![]() ![]() This road closes in winter and usually melts out by early June. These are a solid backup plan in case the dispersed campsites are full. There are dozens of free dispersed campsites along the road and several campsites with fees. Most sites are along or near the creek, in a forested valley in the shadow of massive mountains. We had heard that Stanley Lake was a must-see, so we made a point to stop by on the day we had to drive 4 hours round trip to pick up a pice for our RV to be fixed (oh, did I forget to mention that one in the bullet points?!) It was stunning and we wished we had more time to spend there.This Forest Road splits off from Highway 24 just south of Leadville, leading to the trailheads for Mount Elbert and Mount Massive, the state’s two tallest peaks. It has plenty of outdoor seating areas and a restaurant nextdoor for food and drinks. There was a line out the door to be seated, but there was also a separate to-go line for their pastries and coffee so we took ours to go.Ĭell signal and wifi can be hit or miss, so we visited the public library downtown a few times to use their free wifi. We found the biggest cinnamon rolls we’d ever seen and they were delicious! If you choose to go there on a weekend like we did, get there early or plan to wait a while. People rave about Stanley Baking Co & Cafe so we had to try it one morning. The grocery store doesn’t have everything you’ll need, and it’s pricey so stock up on groceries before you arrive. We enjoyed pizza at Papa Brunee’s in town, and had a great time just walking around the quaint downtown area. We were able to access a different part of the lake that’s only accessible by boat and have a little fun over there. We couldn’t see the entire lake from the beach, and we really wanted to explore the entire lake, so our friends that were visiting surprised us by renting a boat for our crew on their last day! It was so much fun. We even had a fun, spontaneous baseball game in the clear, shallow water one day! Renting a boat…well worth it! It’s shallow for a good ways out so there’s plenty of space to play or float around with the kids. The water is some of the prettiest water I’ve ever seen. It was a little crowded, but there was a nice beach to relax on, shallow water to play in, and docks to jump off. Parking is free if you park in one of the parking lots closest to the lodge, we assume to encourage you to spend money at one of their two restaurants, gift shop, or by renting a boat or kayak (it worked because we did all three!). Redfish Lake Lodge was only a 5 minute drive from our boondocking spot. Redfish Lake was the highlight of Stanley for us. We stuck with easier, relaxing activities and had a great time with our friends. Sawtooth Lake via Iron Creek Stanley Lake Trail Some of the best easy to moderate local hikes are: There are some amazing hikes in the Stanley area that unfortunately we had to miss out on due to a groin injury that Lauren was trying to recover from (oh yeah, one more bad bullet point), But if you visit Stanley, you definitely have to check out all the beautiful hikes there are. We are thankful that the sickness didn’t hit us and the generator didn’t hit us until AFTER our friends left! It was a rough week and honestly, probably the toughest week we’ve had on the road so far. Most importantly (at least to Aaron) is that the 6 hour drive caused him the miss MLB's All-Star Game Home Run Derby. ![]() That means a 6 hour round trip drive to Boise to pick up a $20 part. ![]() We were in the middle of nowhere and couldn't get the part shipped to us for days and days. It's actually a relatively easy fix except. We had a shackle snap under our RV, making our RV undrivable until we got it fixed (another picture below). We should just drive to an actual campground or maybe to a cooler location, but. Our generator broke! Which means that in 90+ degree temperature we had no air conditioning. Just imagine a terrible stomach flu.and multiply that by 10 because. The back of our RV side-swiped a 2 foot tall tree stump while pulling into our dry camping spot, bending the back left corner of the wall of our RV completely off (we could see our couch from the outside of the RV. While Boondocking, aka dry camping, aka no extra water or sewer and minimal power. Our old neighbors from Georgia, the last place we lived in, came for a visit! Stanley is amazing and beautiful we were able to spend so little money to take it all in (you’ll love the pictures below). Stanley, Idaho…a town that we will never forget …for very contrasting reasons! Our experience in Stanley was unforgettable, but not for the reasons most people might think. ![]()
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