Father Dyer, near Leadville, Colorado, is a serene campground that offers a peaceful escape into nature. With its proximity to Turquoise Lake, you can enjoy stunning views and a quick walk to the water for some relaxation or fishing.

The campground features clean facilities, including well-maintained vault toilets, and visitors appreciate the spacious sites that provide a sense of privacy thanks to the surrounding trees. Many campers have noted the quiet atmosphere, making it an ideal spot for unwinding after a day of hiking or biking in the area. One visitor remarked, “The sites are good sized and the trees help make the sites feel more private.”

For those looking to explore, the nearby trails offer fantastic hiking opportunities, including the scenic Turquoise Lake Trail. Plus, you’re just a short drive from Leadville, where you can grab supplies or enjoy a meal in town. Whether you're camping in a tent or an RV, Father Dyer is a great choice for a relaxing getaway surrounded by Colorado's beautiful wilderness.

## Overview

 Father Dyer Campground is situated on the eastern shore of Turquoise Lake in the shade of a lodgepole pine and subalpine fir forest. The family-friendly campground is a popular summer destination for boating, hiking and fishing. The campground is named after Father John Lewis Dyer, one of the first Methodist ministers to tour Colorado's high country mining camps. For 20 years, beginning in 1862, he travelled the circuit encompassing Alma, Fairplay and Leadville, regularly skiing over the 13,186-foot Mosquito Pass on long, wooden skis.
## Recreation

 The 1.2-mile Turquoise Lake Nature Trail is a gentle loop trail through the forest and down to the shoreline of Turquoise Lake. This trail connects to the 6.4-mile Turquoise Lake Trail that parallels the shoreline from Sugar Loaf Dam to May Queen Campground. Trail guides are available at the trailhead located about a mile south, at the entrance to Molly Brown Campground. On the lake, boating, sailing, canoeing and fishing are favorite activities. Anglers fish for stocked cutthroat, rainbow, brown and lake trout. Matchless Boat Ramp is located about two miles south of the campground.
## Natural Features

 Campsites are nestled in the forest near the scenic lakeshore. The Mount Massive Wilderness Area, a 30,540 acre stretch of primitive land encompassing Colorado's second highest peak at 14,421 feet, is nearby. Much of the wilderness is above timberline with many alpine plant communities and permanent snowfields. 
## Nearby Attractions

 Venture to Independence Pass for a scenic drive with breathtaking views of the Rockies and surrounding alpine tundra habitat. At 12,095 feet, it is one of the highest paved mountain passes in the country and marks where the Top of the Rockies National Scenic and Historic Byway crosses the Continental Divide.
## Charges & Cancellations

 Cancellations Individual Campsites: Cancellations up to 2 days before a reservation start date incur a $10.00 cancellation fee. A visitor who cancels a reservation the day before or on the day of arrival will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee including tax and applicable add-on for a campsite. Cancellations for a one-night reservation will forfeit the entire amount paid and will not be subject to an additional service fee. No-Shows A no-show visitor is one who does not arrive at a campground and does not cancel the reservation by check-out time on the day after the scheduled arrival date. Staff will hold a campsite until check-out time on the day following the arrival date. No-shows are assessed $20.00 service fee and forfeit the first night's rate, taxes and applicable add-on for a campsite. Refunds Visitors may submit a refund request through their Recreation.gov profile within 7 days of the end date of their reservation. Refunds will not be issued after the 7 days has ended. Refunds for debit or credit card payments will be issued as a credit to the original bank or credit card used to pay. For check or cash purchases, Recreation.gov will mail a Treasury check for refunds of cash, check, or money order payments to the address associated with the reservation. Treasury check refunds may take up to 6-8 weeks to arrive. In the event of an emergency closure, the Recreation.gov team or facility manager will refund all fees and will attempt to notify you using the contact information within the Recreation.gov visitor profile.

Father Dyer

Whether you're a tent camper, an RVer, or just passing through, Leadville, CO has a lot to offer. There's so much to see and do, from exhilarating hikes or bike rides to exploring the local dining and shopping. You're sure to find the perfect spot for your Colorado camping adventure.

Leadville

The Best Camping Near Leadville, Colorado

We showed up and raced a rain storm to get our tent up and toed a tarp over the tent.  As soon as the storm was over, the host cam and told us nothing could be tied to the trees.  I have no problem with them enforcing the rules and honestly didn't know you couldn't tie anything to the trees.    Where my problem lies is that the folks camping in the site directly next to the host had stuff tied to the trees when we pulled in, never had anything said to them about it, and still had the stuff tied and hung in the trees when we left the next morning.  
Now I'm 31 years old, but am often told I look 25 or younger.  I definitely felt profiled by the host.  All I ask for is consistency! I have no problem following the rules, but if you are going to enforce a rule for 1, you must enforce it for all.  

Also, the nightly fee of $20 is rather steep for what is actually provided at the site.  The fees have gone up steadily in the last few years at the Turquoise lakes Camp grounds.

Beautiful place! But didn't feel super welcome

Used Father Dryer Campground as one of our base camps while hiking a few 14ers during a week on Colorado.  Found it to be clean and convenient.  Vault bathrooms well maintained and tent sites were spaced far enough apart to provide privacy.  

Made our early morning trip to Mt Elbert easy.  If you don't want to hit a 14 er but like hiking, the campground has some great trails of its own.  The Turquoise Lake Trail is a long and beautiful hike.

Will be using this campground again!

Nice and quiet

Memorial Day Weekend. Last minute decision to go booked one of only three sites left all gone the next day. We arrived on Friday afternoon to a weather forecast of extreme spring fluctuations. Ambivalent about how camping would be with the forecast to say the least. We had reserved site #5 which we realized as we pulled into the loop was mostly under water from snow melt and had a large berm of snow still sitting in the pull in. As we sat there trying to figure out how we were going to make this work we noticed the site across from it had a reservation for Strayer! Yup the wonderful camp hosts had seen the issue prior to our arrival and with the cancellation of someone less willing and adventurous than us the camp host proactively moved us into the most lovely and expansive camping site #6\. It was love at first site er sight! The Hosts were around within moments to check on us and we're just lovely. The site was obviously well tended and there were no issues what so ever. The facilities (pit bathrooms) were impeccably clean. My husband commented and I concurred that they were the cleanest best smelling pit bathrooms we had ever seen. Of course we were there at the beginning of the season but obviously the hosts did a great job of keeping them clean over the entire 4 days we resided there. The only time we had any issue whatsoever was with a loud group next to us who showed up at 3am slamming car doors repeatedly and yelling to each other for 30 minutes. My husband had ear plugs so he slept thru it mostly but I didn't have any as I don't use them. Next night I did as a precaution and had zero problems 🙌🏼😃. This campground is one of many surrounding Tourquise Lake. It is less than two minutes from the lake via car and 10 mins at most from the town of Leadville, CO. The lake levels at the time that we went were still extremely low and required you to hike down quite a bit to get to the actual lake. However if was beautiful all in all and we had a wonderful time there even with getting snowed on and 21 degree temps on one day. The rest of the trips weather made up for it and we had fresh caught trout over the fire for lunch on Sunday. Doesn't get any better than that!

Father Dyer Campground at Tourquise Lake, Leadville, CO

I wanted to camp next to the lake but was glad that I ended up here instead! The sites are clean, and the facilities are clean... there is a beautiful short walk to get to the lake, (5 min) from which you can see incredible views of Mt. Elbert and Mt. Massive. Less crowded, with decent space between the sites.

Clean and less crowded

This is a yearly stop for us.  Access to beautiful Turquoise Lake, mountain biking.  the facility is spotless!

Shady and Relaxing

this campground was very quiet and the bathrooms were really clean! close walk to the lake! 

awesome

Short walk to the lake but far enough that you may need to drive down to the day use area if you want snacks, beers, etc.  Quiet and clean campground but there are lots of mosquitoes and the lake can get very windy. Beautiful area and a quick drive into Leadville if you are looking for a quick stop in a cool town.

Great little campground

Tent camping spots didn’t really have a flat spot to put the tent (atleast the one I was in). Had to put my tent in a slope. But restrooms and camping sites were clean. 

Not a bad site

We went up last weekend to FD near Leadville. It was gorgeous. We stayed at sites 21/22; we booked both, as they were side by side. Turquoise Lake is a super quick walk down. It was very quiet, even at capacity. The moon shines extra bright. We did hit a storm, but were expecting to since were at 9k+. 

If you stay at father Dyer (or the other sites near there) your car tag gets you in to the lady of the lake day use area! We didn’t realize that and paid for the day, but the host quickly returned the money and let us know! 

Make sure to remember that the campground is a one way road. :) we made that mistake once and never again. 

Beautiful Campsite

This campground is on the East side of Turquoise lake and the sites are within a 2 min walk to the lake. There is a beach down by the lake for relaxing and hanging out. 

  

The sites are good sized and the trees help make the sites feel more private. They are pristine and the bathrooms are super clean. 

  

Campground includes picnic tables, fire rings, pedestal grills, potable water, and vault toilets. Firewood is available at the host site.

  

$24.00 fee per site for overnight camping. Maximum 8 people per site: 2 tents and 2 vehicles or 1 recreation vehicle. There are first come first serve sites as well as reservation sites.

Good on East Side of lake but can be windy during Spring

Quiet forest service CG.  Not on the water but close by.   Beautiful area

Photos of Father Dyer

Real photos from real campers