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Most of the dispersed campsites at Kenosha Pass require a high clearance vehicle to reach, although there are a few close to the highway that are reachable in a standard vehicle.
The opportunities for hiking and mountain biking are nearly endless here with access to both Lost Creek Wilderness as well as a beautiful section of the Colorado Trail. Be sure to pack out all your trash as the area is very popular and experiences tons of use. Be sure to let us know in the comments below if you have any questions and be sure to tell us about your trip! Looking for other great dispersed camping in Colorado? Be sure to check out our other guides below:.
Rumpl Puffy Blanket – The coziest camp blanket out there. Solo Stove – Elevate your campfire with this smoke-free fire pit.
Solar Power Bank Charger – Keep your gadgets charged with the power of the sun. Yeti Tundra 45 Cooler – The ultimate camping cooler. Gaia GPS – Download offline maps for easy navigation! Learn how to plan your route, create GPS files, navigate offline, and even print you own maps.
Please read our disclosure for more info. Check your email for your cheat sheet! Our dispersed camping checklist has everything you need. Want to know the essentials for your next camping trip? See the checklist here. Campsites are permitted to have 6 people and up to 2 tents. A camper services building has coin-operated showers.
Summer gets busy, so reservations are suggested. Situated 45 minutes north of downtown Denver, the resort grants you fast access to Fort Collins and northern mountain towns, such as Estes Park. Loveland is also a cool town to explore, with a lovely historic district and an outlet mall.
Features include standard and premium sites, a seasonal outdoor pool, miniature golf course, volleyball net, playground, horseshoes, game room, and the largest tree canopy of any campgrounds in the state, spread over Each campsite allows 1 vehicle and up to 2 people and 2 dogs.
Full-hooks, oversized full-hookups, premium sites with pull-thru and back-in access are offered with daily and weekly rates. Another northern camping favorite, this state park is centered around the stunning Boyd Lake. Campsites have magnificent views of the Rockies to the west, along with the local reservoir, which is open to motor boats, jet skis and water skis.
A total of campsites exist, each a paved pull thru spot that can accommodate vehicles up to 40 feet, so tents, pick-up campers, trailers and motor homes are good to go. Three of the loops remain open year round. Visitor amenities include showers, a playground and horseshoe pits. The Denver Metro is a great place for campers. The campgrounds are well kept and boast the necessary amenities for a comfortable campout. It has peaks spanning over 14, feet, with two paved opportunities to drive that high!
While most visitors who camp here are anglers looking to snag a vintage Colorado trout or two, the area is well known for its off-roading and biking trails as well.
Apart from the occasional Colorado thunderstorm, this campground is a perfect place to get a taste for Colorado car camping, high altitude views and all!
The campground itself includes 62 campsites, a handful of which have electric hookups. Each site comes with a picnic table and fire ring, and the campground offers drinking water, trash collection, and vault toilets for all visitors.
We had an excellent stay here with the exception of the hail and thunderstorm, but there was no planning for that. The site hosts were very welcoming and friendly! Granite Tent Campground — Gunnison National Forest While accessible by car, this campground is a tent-only campground with a whopping 6 sites available, making it the smallest Colorado car camping destination on our list.
This campground is unique in that it provides legitimate backcountry access while still allowing visitors to camp from the comfort of their vehicles. If you or your family are interested in seeing the wilder side of Colorado—whitewater rapids, epic, untouched mountain views, native Cutthroat Trout—then this campground is for you.
Located at the lower end of Taylor Canyon, Granite Canyon campground provides excellent backcountry hiking, fishing, and rafting opportunities for those with the gusto to get there! Kelly Dahl Campground is located just outside of the small mountain town of Nederland, Colorado, and offers some of the best proximity to hiking of all the Colorado car camping destinations on our list.
Visitors have the chance to explore both the West Magnolia Trailhead and the East Portal Trailhead, both of which just a short drive from the campground entrance.
Kelly Dahl Campground offers 46 single-family campsites that are large enough to accommodate both tents and RVs. Each site comes with a fire ring and picnic table, and drinking water and trash collection is available at the campground as well.
While you won’t reach the level of isolation you’d find by backpacking farther out, Golden Gate Canyon is still a great option for car campers who want a break from the bustle of the city without having to drive too far. Reservations get snapped up quickly here, so book early.
An easy half-hour drive from downtown Denver, Roxborough State Park offers 4, acres of Colorado at its most gorgeous, replete with red-rock formations, a wide range of flora and fauna, and opportunities to spot wildlife such as mule deer and even black bears. As a bonus, the park’s trail system has much to offer hikers of all ages and skill levels.
The five-mile Fountain Valley Overlook provides a lovely way to view the Dakota Hogback without working up too much of a sweat. Meanwhile, the Fountain Valley Trail, the Lyons Overlook Trail, the South Rim Trail and the Willow Creek Trail — all three miles or less — are a bit more challenging, but shouldn’t overwhelm the average person interested in spotting birds, including the occasional golden eagle.
Carpenter Peak, a 6. Depending on how much time you have, a hike on Golden’s North Table Mountain can be as short as 1. Medium-difficult — there’s a steep, switchback-filled climb to get atop the mesa — these well-marked North Table loops make for a good lunch-break option or post-work trek, and there are two trailheads with ample parking to choose from. At sunset, the hills of the Hogback come alive, and the panoramic views also include White Ranch Park, the surrounding Front Range and the town of Golden itself.
Other payoffs include the intermittent fields of wildflowers in season and the occasional sighting of the golden eagles or red-tailed hawks that call this home.
But keep an eye out for rattlesnakes, which are famously abundant here. The beauty of a Colorado trek is often in the quads of the beholder, but most hikers can agree that a few things are requisite: killer views, plenty of parking, the potential to hike without seeing anyone else, dog-friendly but not overrun, easy to navigate.
There are also other options around the Wellington Lake area too. Some of the best hiking trails near Denver can be found nearby.
Lost Creek Wilderness used to be a quiet spot to set up camp, but this area has been increasing in popularity. Head to Lost Creek early or late season for the pine-tastic camping weekend. About two hours north of Denver is Vedauwoo, Wyoming.
Most campsites offer some shelter with rocks to climb. The big skies mean sunsets are to die for. This camping area is accessible with any vehicle and even RVs can boondock at these sites near Denver. The Sawatch Range contains plenty of National Forest Land, which means there are a wide variety of areas with incredible dispersed, free camping in Colorado.
After you make it through the private property, plenty of quiet, secluded dispersed campsites await you. Keep in mind this road is rough and gets rougher the further you go. High clearance recommended. The camping along Michigan Creek Road is open year-round accessible only by snowmobile in winter.
Car camping near denver – car camping near denver. 7 Great Dispersed Camping Spots Near Denver
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Privacy Policy. This Week’s Issue. Do Not Sell My Info. All rights reserved. The upper portion of the wilderness area also offers several trails for ATV and dirt bike riders, making it a haven for the hardcore truck-bed campers as well as the car camping families who haul their kid-size ATVs with them to the campground. The area is located within 30 minutes of the beautiful Buena Vista, Colorado.
Great scenery, not crowded, plenty of sites to choose from. Lakeview Gunnison Campground is set on Taylor Park Reservoir, offering stunning views of the water and the surrounding wilderness.
While most visitors who camp here are anglers looking to snag a vintage Colorado trout or two, the area is well known for its off-roading and biking trails as well.
Apart from the occasional Colorado thunderstorm, this campground is a perfect place to get a taste for Colorado car camping, high altitude views and all! The campground itself includes 62 campsites, a handful of which have electric hookups. Each site comes with a picnic table and fire ring, and the campground offers drinking water, trash collection, and vault toilets for all visitors. We had an excellent stay here with the exception of the hail and thunderstorm, but there was no planning for that.
The site hosts were very welcoming and friendly! Granite Tent Campground — Gunnison National Forest While accessible by car, this campground is a tent-only campground with a whopping 6 sites available, making it the smallest Colorado car camping destination on our list. This campground is unique in that it provides legitimate backcountry access while still allowing visitors to camp from the comfort of their vehicles. If you or your family are interested in seeing the wilder side of Colorado—whitewater rapids, epic, untouched mountain views, native Cutthroat Trout—then this campground is for you.
Located at the lower end of Taylor Canyon, Granite Canyon campground provides excellent backcountry hiking, fishing, and rafting opportunities for those with the gusto to get there!
Kelly Dahl Campground is located just outside of the small mountain town of Nederland, Colorado, and offers some of the best proximity to hiking of all the Colorado car camping destinations on our list.
Visitors have the chance to explore both the West Magnolia Trailhead and the East Portal Trailhead, both of which just a short drive from the campground entrance. Kelly Dahl Campground offers 46 single-family campsites that are large enough to accommodate both tents and RVs. Each site comes with a fire ring and picnic table, and drinking water and trash collection is available at the campground as well. Near Boulder Canyon. Easy access to bike trails, hikes, rock climbing and scenic drives.
Thunder Ridge at Rampart Reservoir — Colorado Springs One of the most popular places to camp for residents of Colorado Springs, Thunder Ridge campground at Rampart Range Reservoir is a pristine and well-trafficked campground that overlooks the water.
The area is heavily used for hiking and fishing, and is popular large-in-part for its proximity to Pikes Peak, as it sits along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. There are 21 campsites at Thunder Ridge, 3 of which are fully accessible. Do you have a dog? How about kids? Extra space always gets filled with pillows and clothing and other odds and ends! First of all, I love tents that have retractable flies with mesh roofs.
On a clear day, you can pull the fly back for fresh air and stargazing at night. Secondly, look for large vestibules! Vestibules house muddy gear, rainy clothes, and sometimes people during inclement weather. Extra covered space never hurt anyone. Thanks for your understanding! There are two types of insulation: down and synthetic. Synthetic is cheaper but takes up more space while down is considered the ultimate insulation for its warmth-to-weight ratio. In particular, I see camping beginners in Colorado make the mistake of opting for too light of a bag.
Guys, I use a degree bag when camping in July! You see, the evenings still get chilly in the high alpine, and it sucks to be cold. Consider your overnight temps before purchasing your bedding.
But you know what is great for car camping? Car camping-specific sleeping bags! It comes with a built-in sheet so that you can still have a light layer on warm nights. Guys, a sleeping pad is almost more important than a sleeping bag! I remember camping as a kid, long before my family knew anything about sleeping pads. Turns out, a sleeping pad keeps you warm AND makes you more comfortable.
This gives me more room to roll around, along with a lot more cushion. The higher the number, the warmer it will keep you. And if you have a fire ring, you can also cook over a fire. This makes them easy to use and allows for more elaborate camp meals. Recommendations: The Coleman Signature Grill Stove works off propane and makes it easy to grill on one side while boiling water on the other side. Between cooking, cleaning, and staying hydrated, water will disappear faster than you realize.
We all know that it is irresponsible to continually buy plastic water jugs at the grocery store, so bite the bullet and invest in a large water jug. You can fill it from the tap before you leave home so that you have plenty of water while camping. This makes it easier to play cards at night or while chatting in the tent. It provides a little ambience while evenly illuminating the area for everyone to hang out and chat.
You can charge it via USB or solar panels which makes them great in an emergency situation too. How you handle your dishes is up to you. But do you really want to do that?! We have a large Tupperware container in our basement that has all of our camping kitchen utensils. We wash them when we get home and load them back into the container.
– Car camping near denver – car camping near denver
Whenever I need a quick alpine getaway think 40 minutes from the city , I head to Jones Pass. In fact, the annual pilgrimage to this place has become quite a ritual every year.
Make your way down Forest Road past the Henderson mine. Free camping starts almost immediately and winds its way up until you reach the pass. Keep in mind the higher you go, the scarcer wood is and the more susceptible you are to the unruly high-alpine weather. Pro Tip: Camp low and head up to the top of the pass at sunset. One of the best things about free camping in Colorado is you almost always have a scenic mountain drive nearby. The road up the pass is rough, but doable with most SUVs and a little care.
It takes a while for the snow to melt in the Rockies, but every year, you get the itch to go camping early in the season. Only an hour from Denver, Lost Creek Wilderness offers a variety of free dispersed camping perfect for low-elevation camping adventures. There are also other options around the Wellington Lake area too. Some of the best hiking trails near Denver can be found nearby. Lost Creek Wilderness used to be a quiet spot to set up camp, but this area has been increasing in popularity.
Head to Lost Creek early or late season for the pine-tastic camping weekend. About two hours north of Denver is Vedauwoo, Wyoming. Most campsites offer some shelter with rocks to climb. The big skies mean sunsets are to die for. This camping area is accessible with any vehicle and even RVs can boondock at these sites near Denver.
The Sawatch Range contains plenty of National Forest Land, which means there are a wide variety of areas with incredible dispersed, free camping in Colorado. After you make it through the private property, plenty of quiet, secluded dispersed campsites await you. Keep in mind this road is rough and gets rougher the further you go. High clearance recommended.
A fee does apply unless you have one of several National Lands passes, enquire as to the current status of the passes as well as road conditions. With over , acres to access camping trips lasting months would still leave many areas unexplored. Numerous camp grounds provide opportunities to experience camping in the mountains with some degree of comfort. Check in with the visitors centers of Fall River, Beaver Meadows, and Kawuneeche for current information and conditions. It’s nice to know exactly where you’re going on your camping trip, but it’s also fun to hit the road with a general destination in mind and figure it out when you get there.
Along the front range there are large areas of national forest land primarily in the Roosevelt, Pike, or Arapaho National Forests that offer ‘s of miles of dispersed road camping that is ideal for this kind of trip. There are some regulations that apply and wildfire seasons in recent years have seen additional restrictions but these areas offer simple, free, and beautiful places to camp.
These roads and areas are all accessible with a stock 4-wheel drive vehicle and many with any 2-wheel drive vehicle. All of these areas offer a variety of scenery and activity options that can keep one busy for a very long time! Be sure to call ahead for conditions and restrictions. See all of Eric’s awesome adventures and articles on his profile.
Discover more adventures in Colorado here. As always, be sure to adhere to Leave No Trace ethics while camping and check in with the local ranger districts for up to date information on any conditions, regulations, or restrictions. Happy camping! We want to acknowledge and thank the past, present, and future generations of all Native Nations and Indigenous Peoples whose ancestral lands we travel, explore, and play on.
Thunder Ridge at Rampart Reservoir — Colorado Springs One of the most popular places to camp for residents of Colorado Springs, Thunder Ridge campground at Rampart Range Reservoir is a pristine and well-trafficked campground that overlooks the water. The area is heavily used for hiking and fishing, and is popular large-in-part for its proximity to Pikes Peak, as it sits along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains.
There are 21 campsites at Thunder Ridge, 3 of which are fully accessible. Drinking water is provided throughout the campground and each site comes with a picnic table and fire ring. At an altitude of 9, feet, Thunder Ridge Campground is the perfect way to get away from the city without having to venture far off the well-traveled road. Highlights include a quick path from campground to reservoir, very friendly camp host, and the campground sites are all very roomy.
While there are no electrical hookups available here, the campground does offer water, picnic tables, fire rings, and dump stations. That said, the activities here are abundant, and include fishing, hunting, and hiking throughout the recreation area, and even into the popular and scenic Indian Peaks Wilderness. Clean vaults excellent hosts and cleanest sites — many things to do including hikes on multiple trails and kayaking on [the] lake or just looking for moose and casually relaxing.
Located in the Colorado National Monument territory, this campground is unique in its proximity to a wide variety of activities. The red rock canyon in this area offers spectacular views and opportunities for hiking, cycling, and climbing. Set within unique red rock formations and large Pinyon and Juniper forest, Saddlehorn provides visitors the chance to get away in an area with breathtaking views and ample opportunities for outdoor recreation. The area is also popular for wildlife viewing, as campers can regularly catch glimpses of Bighorn sheep, Golden Eagles, and a variety of other creatures.
The campground offers 50 campsites, and includes restrooms with flush toilets. Water is available throughout the campground, as well as picnic tables and fire rings at each site.
We camped on the side of the mountain, so when we woke up we were rewarded with the most beautiful overview of the city and mountains.
His favorite place he’s ever visited is Alaska, and his favorite activity might be fishing or reading, depending on the day. In his free time, Tyler can be found searching Portland for the next great food establishment or perusing the many bookshelves of Powell’s. Whenever my family and I go camping, I always bake something in my cast iron Dutch oven. Image from The Dyrt camper Sarah L. Image from The Dyrt camper Zach W. Image from Lakeview Gunnison Campground.
Image from The Dyrt camper Two Snoops.
Car camping near denver – car camping near denver
Another advantage is they offer discounted weekly all-inclusive rates, on top of the usual daily rates. If you are able to have a campfire, be sure to completely put it out prior to going to sleep or leaving you campground for any amount of time! Yeti Tundra 45 Cooler – The ultimate camping cooler. The remaining 23 sites have water and amp electric only. My boyfriend and I will be visiting the Denver area in early August. Guanella Pass is a gravel road that runs from Hwy 70 in the north from the beautiful small town of Georgetown south to Highway While most visitors who camp here are anglers looking to snag a vintage Colorado trout or two, the area is well known for its off-roading and biking trails as well.
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