Fishing, hiking, and wildlife watching pull campers up to Little Molas Lake Campground, a free Forest Service site sitting at roughly 10,300 feet along the Million Dollar Highway between Durango and Silverton. The Colorado Trail runs directly through the campground, giving hikers immediate access to routes heading in both directions, including a connection to the Continental Divide Trail. One visitor spotted a lynx on the lakeshore at dawn. The lake itself draws anglers looking for a low-key outing, and the surrounding San Juan peaks give the site open sightlines toward the high ridgelines that frame this stretch of US-550.
The campground has around eight sites spread across a few close ridges, with a small loop ending at day-use parking and a vault toilet. Sites nearest the entrance tend to have the most space, with tent pads and fire rings set back from the road down a short grade. Annie C. notes that "sites further away from the toilets were more spacious, but no site was huge," and that all sites had good trees for hammocking. The group sites near the vault toilets can feel crowded on weekends, when much of the traffic is day-use hikers and mountain bikers heading to the trailhead.
Noise is worth factoring into your plans. Several reviewers flag semi-truck traffic on US-550 as a meaningful overnight disturbance, particularly at sites closest to the highway. Weeknight stays are noticeably quieter. Cell coverage is spotty: one long-term visitor recorded one bar of 5G on Verizon and two bars of AT&T 4G, with intermittent drops depending on cloud cover. There is no potable water or dump station on site, so campers need to arrive with water and plan resupply runs into Silverton for firewood and other supplies.
The site is free and first-come, first-served, with no reservation system. Elevation above 10,000 feet means temperatures drop sharply at night even in summer, and afternoon thunderstorms are common in July and August. Pets are welcome. Campers traveling with dogs will find dog-friendly camping near San Juan National Forest at several other sites in the region if this one is full. Molas Lake Park & Campground and Molas Pass Overlook — San Juan NF are both within a couple of miles and offer alternatives with slightly different amenity setups.
RV Road Trip Guides
Map & DirectionsLittle Molas Lake Campground is located in Colorado near Silverton
Coordinates
37.74499052 N
107.7088024 W
Connectivity
T-MobileNo Coverage
VerizonLTEGood CoverageVerified by 16 usersLast on 7/30/26
AT&TLTESome CoverageVerified by 3 usersLast on 7/30/26
Connectivity
- T-MobileNo Coverage
- VerizonLTEGood CoverageVerified by 16 usersLast on 7/30/26
- AT&TLTESome CoverageVerified by 3 usersLast on 7/30/26
Access
- Drive-InPark next to your site
- Walk-InPark in a lot, walk to your site.
Site Types
- Tent Sites
- RV Sites
- Standard (Tent/RV)
- Group
- Cabins
- Tent Cabin
- Equestrian
Features
For Campers
- Phone Service
- Toilets
- Alcohol
- Pets
- Fires
For Vehicles
- Pull-Through Sites
FREE established camping
Enjoy camping on government land. Limited or no services at this camping area.
PERMIT might be REQUIRED
We curate permit requirements across the US for our PRO members. Try PRO to see if Little Molas Lake Campground needs a permit.
Drive Time
- 1 hr 44 min from Farmington, NM
- 2 hrs 29 min from Grand Junction, CO
- 4 hrs 24 min from Santa Fe, NM
- 5 hrs 25 min from Pueblo, CO
