Camping on Lake Como Road

[hberry]

I am planning on driving my truck up as far as I can on the Lake Como road and hoping to camp where I park rather than packing up to the lake. Are there decent camp sites or a place to pitch a tent along the road around the area most people usually park trucks/SUVs?

[pmeadco]

You shouldn't have any trouble finding places to camp. At the bottom, after the road goes steep, there aren't a lot of places, but as you go up you will find occasional spots. If you get up over ridge going into the main drainage the road levels out a bit and there are multiple pullouts that are used for camping. After you pass the old mining buildings, cross the creek, and get on the south facing aspect, the opportunities get few till you get up to the lake. Good luck! That is a rough road, and unless you are really daring you will likely be stopped by the Jaws, but most of the best camping spots are below those driving challenges.

[nsaladin]

there are some spots to camp between 10,000' and 10,300'. Have taken three different vehicles that high (2006 4Runner, 2015 4Runner, 2004 Land Cruiser - all had A/T tires, which is key for this road)

[James Dziezynski]

Just park wherever your axles break.

I kid of course, it'll likely be a sway bar, control arm, or U-joint.

There are plenty of side pull-offs along the way, finding a spot shouldn't be a problem. I've been up Como so many times, I forget the actual mileage I normally park at but it's just past a metal-cut out sign with 4x4 info (on the left on the ascent, kind of in the woods) - about 3.5 miles up, before any of the substantial rock-crawling obstacles (the eponymous Jaws obstacles). I like to keep the hike down the road under 4 miles on foot so this spot does the trick.

Like nsaladin said, get thee some Bridgestone KO2 tires or a similarly tough kevlar-infused tire The cobble-knocker section at the bottom eventually gives way to smoother roads higher up, but all that jolting adds up to some real wear and tear. My ol' 98' 4Runner has been up the road at least seven times and always emerges unscathed thanks to investing in good tires and driving carefully - not too fast, but also not too slow.

[hberry]

I have Wrangler ATs and have been over a good amount of obstacles - no sway bar so that won't rip off. I'm not trying to go higher than where people park their stock or slightly modified vehicles - just don't want to walk 14 miles Round Trip for Little Bear. I will be getting to Jaws right before it gets dark and don't feel like hiking to the lake and looking for a site in the dark along with saving my legs for LB.

Thanks for the info everyone!

[daway8]

Be advised this road is rockier than all get out right from the start - we're talking softball size rocks just piled loosely over the road. It's not difficult per se at this lower section but I got so sick of having my brains rattled out that I pulled over after a few miles at about 8'800 ft - about 4miles from the lake. Only a tiny flat spot without rocks at the particular spot I stopped but enough to get a small tent up. Another guy that day sped up to try to have less jostling from the rocks but ended up flipping his truck on its side. Between getting it upright and then repaired he was stuck out there for over 12 hours - and that's well below where the road gets ugly...

[Bull]

Did you make this trip this weekend? Me and some friends are coming out from Kansas to hike at Lake Como and climb Blanca and Ellingwood next weekend (10-11 August 18). Any information or updates you can share would be much appreciated. Did you hear of any bear activity up there this year? I found reports from 2011 and 2015 but nothing recent, so was curious. Also, any fires threatening that area. Thanks for any useful info you can give.

[daway8]

In response to Bull: when I was up there on 7/28 I don't recall hearing anything about bears but I did this as a really long day hike starting from 8,800 ft (about 4 miles from the lake). However it's strongly advised when camping in spots like this to have your food in a bear canister or at least hang it from a tree if you're packing in to the lake. The nearby fires that had closed the area earlier this summer are no longer a concern. Be advised, in case you haven't already researched it, that this is considered the most difficult 4WD road in the state of Colorado. I made it to 8,800 ft in my Jeep Renegade. After walking the road I think I might have possibly made it to maybe 10k if I had pushed a little harder but beyond that it gets real ugly real fast, especially once you hit Jaws 1. Trailsoff.com has a a very useful gpx file of the road (search for Blanca Peak) that includes waypoints showing the location of Jaws 1 and the other big obstacles which you probably don't want to try to tackle without a heavily modified vehicle and lots of experience (though I was surprised at some of the vehicles that made it to the lake). You can download a gpx viewer so you can open it up on your phone. Hope that helps.

[hberry]

I did the hike this weekend. No mention of Bears from anyone but the 4WD club has set up some food hangers at the lake to keep your food well off the ground.

My truck made it to around 10k feet. It is a slightly modified Tundra. I have done a lot of off roading in the truck and know its limits - it will really depend how confident you are with your vehicle.