Handies- American Basin Dispersed Camping

[Ryan1979]

Hello,

Has anyone camped at or near the American Basin TH? I'm wondering if there are a lot of dispersed camping spots and can't seem to find the info online. I'll be headed up there Friday July 27th, should be up there between 4-6pm, do I have a good chance of getting a camp spot? Also I can't use the Silver Creek/Grizzly Gulch TH, need to hike Handies from the American Basin TH because my hiking partner will barely make the 5.5 miles as is. Really appreciate any comments!

Thank you!

[Bombay2Boulder]

Not too much tree cover at the American basin TH. Definitely look into the weather before deciding to camp there. There are plenty of spots on the road to the TH where you can camp in. You can later drive to the TH to hike.

[Wish I lived in CO]

Lots of camping at Grizzy Gulch / Silver Creek TH area and before. Not so great camping at the American basin TH, though I suppose you could pitch a tent there.

[lafiurcm]

It's not guaranteed but I've often found camp sites at Mill Creek Campground, even when rolling in after dark on a Friday night. Nice campground with a small fee. It's a little before Grizzly Gulch so might take you 30-40 minutes to drive to American Basin in the morning. Like others have said there is also dispersed camping around Grizzly Gulch. Personally, I'd just sleep in the car if planning on going all the way to American Basin.

[Ryan1979]

Thanks for the info everyone! Sounds like I have a few options! I'll just try to get there as early and possible and be flexible. Worst case scenario I camp near Grizzly Gulch and drive to the American Basin in the morning of the hike, as suggested.

Thanks Again!

[huffy13]

Another idea I'll bounce off you, camp at the Grizzly Gulch/Silver Creek TH, ascend Handies via GG, the mountain looks far more impressive from this side and you see it in front of you the whole time. Then descend via American Basin, enjoy the wildflowers and take a post-summit break at Sloan Lake. Then all you have to do is hike the road back to the GG/SC trailhead. It's a great loop route, giving you the chance to enjoy both sides of the peak, see something different throughout the hike, and the road back is super easy and absolutely gorgeous....plus, when we did the loop route we got a lot of offers from folks for a ride back but we were enjoying the hike, so we kindly declined the offers.

Some have also mentioned Mill Creek, it is a nice, clean campground. I stayed there last year when I hiked Sunshine and Redcloud, though I would not recommend ascending Sunshine via Mill Creek, it was a long, steep slog.

[RobLowe]

There’s at a minimum 12 car camping spots from the turnoff for Cinnamon Pass to the American Basin trailhead. There were four groups camping there last night. Great campsites all by amazing wildflowers above tree line. Camp there frequently.

[climbingbetty]

Another idea I'll bounce off you, camp at the Grizzly Gulch/Silver Creek TH, ascend Handies via GG, the mountain looks far more impressive from this side and you see it in front of you the whole time. Then descend via American Basin, enjoy the wildflowers and take a post-summit break at Sloan Lake. Then all you have to do is hike the road back to the GG/SC trailhead. It's a great loop route, giving you the chance to enjoy both sides of the peak, see something different throughout the hike, and the road back is super easy and absolutely gorgeous

Just curious -do you know what total RT mileage is for this route? In comparison to 8.0 RT if done to/from GG?

[huffy13]

Another idea I'll bounce off you, camp at the Grizzly Gulch/Silver Creek TH, ascend Handies via GG, the mountain looks far more impressive from this side and you see it in front of you the whole time. Then descend via American Basin, enjoy the wildflowers and take a post-summit break at Sloan Lake. Then all you have to do is hike the road back to the GG/SC trailhead. It's a great loop route, giving you the chance to enjoy both sides of the peak, see something different throughout the hike, and the road back is super easy and absolutely gorgeous

Just curious -do you know what total RT mileage is for this route? In comparison to 8.0 RT if done to/from GG?

Roundtrip was between 10 and 11 miles. 4 miles on the ascent via GG, about 2.9 on the descent via AB and about 3-3.5 on the road around Whitecross Mountain back to GG. Very scenic and easy road to hike. My daughter was 8 years old when she did it and she loved it, Handies was her first 14er.