West Magnolia Campground

by Van-Tramp · Published July 19, 2014 · Updated February 19, 2015

Just outside of Nederland, Colorado is West Magnolia Campground in the National Forest. I had never been here before, only just spotting it on the map the week before, so it became the target of my weekend out of the city.

An early Friday morning drive up was to secure a camp site before the weekend crowds arrived, but the 20 or so sites that we were forced to choose from were all taken. Frustration and lack of sleep plagued the morning, so instead of fighting it I parked Big Blue at a trail head and took a nice long nap. In the afternoon Moose and I took a walk along some of the trails that inter-twine through the campground. We stumbled onto a site that appeared to me occupied at first glance, but after questioning the nearby campers it had been abandoned days earlier. The previous campers had simply left all their trash behind like it was 1950 so it was easy to think the site was still in use (who does that anymore?).

Elated, Moose and I ran back to the van and claimed our rightful spot in the forest. The site was so large, and my usage of it so minimal, that I invited the next three (!) cars of tent campers looking for a site to help me fill the site. Even though I come out here for solitude, I can’t help but invite complete strangers into my day.

The campground itself is filled with wildflowers and all the little insects that come with. Large swaths of land had been clear cut in the recent years to remove the bark-beetle infested trees. While it appears to be a scar to many, it allows the many flowers to rise into dominance over the landscape. There are still many areas of trees to get yourself lost in, but now littered with open areas that offer views of the surrounding hills that would go unseen if it were not for the open spaces.