Carnero Guard Station in CO -- Campground & RV Camping in Colorado
Carnero Guard Station in CO
U.S. Forest Service allows overnight stays only at the designated sites here.
Carnero Guard Station is a two-room 1908 historic cabin sitting in a high open meadow at 9,840 feet in the Rio Grande National Forest, surrounded by volcanic outcroppings and forested hills. It accommodates up to 12 people with bunk beds, a propane heater, stove, refrigerator, lights, a picnic table, fire pit, and an outdoor vault toilet. Water is available via an outside hand pump. The site serves as a base camp for hunting, creek fishing, hiking, and accessing off-road vehicle trails, with cross-country skiing in winter and rock climbing nearby at Penitente Canyon.
Road difficulty 4 of 5 -- a difficult drive in. Recorded as maintained only for high-clearance vehicles, dirt, pitching to 14%.
Cabins and shelters rather than pads. Lookout Mountain stands 1,692 ft above the site, 3.0 miles west. A body of water lies 0.6 mi off. The nearest town, Del Norte, is 22 mi off.
September normals 36–64°F, 2.0″ rain. Monthly averages, PRISM 1991–2020.
Set by U.S. Forest Service. Stage 1 and 2 orders change within days -- check the current order before you build a fire.
fs.usda.gov