Priest Lake Dispersed Camping Area

The road in was a dirt road definitely doable with 2WD. No one was there! Many walk in sites available. Not too many drive up sites. We chose one by the lake but had to walk back and forth to our truck to get things and set up camp. We stayed here two nights. Lots of places to take a walk with dog. Saw some neat old cabins. However, we were concerned about the lake water. Someone who came to visit the lake to take photos mentioned that it had blue algae in it and to not let our dog drink or swim in it..we tried to keep her away, it was hard! There is a creek running back behind some walk in sites, we let the dog play in that water. Overall, decent place to call home for two nights.

Well it said no trailers when you pulled in, but didn’t see that note in the preview of the campground. We went ahead and camped anyway and backed our little teardrop up against the view towards the lake and it was magical. A lot of folks did arrive, but we got there early Saturday which was surprising that it was empty, but it did fill up and was a lot of car noise but the place was really awesome and overall quiet. Even caught some fish in the lake!

This is s 5 star spot for tent campers. It's setup to park and walk either a short distance or hike into a spot. The overall scenery is a 5 star! It's more of a standard campground vibe, with a vaulted toilet and fire rings. I would recommend for everyone besides trailer campers.

Beautiful campground, very quiet. Up a dirt road but passable with a 2WD (in Oct, no snow). The shorter route in is via the trout lake entrance- less time on dirt road. Toilet block was locked when we were there (but there’s a vault toilet up at Trout Lake).

Amazing last-minute site/campground after our others fell through. Beautiful views, decent restrooms, spacious sites, and all around a great place at the price of free! Only take away is that some of the mountains around the campground blocks the view of some of their more notable neighborhoods, otherwise an amazing experience.

P.S. Some of the sites had a short carry distance but it is not very noticeable for most of the sites, only one site we saw that had a big carry distance (~75 paces) and even that one had the trade off with more trees for things like hammocks.

We arrived at a Saturday around 3 pm and still had many opportunities to find a place. Lovley place to stay. As a toilet. I can recomment to stay there in fall.

Great views. There were quite a few people though.

Any car can make it to the lot. The lot has some holes and rocks but again, any car could make it to a spot. There were people coming it at all hours of the night, and camping area was more of a small parking lot, with people parked within about 4 feet of eachother. Works if you’re just looking for a place to sleep. There were a few decent Brooke trout in the lake just below that were easy to catch with a fly rod. NOT friendly for large RVs as the signs say, but they will likely be in there trying to park despite not fitting, and thus causing issues for everyone else.

Small rough road FREE dispersed area. 7 day camping limit. Lake is a pothole weedy area not really good for floating IMO..go to the public access at the much larger Trout Lake. Nine designated campsites are all walk in tent sites. One small vault toilet, no dumpsters or water. NO TTs allowed as NO turnaround. No big RVs either. Access road is rough rocky.

We drove from Phoenix Arizona, through Gallup NM, up to our Campsite. Once you hit Colorado, the views are endless. I love that there was a Lake Called Trout Lake when you are pulling up to get to your campsite. The Lake had HUGE mountains surrounding it. It was breathtaking. We loved our dispersed campsite for the first night. The temperature was perfect! Coming from over 100 degree weather by 9:00AM. This 3 day trip was amazing and sooooo glad we stopped here and enjoyed the views. Telluride town is a 30 min drive or so and the drive was breathtaking, amazing. ITS A MUST.

Pulled into this area late one evening on a fall camping trip across Colorado. Totally expected it to be full but there were a couple areas left to setup thankfully. Everything in this area was filled by 630p however.

Clean toilet which is a bonus if needed and designated parking for each little area. Some sites needed to walk in a bit but no big deal.

Beautiful area all around and one in awhile you could hear road noise but not an issue. In fall you can’t hear Elk as well which is really cool and obviously being surrounded by the colors is great too.

Fire rings in most spots but double check fire bans before.

There are less than 10 spaces but they seem to fill slowly! I arrived around 7PM on Friday during Memorial Weekend and thought I'd be out of luck but it was barely half full! The bathrooms were still closed although the sign said they hoped to have it ready by Memorial Day this weekend. Plenty of leftover wood in the pits (which I always appreciate) and plenty of space between sites. There are little walking paths around the Priest Lakes that are very short and easy, plus another trail that I didn't check out. The stars were BEAUTIFUL! This is a great spot for stargazers too.

Had a wonderful stay right next to the lake. Woke up to the sounds of birds. Sites include RV/van sites (2?) and at least six tent only sites. Each night only one other site was occupied. Views of surrounding mountains are beautiful. San Bernado Peak is a great rewarding (largely off-trail) hike right on the other side of the highway, with views of Lizard Head and more.

This might be the best spot near Telluride, we drove there in the middle of the night after a full moon & just randomly picked that campground. Gladly we did as we drove our campervan in there & slept 2 nights while meeting other amazing campers. All the other campgrounds around there didn't have much shade & this place wasn't that far off the main road. We'll definitely stay there again

This was a great site for our group of 3 couples. We had plenty of room on our site to set up camp around the picnic table and fire ring. 

We snagged the last site with a picnic table and fire ring around 10AM on a Friday morning. Throughout the weekend more people showed up and there seemed to be a bit more space to camp throughout. 

The sites vary from right out in the open to being completely tree covered. Ours was right near a stream and had good shade during the day. 

There's nothing but a vault toilet here so be sure to bring lots of water. If you're in need of a shower, head down to Trout Lake for a quick dip.

Set on somewhat of a hill above the lake. It is ok. There is a lot of rocks on the road. Most of the sites are walk in. Not much really to recommend this other than it is a place to camp.

This is a dispersed site—pack in/pack out (especially garbage; the nearest dumpster is in the town of Telluride). There is no running water, one outhouse, no service, no electrical outlets or RV pumps. Bears (and moose) are extremely active in this area, so it is especially important to store food in bear canisters and tie up properly. This site is not for the faint of heart! That said, the campers at this site have been some of the most genuine and good-natured humans I have ever met. The views are spectacular, and it’s not far from some fantastic hikes!

Great location. Beautiful area. Some of the campsites lack privacy for not having much for trees and the restroom was long overdue for a service. But I loved my stay and would go back in a heartbeat.

We camped here in a campervan and it was perfect! We arrived around 7pm and were able to find a place to park, but if you have a larger vehicle or need a spot for a tent, I’d try to arrive a bit earlier. Having the vault toilet is a nice perk for a dispersed camping site, and the views are second to none!

We set up our tent here for 2 days. It is completely free, and you are able to get into the site with a 2WD car. We left our tent over night and had no problems. There were campers that also were able to get into the area. Fire pits were already there and there is pretty much unlimited space. You can hike down to the lake where we saw some fish!

Stayed one Saturday night. Found one of 2 places available to park at around 6pm on a Saturday in August. Most spots full and others further from the road also occupied. Small amount of wood nearby was damp but burned. Purchased two bundles of firewood from a gas station outside Telluride. Would recommend for anyone looking to car camp but bring everything you need, nothing provided here.

I love this campground. It is only 15 minute drive from Telluride, but once you are there you are immersed in wilderness. Great for car camping, solid fishing, bonfire pits and bathrooms available.