Silver Jack Campground — Uncompahgre National Forest

Silver Jack sits along the Cimarron River drainage east of Ridgway at around 8,900 feet, backed up against Silver Jack Reservoir. It’s a full-service USFS developed campground — vault toilets, fire rings, picnic tables, and a handful of sites that handle larger rigs reasonably well. The terrain is ponderosa and mixed conifer with meadow breaks; it’s quieter than the Ouray-side camps and draws a more self-sufficient crowd. About 60 sites across several loops. Fishing in the reservoir is a legit draw if you’ve got a rod along.

Access from US-50 via the Owl Creek Pass Road (CR-858) is well-maintained gravel — passable for any stock rig in dry conditions, though the full Owl Creek Pass crossing into the Cimarron drainage requires high clearance. Season runs mid-May through September. Cell service is effectively zero. No hookups, no dump station. Good dispersed options exist further up the road if you want to push deeper.

Sleeper reservoir camp on the Cimarron