Chapman Campground And Group Camp - White River NF

On the whole you visit Chapman to enjoy the backcountry experience and to get away from everything.  If you camp there for a few nights it gives you great access to hiking trails in both the Holy Cross and Hunter Frying Pan Wilderness areas.  Relax by the small lake which is enjoyed by any craft without a motor and people fishing.  

Best Hikes:

Shorter ones - Sawyer Lake, Chapman Lake, Frying Pan Overlook

Longer ones - Lyle Lake, Tellurium Lake, NY Lake, Eagle Lake

Great place to bring the whole family as it can be enjoyed by all ages.  

It is only open during the summer and into early fall, which is my favorite time to visit as it is less crowded.

This remote campground might pose some access challenges for larger rigs. Clean pit toilets, no showers, no laundry. Fresh drinking water and dumpsters are available. No dump station in campground. Mixture of river and non river sites. Plenty of room and privacy between sites. No mobile phone coverage, no wi-fi, no amenities within 30 miles of the campground. 2 campground hosts on site. Small reservoir lake nearby for fishing and canoeing. Hiking and fishing nearby. Each site has a picnic table, fire ring and bear box.

We stayed one night because that's what our schedule allowed. However, this campsite seemed great and we would've loved to have stayed longer!

We had site 31. It was right next to the vault toilets (but they were very clean and the smell was unnoticeable). Our site was also only a 30 second walk to the reservoir which was great for fishing and paddle boards!

There was lots of tree cover for protection from the elements. But, it still offered a great view of the night sky.

This was a last minute, spontaneous camping trip because we needed to get away from our first responder lives for at least a night. I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to book a night for July 3rd with only a day and a half of notice.

We'll be going back when we have more time. I'm looking forward to catching more cutthroat trout!

Chapman Campground is an awesome little place to get away. There's a huge variety of sites that will accommodate almost any camper except for large RVs. The tent sites tend to offer plenty of shade and separation from your neighbor, with water and toilets easily accessible from most locations. The reservoir is small, but an awesome place to escape and do some light paddleboarding or fishing. We saw quite a bit of wildlife during our short stay, ospreys, marmots, foxes, deer, and plenty of fish and other birds. The cherry on top were the amazing campground hosts who were wonderful, friendly, and on top of keeping things clean. Will definitely be back!

It's been a few years, but we camped at the very Western-most camping spot & enjoyed it greatly - very close to creek & quiet. I would not have wanted one of the other camping spots. They are a bit close for our tastes. Wish we could have spent more time than one night. We plan on going back!

Stayed here for two nights. We were about a 1 min walk from Chapman Reservoir. Walked down there a few times and caught a bunch of little rainbow and cutthroat trout - they were very eager to take flies. If it wasn't so far from Denver, it would definitely be one of my regular camping spots.

Reservations recommended and much needed for this popular campground. It’s well worth it though because the hiking biking fishing paddle boarding and all other outdoor activities abound from Chapman. Any of the loops has something to offer. You will not be disappointed at this great campground!

We didn’t make a reservation, but managed to find a campsite near the reservoir with enough room for our portable kitchen, tent and a nice shaded spot for the hammocks. We will be going back!

We reserved campsite #49. It was about 100 ft from the Frying Pan River. We fell asleep to sound of rushing water- so peaceful. Not much shade but there was a picnic table, fire ring, and bear box at the site. The campground hosts were very friendly. You can swim and fish in Chapman Reservoir. No motorized boats allowed. There were a few people jumping off the dam into the reservoir. Only about an 8 ft jump. There is a small store in Meredith, 10 min away, in case you forgot any essentials. Ruedi Reservoir is about 15 minutes away and motor boats are allowed. This area is absolutely breathtaking!!!

We camped here in late fall last year, a few weeks before closing. Chapman is huge, 80 something sites I think. We were the only ones there! So many nice campsites to choose from. You can camp on the Frying Pan River or on Chapman Res or in the forest. The fishing was fair in the Res and we caught 2 nice browns in the river. Great views everywhere and silence except for the river and the birds made this a perfect 2 days camping.

We've been going to Chapman for years - its a great campground for families and has lots to choose from. Hiking, Backpacking, Fishing, 4-Wheeling. If you have a long-ish rig or are not good at backing up - stay away from loop C. Loop D along the creek have great shade but are close together.

Great campground!