Maggie Gulch”

June 02, 2014at10:49 pm, Elsa Kruse said:

Great place!

June 02, 2014at10:05 pm, Gerald Williams said:

Been there and Loved it

June 02, 2014at6:20 pm, Barry Wayne Pope said:

I want to get back up there !!!

June 02, 2014at2:35 pm, Ruth Keck said:

I want to go.

June 02, 2014at2:18 pm, Eric Veater said:

I saw an RV trucking van yesterday in UT

June 02, 2014at1:08 am, Deborah Pace Westrup said:

Go to the Amphitheater Campground in Ouray, CO – perfect!

June 01, 2014at11:51 pm, GW Ames said:

Is there a guide that lists all the areas where one can boondock? Also what about dumping stations, etc. Thanks!

June 01, 2014at11:26 pm, Lew Jabro said:

Jackie Stotler

June 01, 2014at11:01 pm, Karen Redbird Tapia said:

What does boondocking mean?

June 01, 2014at10:56 pm, Jack Dobrinski said:

Heading up there to my little place in 24 days. By the end of July, there’ll be a little cabin at about 10,700ft….

June 01, 2014at10:22 pm, Sandra Loomis Tiffee said:

Love, love, love the Silverton area!!!

June 01, 2014at9:45 pm, Mark Kremer said:

Love Silverton Colorado !! 🙂

June 01, 2014at9:27 pm, Tami Ingraham said:

my kinda camping…

June 01, 2014at9:17 pm, Richie Tomchuk said:

Sue Anna Copacabana Williams

June 01, 2014at9:07 pm, Seven O Seward said:

Beautifucountry

June 01, 2014at8:47 pm, Judith Ourand Joy said:

Loved visiting there, loved Colorado. We also took the train which was a thrill!

June 01, 2014at8:41 pm, Judy Marilyn Bailey Clark said:

Now that is real boondocking.

June 01, 2014at8:32 pm, Terry Sontag said:

Went there once to ride the train with my wife and 3 small children. Got to Ouray Colorado and a fella with a trailer and two four wheelers was just too excited to get to the mountains and wiped out our RV and sent us limping back to Texas. Never got to ride that train but always wanted to.

June 01, 2014at8:29 pm, Debra VanAlstine said:

Heading to that country in two weeks. We’ve spent many summers in that country. Can’t wait to get back to the high country.

June 01, 2014at8:17 pm, Sean Barnard said:

Love taking the train from derango to Silverton.

June 01, 2014at7:52 pm, David Lyons said:

Looks beautiful.

June 01, 2014at7:34 pm, Renee Blanchard said:

Kelli Darland, thought you would enjoy reading this story about one of your favorite places.

June 01, 2014at7:23 pm, Ella Formby said:

We sure liked going up there & wish health issues would allow us to return!

June 01, 2014at7:18 pm, Judy Miller Perry said:

We visited this area last Summer…. Amazing place!

June 01, 2014at7:16 pm, David Spencer said:

I live in Farmington I’ve been all over those mountains it’s beautiful country

June 01, 2014at6:39 pm, Sylvia Spiegel said:

Love it, wish I could afford a RV!

June 01, 2014at6:33 pm, Edward J Rogers said:

That’s awesome

June 01, 2014at6:03 pm, Tony King said:

Thanks for sharing. For those interested in seeing the back country but don’t own/have a 4 wheel drive, you can rent them in all the surrounding towns and they give you maps with odometer mileages. It’s not dangerous off roading for the most part with common sense as all the old roads were built for Horse and wagons. Google ” Alpine Loop” for a beautiful back country drive.

March 29, 2014at6:35 pm, John Benson said:

Have you discussed composting toilets in any of your blog posts?

March 29, 2014at8:41 pm, Campskunk said:

no i haven’t. i’m not aware of any RV manufacturer who offers them, even as an option, even in europe where they have gray water only dumps, and cassette toilets to dump in public bathrooms. maybe the space or ventilation requirements somehow make them a bad fit for RVs, or something like that. maybe having them up off the ground changes the temperature they maintain inside, which would affect the bacterial action. since you have to dump your gray water tanks anyway, and dumps here in north america accept both gray and black water, it’s easiest just to have a tank you dump instead of a composting toilet. just guessing, though.

March 24, 2014at5:18 pm, John Benson said:

Thanks so much for your answer. The fillup, long hot shower, and refillup was a great out-of-the-box tip. I just thought the shower would have be done at the campsite. But if the shower travels with you, why not take advantage of it during a fillup.

One more question – considering your boondocking lifestyle, why not switch over to a composting toilet (like Nature’s Head)? It seems like a perfect solution – and doesn’t consume the fresh water.

March 24, 2014at12:18 am, John Benson said:

You mentioned this was a 2 week stay. Approximately how many days could you stay at the same spot before finding a dump station?

March 24, 2014at3:10 am, Campskunk said:

we could make the 25 gallons of fresh water last about five days. then we’d go into town ( 5 miles), dump, fill up, take long hot showers, dump again, fill up, and head out for another five days.

March 02, 2014at8:26 am, Mary Jane said:

This is really what I would like to do when I retire

March 02, 2014at3:35 am, Verna Dufrene Hebert said:

Must be in the summertime!!!!

March 01, 2014at11:45 pm, Owen Davids said:

been there……….NICE!!!!!!!!!

March 01, 2014at7:45 pm, Gordon Harris said:

Can’t do it this time of year. July and Aug.

March 01, 2014at1:21 pm, Millie Dwyer said:

nice

March 01, 2014at1:08 pm, Louise Pinchak said:

Beautiful area.

March 01, 2014at12:01 pm, Debbie Jones-Worvie said:

Been to Silverton, love it.

March 01, 2014at11:21 am, Kel Grebetz said:

Joe Dirt loves Silverton.

March 01, 2014at10:51 am, Kathy Weeks Stephens said:

Where’s the train???

March 01, 2014at10:17 am, Nelson Juneau said:

cela est la vrai vie

March 01, 2014at10:11 am, Eric Shorty Hall said:

Very soon!!!

March 01, 2014at9:37 am, Barb Rees said:

Do you ever worry about your safety when boondocking alone?

March 01, 2014at1:01 pm, Campskunk said:

no, i really don’t. look at the crime statistics- almost all the assaults and robberies are in town. you’ll find a lot more respect for people’s property rights and privacy among country folks. the only people who tramp through my campsite usually just drove in from downtown denver.

March 01, 2014at9:31 am, Norma Von McBride Carr said:

We visited the area for several days two years ago. Beautiful…

March 01, 2014at8:39 am, Becky Taylor said:

When I was 15 my parents and I rode the Silverton Railroad through Colorado. It was beautiful.

March 01, 2014at8:29 am, Michael Garsee said:

Yall are so lucky to be that close to the mountains, s e texas.we love going to st. Elmo every other year on atvs. 14xers are awesome. We are at 62′ elevation

March 01, 2014at8:25 am, Kathy McMillen Allen said:

My parents, three siblings, and our dachshund, Herman stayed in a tent in almost that exact location when I was about 14 (a very very long time ago 1970 -71). Us kids and the dog ran wild during the daytime, loving the freedom. Our last day there, Herman found a skunk, making the trip home to Pueblo, CO extremely unpleasant. A vivid memory of childhood.

March 01, 2014at8:21 am, John R Eckley said:

We have camp here.

March 01, 2014at8:14 am, Linda Gable Matthews said:

Don’t forget about Lake City just over the mountain, but a long way around.

March 01, 2014at8:08 am, Matthew Chrisman said:

My dream would be to have about ten acres up in the mountains around Silverton.

March 01, 2014at8:03 am, Kristi McKibbin Goldsmith said:

I think we took the same trip last year… But we were in a 36 foot motor home towing a tracker.. It was a great trip.. I think we were in Mesa Verde the same time too… Funny… Happy trails… We also blog as we go.. On TravelPod.. This summer will be our 5th cross country trip with our family.. If you are interested you can find us under travel pod and look up evotech and you can see our last 4 month long trips… Love to get other campers views…

March 01, 2014at7:59 am, Ross Murphy said:

We have been here many times, usually camping just up the road in the old townsite of Eureka. A couple of times we were the only camper there. I’m sure that this isn’t possible much anymore. We first started camping here in 1977. We towed our 15′ Serro Scotty Highlander with our CJ5 Jeep. The next year we moved up to a motor home and towed our Jeep.

March 01, 2014at7:58 am, Ken Holmes said:

close to my home in bv co.

October 16, 2013at8:08 am, Lisa said:

Lovely article!

Comments are closed.

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