🔥 Fire Restrictions Right Now
Wood campfires are banned across the whole corridor — including in developed campgrounds with permanent metal fire rings. Propane and liquid-gas devices with an on/off valve are still allowed in all three jurisdictions.
Roosevelt National Forest — Canyon Lakes Ranger District
National forest (most of the Poudre Canyon & Red Feather area)
In effect July 2, 2026 through December 31, 2026, unless rescinded.
Not allowed
- Building, maintaining, attending, or using a fire, campfire, charcoal barbecue, or grill — except a device solely fueled by liquid or gas that can be turned on and off, in an area cleared of all flammable material within three feet.
- Smoking, except in an enclosed vehicle or building.
- Welding, or operating an acetylene or other torch with open flame.
- Using an explosive.
- Possessing or using a motor vehicle off Forest Service roads, except when parking in an area devoid of vegetation within 10 feet of the vehicle.
Still allowed
- Stoves, grills, lanterns and fire pits fueled solely by liquid fuel or bottled gas, with an on/off control — set in an area cleared of flammable material for three feet around the device.
- Smoking inside an enclosed vehicle or building.
Penalty: Class B misdemeanor — up to $5,000 for an individual ($10,000 for an organization), up to six months imprisonment, or both.
Larimer County (unincorporated land only)
Unincorporated county land — NOT the national forest, NOT the state park
In effect May 27, 2026 through 11:59pm July 21, 2026 — unless ended earlier or extended. Verify before you travel.
Larimer County does not use “Stage 1/Stage 2” terminology — despite what many websites say. It is a recorded resolution.
Not allowed
- Contained open fires — including fires in permanently built masonry or metal fireplaces and fire rings.
- Uncontained open fires of any type — campfires, bonfires, fire pits, recreational fires, and coal, wood or pellet stoves.
- Charcoal, wood or pellet fueled cooking of any kind.
- Welding, or operating acetylene or other torches with open flame.
- Combustible devices — sky lanterns, exploding targets, exploding ammunition, tracer ammunition.
- Running any internal- or external-combustion engine without a working spark arrester. Operating a chainsaw — gas OR electric — also requires having a shovel on hand to put out sparks from rock strikes.
Still allowed
- Fires fueled by bottled gas or pressurized liquid — the resolution names portable heaters, cooking stoves, heating stoves, hiking/camping stoves, grills, FIRE PITS and fireplaces.
- Fireplaces and wood stoves inside a permanent building (a home or business) — these are not “contained open fires.”
- Open burning intentionally used for forest management.
Unclear
- Smoking: the county’s announcement page says smoking outdoors is not allowed, but the recorded resolution — the legally operative document — contains no smoking clause. We can’t state it as law either way. Assume you shouldn’t, and check with the county.
Penalty: An unlawful act, enforceable under the county’s 2022 fire ordinance. The county says violators can be fined; no dollar figure is stated in the resolution itself.
Jackson County — including State Forest State Park
Over Cameron Pass: State Forest State Park & the Gould/Walden side
In effect since 12:01am July 3, 2026 — until further notice. Jackson went to Stage 1 on June 18 and escalated to Stage 2 on July 3.
Not allowed
- Building, maintaining, attending or using any open fire or open burning — campfires, warming fires, charcoal grill fires, slash fires, and burning trash or debris.
- Fireworks of any kind, and the lighting of fused explosives.
- Colorado Parks & Wildlife states it plainly for the park: open fire, campfire or open flame outdoors is prohibited INCLUDING in developed campgrounds and picnic areas — and that includes charcoal grills, BBQs, coal and wood-burning stoves.
Still allowed
- Stoves, lanterns, heating devices and appliances fueled by bottled or liquid gas — the device must meet underwriter’s safety specifications and have a regulator and gas control that let you turn the flame on and off.
- Fires in fireplaces inside buildings.
- Charcoal grills at private residences and retail food establishments — this does NOT cover your campsite.
- Professional fireworks displays authorized by the local governing body.
Penalty: $1,000 plus a $10 surcharge per offense; a class 2 petty offense under Colorado law.
The three-foot rule is a federal rule
Only the Forest Service requires your gas stove or fire pit to sit in an area cleared of flammable material for three feet around it. Larimer and Jackson set no clearance distance — but it’s the safest habit for the whole corridor, so just do it everywhere.
The chainsaw rule gets STRICTER when you leave the national forest
Counterintuitive, but true: the Canyon Lakes order has no chainsaw clause at all, while Larimer County requires a working spark arrester AND a shovel on hand — for gas or electric saws. Cutting firewood on county land? Bring the shovel.
Smoking rules change at the forest boundary
In Roosevelt National Forest, smoking is allowed only inside an enclosed vehicle or building. Jackson County’s ordinance doesn’t address smoking. Larimer’s own two sources disagree with each other. The safe move corridor-wide: only in your vehicle, and pack out the butt.
Larimer’s end date is not an all-clear
Larimer County’s restrictions are set to expire 11:59pm on July 21, 2026 — and they may be extended. Even if they lapse, they only ever covered unincorporated county land. The national forest order runs through December 31, and Jackson County’s has no end date at all. The canyon does not open back up on July 22.
Verified against the official orders on 2026-07-16. Fire restrictions change fast — always confirm with the agency before you travel.
Do you really need 4WD on the Forest Service Branch Roads?
Yes — real four-wheel drive with genuine high clearance. The first three easy sites are the only forested sites that can accommodate regular vehicles (and even those are dicey); reaching sites 4-8 involves embedded rock, ruts and loose stone. A crossover or an unmodified SUV is not adequate, regardless of what you hear elsewhere.
Can you camp anywhere along the road?
No. This is designated dispersed camping. You may only camp in the cleared, marked sites, and rangers patrol the road regularly. Pulling off into an unmarked spot is both a citation risk and the thing that scars this forest floor for a decade.
There are fire rings — can I have a campfire?
Not necessarily (certainly not for all of 2026), and you must check first. Several sites have long-established rock rings, but fire restrictions are frequently in effect through the summer months and a ring is not permission. Check the current restrictions before you leave home; they change through the season and can tighten with little notice. We suggest a LavaBox for backcountry camping and marshmallow toasting.
Is there water, a toilet, or trash service?
None of the above. Dispersed means exactly that. Bring all your water, dig a proper cathole well away from water, and pack out every bit of trash including toilet paper.
How long is the season?
Short. The road opens when the snow finally lets it and closes early in the fall. Realistically you are looking at a brief midsummer-to-early-autumn window, and even then nights are cold at 10,000 feet with frequent ice/hail and thunderstorms.
Are dogs allowed?
Yes, and this is wonderful dog country — we have watched people paddleboard the reservoir with theirs. Keep them under control: there is wildlife here, and the nearest vet is a long, rough drive away.
Can I bring an OHV or ATV?
No. OHVs are not permitted on this road. Northwest Larimer County has excellent OHV country, but Long Draw is not part of it.
If this is more road than you want
That is a completely reasonable conclusion, and there are excellent alternatives close by. Long Draw Campground is a developed Forest Service campground in the same high country with actual sites, tables and rings. There is also a broader guide to camping and campgrounds around the Mountains of Larimer County, including easier dispersed options on gentler roads.
And if you want the drive without the camping, Long Draw Road as a scenic route is worth a day on its own.
Take the map with you
There is no cell signal up here — not at the sites, not at the reservoir, and not for the miles in between. Our Larimer Wilds Trails app downloads every trail and many forest roads in this country to your phone, with live GPS that keeps working long after the last bar is gone. If you are driving a road you cannot turn around on, knowing exactly where you are is worth more than we charge for it.
- The Larimer Wilds Trails app — every trail and forest road up here, on your phone, working offline where there is no signal. $7.99 a year.
- Apps & Gear — both of our offline apps in one place, including the free fishing app.
- The Curated Collection — shirts, hoodies and prints carrying graphic designs made from our own original photography of this country.
Author: Faye & Chris
We're Faye and Chris, and we live up here in the Rocky Mountains of Larimer County. Everything on this site comes from actually being out in it — Chris is the driver, and Faye is the writer/photographer. Between us we built the Larimer Wilds apps so other people can find this wild mountain country too. We're not a tourism board and nobody pays us to say any of this. We're two people who love, hike, bike and ride Northwest Larimer County and would rather help you do it right than watch you learn it the hard way.
