Cow Creek North Campground

Make sure to check before you head in for space! This site is listed a few times on the dyrt. There is a N and S campground. Camp host said it best... best views in the area for sure! Located right next to the water with a very friendly host. It was all booked up when we drove through but we will definitely stay on our way back through. Clean facilities and virtually zero shade.

Stayed here several weekdays in late July, but could not book a weekend a month ahead. Beautiful lake and views. Lots of great hiking trails within a 30-60 minute drive. Spacious sites and the hilly terrain adds some privacy. A few sites near the reservoir have trees, but most are in open scrubland. We moved from here to Elliott Creek Campground on the opposite side of the lake, which is a first come campground.

Fun place to camp. Pretty windy and was advised the wind can get up to 70mph. Otherwise we had a blast. They had plots, a table, hooks to hang things, fire pits, and were starting to put bear lockers in, and toilets at each group of plots. The store in Heeney is expensive but the lady who owns it was very nice.

Weather and fishing dependent, easily one of the best campground on this side of Green Mountain. Multiple sites right next to the lake. Good to okay fishing. Swimming and water sports are good during Summer. But can be chilly in Spring and Fall. Not as much coverage in some sites compared to South Cow. But still has some good wind block, which you will want during most evenings. Weather can be unpredictable and severe at times. Beware. High Country lake. Bears, wildlife, weather all unpredictable. Phone service can be scarce. Only services and gear/supplies are at the Master Bait and Tackle on the other side of the lake, sometimes the Marina depending upon what you need.

awesome reservoir and Mountain View.

If you're just car camping, you should be fine here without reservations during the week, but on Fri and Saturday nights - totally different story. This campground is accessed via a small road turn off of HWY 9 between Silverthorne and Steamboat on a nice strip of highway. The main campers here are those coming or going from those two fun mountain towns looking for a nice place to split up the drive. Your sites look out onto the Green Mountain Resevoir/Blue River.
There are 2 sites for campers: A north and south entrance. The North entrance/campgrounds has more plots which would be better for those camping with larger RVs and campers. The South entrance has smaller plots and less of them. In general, you get what you pay for here: $13/night and with that is your standard toilet, no showers or hook ups.

It's a very pretty spot, but since you're right on the shoreline of a valley, your views will be complemented with heavy winds. What was pretty neat was we saw a sailboat docked by one site, so someone actually knew ahead of time and planned a fun activity.

Fires are allowed (watch for bans) and pits were at most sites (from what I could tell). Plots are small, and there's little privacy between each plot. Essentially it felt like the campgrounds was trying to maximize the plots available and I don't think that was a financial decision - there's a lot of commuters looking for camping in this area and the park is trying their best to accommodate. I do stress reservations on weekends - we saw so many people leaving since sites were occupied on a Friday by 4pm.