About Alder Guard Station
The Alder Guard Station is located two miles north of the town of South Fork along Alder Creek. The guard station was built in 1910 and was the residence and office for the local ranger district. The guard station is ideally situated to access trails and roads in the area to explore the Divide Ranger District. The area offers many opportunities for hiking, horseback riding, 4-wheel drive adventures, hunting, wildlife viewing, boating, fishing, etc. The trailhead for the Alder Bench Trail is located just north of the guard station. Forest Road 610 is a 4x4 gravel road north of the guard station. The kitchen and bathroom have been renovated. There is electricity, hot water, indoor toilet, electric stove, refrigerator, dining room table, kitchen table, two bunkbeds, one single bed (with mattresses) on the second floor and a couch on the first floor. Some kitchen utensils and pots and pans…
- Fees: $50.00 per night. Recreation.gov charges a reservation fee.
- Managed by: USFS - Rio Grande National Forest
- Where: 2 mi north of South Fork, CO · 37.70445, -106.64689
Things to do:
Official page for this camp (fees, closures, booking)
Weather by month
Typical daily highs and lows (°F), 1991–2020 NOAA normals. Best months: Jun–Sep (comfortable days, mild nights, little rain). Nights below freezing: Oct–May.
Fly over it in 3D, check today's weather and fire news, plan the drive and print a trip plan.
Trails near camp
| Trail | Open to | From camp | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alder Bench | Dirt bike | at camp | 6.5 mi |
| Alder | ATV road | at camp | 10.7 mi |
| East Alder | ATV road | 0.5 mi | 1.9 mi |
| Middle Alder | ATV / OHV, Dirt bike | 1.0 mi | 5.2 mi |
| Palisade | Dirt bike | 1.1 mi | 2.1 mi |
| West Bear | Dirt bike | 1.9 mi | 4.3 mi |
Straight-line distance from camp, from Forest Service, BLM, state and OpenStreetMap trail data.
Good to know
Verizon 4G · AT&T 4G · T-Mobile 4G
From the carriers' FCC coverage maps, which tend to be generous.The Milky Way shows rich detail, horizon to horizon.
Class 2 of 9, from NASA/NOAA night-light data.Stargazing nearby: Chimney Rock National Monument (Dark Sky Park), 36 mi.
Camps nearby
- Campsite · in South Fork 2.3 mi
- Campsite · in South Fork 2.3 mi
- Campsite · 1 mi E of South Fork 2.5 mi
- Campsite · in South Fork 2.6 mi
- Campsite · 1 mi SW of Alpine 3 mi
- Campsite · in Alpine 3.5 mi