5 Colorado Campgrounds Perfect for Your Next Hiking Trip

These are 5 of the best Colorado campgrounds to immerse yourself in the beauty of the state on your next hiking trip. I always think that the best way to explore the outdoors is to sleep and explore in it. For me this means camping, which promises fresh air and budget-friendly prices.

Table of Contents

• Colorado Campgrounds: Packing for Your Next Camping Trip
• Elk Ridge Campground at Ridgway State Park
• Difficult Campground
• Heaton Bay Campground
• Little Maud Campground
• Estes Park Campground at Mary’s Lake

Colorado Campgrounds: Packing for Your Next Camping Trip

Regardless of which one of these Colorado campgrounds is calling your name, you’ll want to make sure you have all the right gear for your next trip.

When I first started camping, the list of things to remember felt overwhelming. Eventually I narrowed down the basic supplies I’d need and put together a camping tote. Anything that doesn’t fit in my tote goes on another list of additional things to pack.

Whether you’ve been camping for forever or are a newbie, I made a camping checklist to help keep you organized. If you subscribe to my monthly newsletter, you can get my FREE Camping Checklist to simplify packing for your next adventure. Check it out here.

It’s also important to have the right gear when camping. Some things are worth the investment for the best of the best, and some things aren’t.

Here are a few of my favorite camping supplies that I recommend:

Camping Gear Recommendations

• Coleman Skydome Tent* (4 person is best for 2-3 people)
• Klymit Static V Sleeping Pad*
• Kelty Tuck 0 Sleeping Bag (works great even during the summer if you run cold)
• OmniCore Designs Mil-Spec Compression Stuff Sack* (I use this for my sleeping bag)
• Fenix Lantern* (very bright, but super compact for backpacking as well)
• Core 100 Lumen LED Tent Lantern*

*this signifies an affiliate link. You can read more about what this means here.

Elk Ridge Campground at Ridgway State Park

Ridgway State Park blew my mind. On our cross-country road trip from Michigan to Sedona, we only stayed here one night. But we all wished that we could’ve spent the duration of the trip here.

There are actually three campgrounds in Ridgway State Park. You can find Elk Ridge Campground, Dakota Terraces Campground, and Pa-Co-Chu-Puk Campground along the Ridgway Reservoir.

We stayed in Elk Ridge Campground. Our site was in the E loop, which overlooks the Ridgway Reservoir from atop a cliff. In the distance looms the Sneffels Range of the San Juan Mountains. If this view isn’t the epitome of what Colorado campgrounds are meant to be, I don’t know what is.

For the best views and perspective of the reservoir and mountains the way we saw them, I’d recommend booking one of the walk-in tent sites on the E loop. Don’t let the term “walk-in” scare you off. It’s really not that far.

Sites 152-155 offer the best views and access to the edge of the mountain the campground sits on. And if you need handicap access or prefer a raised tent pad instead of a gravel one, site 151HA will also offer a similar vantage point. We actually stayed in site 152 during our first stay, but had planned to stay again at site 154 to get the same views.

Book ahead to get the best site if you choose to stay here!

Campground Basics

• Located in Ridgway, Colorado
• Must be booked in advance on Reserve America
• Site refunds are available
• Unless in possession of a Colorado State Parks Pass, a day pass must be purchased for each reserved day in addition to camping fee
• No ropes, hammocks, or etc. may be attached to trees in the park
• Amenities include picnic tables, campfire rings and grills, flush toilets, showers, and drinking water
• Some sites may have electric hookups available
• Firewood available on site
• Cell Service: Yes

To book your site at Elk Ridge Campground or another campground in Ridgway State Park, click the link here.

Hiking Near Ridgway State Park

Before I list off some of the major hiking trails in the area, let me share the one little hike that we did during our stay. We started right from the campground. Take the campground loop straight back from the reservoir. You’ll find a trail off to the right a ways down. If you take this trail it will continue to switchback down to the edge of Ridgway Reservoir. You can walk in the rocks along the lake’s edge and see the reflection of the Sneffels Range in the water.

• Ridgway Reservoir (6.9 miles, moderate)
• Lower, Middle, and Upper Blue Lakes (8.7 miles, hard)
• Blaine Basin (6.0 miles, moderate)
• Karni Mata Loop (4.6 miles, moderate)
• Mount Sneffels—there are many routes of varying difficulty levels if you want to summit Mount Sneffels, a prominent 14er in the area

Difficult Campground

Don’t let the name deter you from this campground. I promise that your stay won’t be difficult. Difficult Campground is the perfect home-base for exploring Aspen and the surrounding area.

We arrived late at night here and set up in the dark just before a rainstorm began. It rained all through the morning until checkout, so we didn’t get a chance to see much of the area near the campground. However, on the drive out we did see hiking trails starting right in the campground. And last year there was a mama bear and her two cubs hanging around the area.

This year as we drove Independence Pass towards Aspen, we discovered cars pulled off to the side to see a moose and her baby in the marsh. When we pulled over, we realized that this was right at Difficult Campground. Independence Pass would’ve been closed the first time we came, but we had no idea it was so close.

We camped in site 10 during our stay. This site offers creek noise to drift off to sleep to and close access to the nearest pit toilet. Since it’s one of the middle sites, there’s only a few trees of separation between that site and the site across from it. This didn’t bother us, but keep this in mind when choosing your site.

Difficult Campground is definitely a great home base if you plan to explore along Independence Pass or around Aspen.

Campground Basics

• Located in Aspen, Colorado near Independence Pass
• Must be booked in advance at Recreation.gov
• Reservation fee is required in addition to camping fee
• Site refunds are available
• Amenities include picnic tables, campfire rings and grills, bear boxes, vault toilets, and drinking water
• Firewood available on site
• No electric hookups available
• Cell Service: None

To book your site at Difficult Campground, click the link here.

For other Colorado campgrounds in the area near Maroon Bells in Aspen, check out my blog post here.

Hiking Near Difficult Campground

• Crater Lake Trail (3.5 miles, moderate, in Maroon Bells—refer to my blog post for more on Maroon Bells at this link here)^
• Difficult Creek Trail (9.8 miles, moderate, starts from inside campground)
• The Grottos Trail (0.6 miles, easy, on Independence Pass)^
• Weller Lake Trail (1.1 miles, easy, on Independence Pass)
• American Lake Trail (6.8 miles, hard)

^=trails I’ve hiked

Heaton Bay Campground

I fell in love with this campground in May, but I can only imagine how amazing it is in the summer months. During our visit in May, we were able to wander around right where the Dillon Reservoir would normally be. After the spring snowmelt, this area fills in, providing great access to the reservoir that surrounds the campground.

This campground would be perfect if you had a paddleboard or kayak with, and there’s great hiking all around—there’s even a trailhead across the street.

When we camped here, we stayed in Loop D, site 53. I think any site at this campground is a good one, but we did enjoy the nearby access to the reservoir.

This also meant that our site was part of the route to the reservoir for a moose and her baby that year as well. We didn’t see them ourselves, but the camp hosts warned us, and we did see evidence around our site. The one disadvantage was a further walk to the nearest pit toilet. But don’t worry—these pit toilets are worth the walk.

As far as Colorado campgrounds go, this one is the perfect location in the front-range mountains to stick close to Denver but still get all of the amazing mountain views—from the water, trail, or just your campsite.

Campground Basics

• Located in Frisco, Colorado
• Must be booked in advance at Recreation.gov
• Site refunds are available
• Amenities include picnic tables, campfire rings and grills, bear boxes, vault toilets, and drinking water
• RV tank fill-ups available
• Firewood for sale on site
• Electric hookups can be found at some sites for an additional fee

To book your site at Heaton Bay Campground, click the link here.

Hiking Near Heaton Bay Campground

• Old Dillon Reservoir Trail (1.7 miles, easy)^
• Sapphire Point Overlook Trail (0.6 miles, easy)^
• Rainbow Lake via Peaks Trail (1.5 miles, easy)
• Mount Royal Trail (3.9 miles, hard)
• North Tenmile #37 (6.7 miles, moderate)

^=trails I’ve hiked

Little Maud Campground

This campground may seem a little remote, but trust me, it’s worth it. I’ve honestly found that the more remote, the better with Colorado campgrounds. We stayed here when exploring Aspen and Glenwood Springs. Originally I booked this campground because I couldn’t find anything closer to either town, but it ended up being a major win.

From the quaint town of Basalt, you’ll take the winding Frying Pan Road towards the Ruedi Reservoir. If you’re a fly fisherman, you’re in luck—Frying Pan River is full of great pull-offs and we saw countless people fishing there.

You’ll be surrounded by mountains of red rock in this entire area. That might have been one of my favorite parts of our stay. Even the shores of Ruedi Reservoir are red. This campground is actually a little ways off of the Ruedi Reservoir, so you’ll have to cut through Mollie B Campground or access it through the Ruedi Marina.

The bathrooms were pretty fancy here as far as pit toilets go. I’m talking flush toilets and running water.

Overall we loved this campground. We had a deer that hung around right outside the periphery of our campground. And the sunset glow over the reservoir and post-rain clouds that hung around Ford Peak really made our stay that much more amazing.

We stayed in site 18, but I really don’t think you could go wrong with any of the sites at Little Maud Campground. In our site we had a bear box with a top shelf, plenty of room to spread out, and enough parking for two vehicles.

Campground Basics

• Located in Basalt, Colorado
• Must be booked in advance at Recreation.gov
• Site refunds are available
• Amenities include picnic tables, campfire rings and grills, bear boxes, flush toilets, and drinking water
• Firewood for sale on site
• Cell Service: None

To book your site at Little Maud Campground, click the link here.

I’ll let you in on a little secret. Next time I’m in this area, I’ll be booking ahead to snag a site at the Mollie B Campground right next door. The sites are the same, but it has direct access to the reservoir and the bathroom facilities are even nicer—there’s a three-stall bathroom and showers.

If you want to check out Mollie B Campground, check out this link here.

Hiking Near Little Maud Campground

• Fryingpan Overlook (4.1 miles, moderate)
• Miller Divide (7.6 miles, moderate)
• Arbaney Kettle Viewpoint (3.5 miles, hard)
• Crater Lake (3.5 miles, moderate, located in Maroon Bells—check out my blog post on this scenic area here)
• Hanging Lake Trail (3.1 miles, moderate)

Estes Park Campground at Mary’s Lake

While the price for this campground is a little steeper than the other Colorado campgrounds on this list, it’s well worth it. This campground has it all. There’s a gift shop, pool, full shower and bathhouse, playground, and yard game area.

And the location is incredible. It’ll only take you around 7 minutes to enter Rocky Mountain National Park via the Beaver Meadows Entrance Station and downtown Estes Park is just 8 minutes in the opposite direction.

While no campsite at this campground can be a bad one, the one we stayed in was the absolute best. We camped in site M124. The name of the campground implies that it sits next to Mary’s Lake, but it’s actually across the street. There’s also no swimming allowed due to undertow. However our campsite sat over a pond that offered great reflections of Gianttrack Mountain. The campground is fenced in, but deer ran free right outside the fence and played in the pond along with ducks. And the walk to the bathroom was fairly short.

I really only had one complaint about this campground. The lack of trees and tidiness of the campground meant there was no kindling for starting a fire. Firewood is available for sale, but come prepared with kindling to get your campfire started.

Campground Basics

• Located in Estes Park, Colorado
• Must be booked in advance at Reserve America
• Site refunds are available
• Amenities include picnic tables, campfire rings and grills, bear boxes, flush toilets, drinking water, camp store, playground, pool, yard games
• Coin-operated showers available on site
• Firewood for sale on site
• Electric hookups can be found at some sites
• Cell Service: Yes

To book your site at Estes Park Campground at Mary’s Lake, click the link here.

Hiking Near Estes Park Campground at Mary’s Lake

• Rocky Mountain National Park (there are endless trails to explore here)
• Kruger Rock Trail (4.0 miles, moderate)
• Lake Estes Trail (4.0 miles, easy)
• Panorama Peak and The Notch (7.3 miles, moderate)
• Lion Gulch Trail (6.3 miles, moderate)

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Which of these campgrounds would you stay at?

Other Blog Posts

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• How to Spend a Fun Morning at Tulip Time in Holland Michigan
• Hocking Hills in Ohio: Best Hikes and Waterfalls in Just 2 Days

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