Scouting Report – (CO-4) Lake Irwin

Lake Irwin Dispersed Camping Area:

Lake Irwin Campground

Phone Number: (970) 874-6600

Elevation: 10,400

Lat/Long: 38.88078, -107.11011

Nearby Town: Crested Butte, Co. @ 9 miles

Details:

No fee
No potable water
No trash
Only small non motorized boats allowed on the lake no boat ramp
Vault toilets in the Lake Irwin Campground and a porta-potty by the lake

Note:

The link above is for the paid campsite, but there are a lot of free dispersed camping sites along FSR-826.D1

Date of Report: 06/2018

Road Conditions: Very good

The road up Kebler pass is paved most of the way and the rest of the road is a well taken care of dirt road. This site is easily accessible by passenger car up to the lake Irwin campground. Forest service road 826.1D is a little more rugged, but is still passable by passenger car providing you are going slow and paying attention to where you are driving on the road. Vehicles with higher clearance (Subaru) should have no issues getting to all of the sites in this area.

General Site Information:

There is a pay campsite and there is ample dispersed camping on FSR 826.1D, this is a very popular area due to its extreme beauty and if you are coming up on a weekend or over a holiday there is a chance that all of the sites here may be taken. If that is the case I would suggest you check the MVUM for the area as there is a huge amount of dispersed camping around Crested Butte. The views from the free sites along the forest service road are some of the finest in the rocky mountains. The best time to visit the area is late June and July when the wild flowers take over every nook and cranny of the forest floor beneath the towering trees. Everywhere you turn in this area there is a breathtaking site to be seen. The lake is quite large and cold even in the throws of summer, due to the elevation of over 10,500 feet you should never expect temperatures to go much over 80 degrees. Sup boarding and canoeing are very popular on the lake as well as fishing which I hear is good if you are after trout.

At the end of your stay here I would highly recommend you plan your route home or to your next location with a stop at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. The area is a bit remote and extremely beautiful. There are many excellent places to stop off on 92 to take a picture of some truly spectacular scenery. As you follow the canyon north I would urge you to take the 11 mile trek to the north rim of the park and explore this remote location in closer detail. The admission to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is well worth it for the incredible views of sheer canyon walls raising thousands of feet from the raging Gunnison river below.