Finding Chimney Rock
On our way up to Steamboat Springs we passed by a brown-sign beckoning us to follow a gravel road to something called “Chimney Rock”. A quick search netted Chimney Rock National Monument, but considering it was a few hundred miles away, we knew it must have been a different Chimney Rock. After finding our new home and dropping the trailer off (and a good night’s sleep) we set out to find this imposter Chimney Rock.
As we turned off the main highway and onto gravel, a sign announced ,”camping within 300 feet of Chimney Rock allowed” which, after a bit of squinting and pondering, we realized someone had very very carefully scratched off the “No” starting the sentence. No other information – distance, directions, regulations, etc – was provided on the sign. Still, if there is a “no” we must also assume there is a “yes” outside that 300 foot limit. So off we set to not only find the rock, but also to see what kind of camping spots we could find along the route.
Within a mile of traveling along the flower-studded hillside we came across one a large open and flat areas that was clearly used for camping in the past. Easily more than a half-acre of land extending out from the gravel roadway with a vast view of the surrounding hills and grasslands below. A fair share of cow patties and even a few bones were scattered about, but otherwise it was a perfect boondocking spot to add to the list of boondocking locations. Miles more of gravel had us travel into the National Forest and even more camp sites were found. Some large, some small, some deep in trees, and others out in the open. In the end, a large expanse of boondocking spots were added to the arsenal of Colorado boondocking building up.
Finally, after roughly 5 miles, we came to a view of the imposter rock. Still a distance away it proved to be fairly unimpressive. A fence protected it from the possibility of hiking out to it, which I must say was nice to have taken off the table anyway, as the flies out here were quite aggressive. In the end, while the rock failed to pluck any excitement out of us, the snaking gravel road up into an unknown – to us – National Forest and possible new camping locations if we every return to the area not only plucked, but yanked that excitement to the forefront.
