Lake Como Road – Free Colorado Boondocking

Lake Como Road is the popular name for what is officially designated as Mt. Blanca Road by the Bureau of Land Management. It’s also enumerated by the BLM as Road 5410.

It’s a popular area for RV boondockers and tent campers.

There are four main areas where RVers can boondock…

• At the start of Lake Como Road, right where it branches off of State Highway 150. There is enough room for four or five large RVs. But it’s very close to the highway.
• 1/2 mile in, there’s a large clearing where another four to five large RVs could fit in.
• Another 1/2 mile after that, there’s yet another large clearing for a handful of large RVs.
• From there, the road begins its ascent up Mt. Blanca and becomes rocky. Along the way, there’s four to five small clearings just large enough for one or two campers. The first two of these are large enough for 40+ foot trailers. The rest are small enough to accommodate a single SUV, van, or pickup camper.

That last section is where Sash and I camped, at the second site. It was rough going driving our 2WD pickup truck with a 28 foot trailer behind, but I managed it. The site is not level. It’s sloped. It took a few attempts at finding the best position. I had to use a few leveling blocks to get it as level as I could get it. But once we got settled in, we camped here for 9 days in mid-May 2019.

Lake Como Road winds its way up to Lake Como, one of the highest lakes in the United States at around 11,700 feet. The road actually continues from there, but gets so rocky that only the most rugged Jeeps can get through. Lake Como Rd is often considered the most rocky road in the United States. As such it’s a very popular road for 4WD enthusiasts.

What It’s Like to Camp Here

It’s very quiet here. The wind does blow a lot, however. It’ll either blow from the south-west or the north-east. It’s been said there’s a lot of wildlife here, including coyotes, but we never saw anything aside from jack rabbits.

When it’s sunny and the wind is not blowing, there’s hoards of tiny gnats flying about. They’re actually tiny enough to crawl through window screens. They only seemed to bother us when we stepped outside of the trailer, making it annoying to walk any significant distance. But, once we stepped back into the trailer, they disappear and don’t bother trying to crawl through window screens.

Campfires are permitted because this is open BLM land. Most campers we saw built fires.

Surprisingly, we got excellent Verizon 4G reception at 5 bars. There were times though, when that signal would drop down to 1 or 2 bars for a few seconds, then bounce back up to 5 bars. Interestingly, the signal gets spotty more towards State Highway 150.

A few times we drove into Alamosa, about 18 miles away. Plenty of amenities there. Overall, it felt safe to leave our trailer unattended. We were never bothered by anyone.

If You Plan to Camp Along Lake Como Road

If you plan to camp along Lake Como Road, we suggest finding a spot in that last section, where the road begins climbing elevation. It’s not that steep, and the road remains firm enough to get good traction. It’s just going to be rocky and bumpy, still suitable for low-clearance, 2WD RVs. The advantage is getting the wide view of San Luis Valley and some gorgeous sunsets.

Make sure to arrive here early, say anytime between 11:00am and 3:00pm, because this is a popular area to boondock. With the limited areas for camping, they fill up fast.

Also note that Lake Como Road is pretty well washboarded from the start at State Highway 150 until it begins climbing up elevation.

Nearby Facilities

There’s an RV dump station inside Great Sand Dunes National Park, about 17 miles up State Highway 150, about 20 minutes drive. Just 1/4 mile north of the dump station are garbage bins. It’ll cost you $25.00 get inside the park, unless you already have a pass.