Devils Head Campground

Devils Head Campground is the Forest Service site at the base of the Devils Head Lookout trail, deep into Rampart Range Road south of Sedalia. The reason to camp here is singular and worth it: the Devils Head Lookout is a staffed historic fire tower, established in 1912, on the National Register of Historic Places, and the last lookout in continuous service along Colorado's Front Range. Camping at the base lets you start the 1.4-mile trail early, before the day-trip crowd arrives, and finish the final 143-step metal staircase bolted to the granite up to the cabin while the lookout is just starting their day.

This is primitive camping and you should plan accordingly. There is no potable water at the campground at all; bring everything. Vault toilets, first-come only with no reservations, a nightly fee around $28 per the Forest Service (aggregator sites list lower numbers, but the official page is the one to trust, so verify on the Forest Service Devils Head page before you go). The site count is not published on the official page and at least one recent season had only the upper loop open, so do not count on a specific number of available sites. Dogs are allowed on leash.

The trail is the marquee. About 1.4 miles one way, roughly 865 feet of gain, ending with the famous staircase to the lookout cabin at 9,748 feet. In summer the lookout is staffed by a longtime resident who will, weather and workload permitting, let visitors climb up and talk. It is one of the genuinely distinctive things you can do in the DougCo backcountry, and most people do it as a day trip, which is exactly why staying at the base is the move.

The access is the standard Rampart Range Road situation: unpaved, slow, closed by December 1 for the winter, often not truly open until late May. The lookout itself is generally staffed mid-June into October. Coming too early in the season means a closed road or a closed tower. Plan the trip around the lookout season, not just the campground.