4 Colorado Campgrounds with a View
Find a Stunning Colorado Campground
Wake up in a Colorado campground with a dewy forest encircled by mountains and crisp high country air, with your coffee in hand and last night’s campfire clinging to your clothes. All you have to do is look forward to the fresh day of adventure ahead —that’s quintessential Colorado camping. Throw in a rushing river or pristine alpine lake; you’ve got pure bliss. After a few camping experiences, you might long for more. That’s when it’s time to try backpacking.
Whatever your camping style—car camping, tent camping, drive-up with your pop-up camper and your dogs or kids—these Colorado campsites deliver the goods. For more campground ideas in Colorado, check out the State Parks Guide. Almost all of Colorado’s State Parks have campgrounds. Some are more robust than others.
Top Pick List of Colorado Campgrounds
1. Moraine Park Campground
Estes Park Camping
Early booking is necessary to score one of this coveted Rocky Mountain National Park campground’s 247 sites. Moraine Park Campground sits at 8,160 feet just inside the east entrance to the popular national park. Iconic peaks line the landscape and lush, often elk-filled, Moraine Park sprawls out before you. Enjoy free shuttles to Bear Lake hiking trailheads and downtown Estes Park’s restaurants and shops. Check out our recommended Rocky Mountain National Park hikes. Each Colorado campsite holds up to eight people and two tents, or one vehicle, one RV, or a smaller camper. Expert advice: Expect this Colorado campground to fill by early afternoon every day in July and August, as well as on weekends in June and September.
2. Lakeview Campground
Leadville
Tucked away just south of historic Leadville is Twin Lakes Reservoir. A lovely summer cool-down spot with idyllic mountain views, including soaring snow-capped Mount Elbert—Colorado’s tallest peak. Wake up surrounded by fragrant lodgepole and ponderosa pines adjacent to 2,805-acre, crystal blue Twin Lakes. Lakeview Campground offers spacious areas ideal for tent, RV, and group camping, with easy access to Mount Massive Wilderness hiking and backpacking trails, as well as a segment of the renowned Continental Divide Trail. Spend the day fishing and cruising around the reservoir before retiring to your gorgeous campground on a bluff above the lake. Tip: You’re camping at 9,500 feet. Be sure to pack layers, down jackets, hats, and gloves.
3. Oh Be Joyful Campground
Crested Butte
Follow a timeworn dirt road north of town to the secluded Gunnison National Forest campground in a valley along the Slate River. The namesake joy ensues from the 15-site campground’s surrounding summer waterfalls, vibrant wildflowers, and the aspen-loaded valley’s views. The Elk Mountains are your playground, with hiking and backpacking trails and some of the state’s top mountain biking, paddling, and fly-fishing out your front door. Fire rings and picnic tables dot these clean, low-fee, first-come, first-served BLM sites, and most of them offer direct river access. If you forget something, the town is just a 15-minute drive away. Be sure to drive a high-clearance vehicle—the unpaved road here is rough, and some sites require you to drive across a wheel-well high river.
4. Royal View At Royal Gorge RV Park
Campground near Cañon City
For those who like to park, plug in, and relax, this RV park campground offers full amenities and is fully powered, with all the Colorado campground views and adventures just steps away. Luxuriate in the top-rated park’s level pull-through sites with full hookups and the area’s largest heated swimming pool. Situated eight miles west of Canon City and one mile from the Royal Gorge Park entrance, it’s easy to pop in and out of Arkansas River rafting, hiking, and rock climbing, and the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park attractions.
Not into RVs? Surrounding state and national forests serve up tent camping, and privately run cabins and ranches dot the rugged and stunning Royal Gorge Region countryside.
The listed Colorado campgrounds are our top suggestions; however, there are many more campgrounds, such as KOA campgrounds and private campsites. Don’t forget that dispersed camping is allowed in any place in our National Forests and BLM lands. If you decide to camp in these areas, you’re on your own and are expected to clean up after yourself as well. We all love our public lands and enjoy campgrounds of any type. Let’s keep it that way and make a good habit of leaving areas as you found them.
By Lisa Blake
