Rainbow Lakes Campground, near Nederland, Colorado, is a picturesque location that offers a serene escape into nature. With its well-kept sites surrounded by dense forests and a babbling brook, it’s a prime spot for those looking to unwind and soak in the beauty of the outdoors.

The campground features clean facilities, including well-maintained pit toilets, and each site comes equipped with a fire pit and bear locker. Visitors have noted that the campground host is friendly and helpful, ensuring a pleasant stay for everyone. As one camper remarked, “The host really cares about your stay being as you expect it to be.”

For adventure seekers, the campground provides easy access to hiking trails leading to the stunning Rainbow Lakes, just a short trek away. Wildlife sightings, including moose and bears, add to the excitement of your stay, making it a memorable experience. Just be prepared for the bumpy dirt road leading in; it’s manageable with most vehicles, but a high-clearance option is recommended.

While the campground can fill up quickly, especially during peak season, the peaceful ambiance and beautiful scenery make it worth the effort. Whether you’re camping in a tent or an RV, Rainbow Lakes Campground is a fantastic choice for a nature-filled getaway.

This campground is open mid-June through mid-September and located at 10000 feet at the end of the Rainbow Lakes Road and adjacent to the [Indian Peaks Wilderness][1]. This road is closed\_\_for winter and typically reopens\_\_in June. Before traveling to this area, check the [Road Status Table][2].There are 18 first-come, first-served campsites that\_\_accommodate tents (on\_\_14X16 foot tent pads) and small\_\_trailers. A maximum of eight people are allowed per site.\_\_Campsite 8 is oversized and accomodates up to 15 people.\_\_Campsites 15 - 18 are walk in sites for tents. Picnic tables, fire grates,\_\_vault toilets and trash services are provided at each campsite. 14-day stay limit. This campground does not feature\_\_drinking water, electricity, hook-ups, dump stations, nor showers. Please remember to bring water.Rainbow Lakes Campground is normally full for the weekend by Friday morning so plan to arrive early. No reservations are accepted.[Click here][3] for a map of this campground. 

[1]: http://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/arp/indianpeaks
[2]: http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/arp/recreation/?cid=stelprdb5339508
[3]: http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5407243.pdf

Rainbow Lakes Campground

Are you in need of a campground near Nederland, CO? Nederland is an adventure-filled destination for those who love the outdoorsy camper lifestyle. But it's also great for those who prefer to spend time near the city, exploring and sightseeing. At The Dyrt, campers like you share their favorite spots, plus tips and photos. No matter where you're headed in Nederland, you'll find the best spot for you and your camping crew.

Nederland

The Best Camping Near Nederland, Colorado

Easy access off the main highway makes the main camping of this area accessible for any car that can handle the 9600 ft altitude. 
Clearly equipped to be family-friendly with designated camping plots and basic amenities like toilets. 
The lake is lovely, and with hiking trail access to more than one trail, it offers fishing, hiking, and of course relaxing. 
This place is popular, however, so you may elect to go the more secluded route. 

A 4WD access road exists soon after the main entrance to the rainbow lakes campground. As of June 2016 it is closed. That's because water levels have made parts of the road inaccessible. 
But if you want a more secluded and unbelievable experience, hike in. 
It's 1.5 miles on a 4WD road that has parts that will see you walk ankle deep in water. Yes, you can avoid it by simply walking in the woods around these large puddles, but at .4 miles into the whole hike there's a knee deep (I'm 5'9") slow current river you're going to have to wade through, so your shoes will be wet anyway, so might as well. Warm the shoes by the campfire :-) 
When you reach camp, there are more than 30 campsite spots, and spread out. Id be shocked if it was full ever. I was the only one there that night. And they're real campsites with cleared space and fire pits. Naturally well shaded too.

At this camp, you're close to a river for fishing. You can easily hike around too. Or chill.

Its a bit of a workout to get there, but w packing properly and toughing a water wade, the seclusion will be well worth it for those looking for a little for quiet or looking to best the family crowds. 
There are moose in the area. Saw two during the one day stay there.

Remember, regardless of where you stay, you're at almost 10,000 ft elevation so at night, you'll be cold without some layered clothing options and a proper sleeping bag..

A little backcountry for a lot of solitude

We happened to come across Rainbow lakes campground in a google search of nearby campgrounds. Upon arriving during the middle of the week in the first week of July we found it to be completely empty and super clean. We met the camp host, Rick, and he introduced us to the area by explaining the trails and where to go for what purpose. He was incredibly helpful and the site was stunning. He even gave us free firewood in return for helping him with keeping the dumpster area clean. The lakes next to the campground are beautiful and the train is easy to follow. Lots of wildlife and beautiful flowers. He even came around to the Free sites and helped us put out the fires when there was a fire ban. 

Clean Campground and Friendly Host

This is a pretty short drive from Boulder (or Denver) but since you can’t make reservations at this small site (15-20 sites), so plan to get there as soon as you can after it opens. The site is lovely and right along lakes with snow-capped peaks in the distance. A friend said she saw moose and beavers in this lake but I’ve only ever seen deer. There are vault toilets but no water so bring some and/or treatment methods.

National Forest primitive camping with no reservations

We really enjoyed this free camp site. There is paid camping at the end of the road but we chose to camp on the free sites before hand. No facilities just how we like it. Absolutely beautiful hiking in the area and also hot springs near by. Love this area of colorado. very cold at the end of september.

Cold at the end of september

Definitely worth checking out for the stunning views. It can be a bit tough to find a spot to pull over and park as it's a narrow dirt road into Rainbow Lakes. It's also definitely a super bumpy ride in so brace yourselves. If you want more luxurious camping you can rent out a campground at the very end and have access to water and restrooms. Definitely very family friendly when you pay for camping. Otherwise the free camping is great so long as you can find a spot to park and don't mind hauling your gear.

Stunning views, bumpy ride in

It's a great campground and there is plenty of beautiful dispersed camping a short drive (or walk) down the road, so you're guaranteed to get a spot!

Lots of free camping nearby

Well worth the 5 mile service road bumpy drive.  HIGHLY encourage you to have a high clearance SUV on this road.  The camp sites are all really clean and orderly.  The host does a good job with up keep.

  

Heads up that the trail to the lakes is currently closed as of this review.  Take the Arapahoe Glacier Trail though, you will not be disappointed!

Clean Campground Worth The Drive

The long gravel road in is very rough with potholes to say the least but worth the drive in . At the end of the road is the campground which is very nice but we didn’t stay there due to being full . Along the road leading up to the campground are some spots off to the side in the woods that are great as well with more privacy than the campground and are FREE . 

Beautiful area to camp and hike 

I’m mainly writing this to tell others there is NO LONGER dispersed camping along the service road in 2021. The campground is so lovely and the camp host is very friendly and helpful. We arrived Fri at 4pm, all spots were filled as of 10am and the host told us ideally to arrive in Thurs morning if you want to guarantee a spot! We knew there was dispersed camping along the road and that was our back-up plan. But it’s no longer. If you can get there early enough Rainbow Lakes CG looks incredible. Just a bummer spontaneous CO camp weekends seem no longer possible with all the people!

Beautiful campground - fills up quick

Rainbow Lakes is a very well kept campground nestled in the hills just a short drive outside of Nederland, CO. The pictures posted on here absolutely do not do it justice, the dense forest and babbling brook offer the perfect camping ambiance. The consensus of our group was that the campground had the best kept vaulted toilets we’ve ever experienced in our lives! The campground host was friendly, helpful, accommodating, and you can tell he really cares about your stay being as you expect it to be. It rained essentially the whole time we were there (which we were prepared for), but we’ll absolutely be returning in better weather. Also, I echo the other reviews regarding needing a high clearance vehicle to arrive safely to your site. There was a car (low sitting sedan) that was being towed out upon our arrival, they had apparently busted their oil pan on a jagged rock. Don’t be like that poor sedan.

Beautiful campgrounds

Paradise CG is up a very bumpy dirt road but you do NOT need 4WD. We drove up in our Ford Transit Van and there were low clearance vehicles at the trailhead. It is however very bumpy and the potholes will eat you up if you do not take it slow in some areas. 
Apparently the campground is full all the time but we arrived the last weekend of August and it was mostly empty when we arrived early afternoon on a Saturday. We picked a great spot near the trail which wasn’t very private but acceptable to us and our three dogs. While there we hiked the mile trail to the Rainbow lakes. At 10k feet we were winded but you can be a novice hiker and make it up to the top. We didn’t take the other 4 mile hike to the Glacier. 
Instead we hiked down the road along the river and saw a Mother and baby moose. Later that day while sitting in our campsite we saw a full grown black bear walking the trail above us. It was exhilarating and luckily the bear wanted nothing to do with us. 
Despite previous reviews, there is NO dispersed camping on the road in anymore. The bathrooms were clean and the host was great. No cell service on ATT 
Garbage is available but not water. If you can get a spot here it is worth it. 

Worth the drive up

After getting coffee downtown Netherland, it only took us about 30 min to get to the campground where we were met with a very friendly campground host that answered all our questions and more. We had the last campsite at the end near the hiking trail, and although the campground was full of campers we felt that we had a lot of privacy with the dense forest surrounding us. We hiked up to the Rainbow Lakes hoping to catch some trout and although we headed back to camp empty handed, it was well worth the beautiful scenery. 

Well Kept Beautiful Campground 

The road in is very bumpy, but my Chrysler Pacifica with low clearance did fine. Just take it slow at times.
Great sites each has a fire pit, picnic table and Bear locker.
Pit toilets were very clean.
The host at the time was very welcoming and nice. 
Great stay for only $19 a night.
T mobile service is extremely spotty and basically non existant.
Enjoy!

Very clean. 

This is one of the nicest campgrounds I have stayed at in a long time. The campsites are spread out with tons of tree coverage. There are so many beautiful sites to choose from, sites that backup into the forest and sites that backup to a river. I arrived on a Wednesday late afternoon and I was fortunate enough to have found a great spot. The camp host, who was fantastic, says they tend to fill up quickly though. The host had firewood for sale and some water in gallon jugs but I was glad I brought brought water with me. Nice bathrooms on site. Mostly tent camping, the only camper I saw was a pop out, no electricity at this campground. You can jump onto the trail to Rainbow Lakes from the campground which is about about a 30 to 45 minute walk. The dirt road leading to the campground was no problem for my Kia Sportage. I went slow when I needed to and had no issues at all. This is definitely going to be a campground I visit every summer moving forward.

Gorgeous and peaceful!

I stay 7/3-7/4. Yes I know it’s the forth of July and campsites are always busy. 

7/3 started off amazing! I had to wait for a camp spot, but was lucky enough that someone was leaving. Hiked up to Rainbow lake with my pup!

The night of 7/3 a person in a tent was snoring like a bear and people were pretty loud.

7/4 was a complete disaster. People were knocking on my camper asking when I was going to leave, the park volunteer was watching me pack up my stuff which was uncomfortable, people were waiting IN my camp ground as I was leaving.

Do yourself a favor and never go when it’s busy… bring $5 for a night of camping and “check in” with the volunteer that runs the camp ground. Check out is 1 pm the next day.

Doesn’t really feel like camping at all when you’re constantly being monitored/bothered. 

Beautiful, but crowded

This place is amazing!  Small campground, and you cannot make a reservation, but if you can get in, it’s incredible.  Some sites are right on the creek.  Play, a short hike to the lake makes this place really stand out.  

Photos of Rainbow Lakes Campground

Real photos from real campers