Camping Near Aurora, CO

Recent Reviews in Aurora

1082 Reviews of 154 Aurora Campgrounds

• 

  Kay S.

  Guide

  

  Dec. 17, 2024

  Cherry Creek State Park Campground

  Easy Access GO EARLY IN AM

  If you want to get into the Park, suggest you go EARLY, EARLY, EARLY in the day. Traffic backs up all the way from the Entrance on Parker Rd to the Entrance Booth on weekends and holidays. Plan on an hour OR MORE to just get to the booth. Once the capacity for the Park is reached, you will not be allowed in.

  Nice Swim Beach with brand new Bldg. Many covered Picnic sites, but again, you MUST arrive at the break of day to secure one.

  Please plan to pack your trash out. Seems to be a severe shortage of dumpsters or trash cans and people leave behind huge bags of trash - or, sadly, just trash strewn around. Please respect our space!

  Campground is usually fully booked all season. Reservations can be made six months out. Two week limit.

  I live close to the Park and visit every month of the year.

• 

  Paulina B.

  Ranger

  

  Dec. 6, 2024

  Rainbow Trout Ranch and Campground

  Peaceful Riverside Retreat

  A hidden gem in the Colorado Rockies, Rainbow Trout Ranch offers a serene mountain retreat. With its riverside setting and towering trees, this campground is perfect for anglers and outdoor enthusiasts. The sites are rustic but well-kept, and the peaceful environment is ideal for disconnecting from the hustle and bustle of Denver. Nearby hiking trails and wildlife add to the charm.

  AIM for a site along the creek. And beware of the rules. No wildfires nor swimming in the creek.

• V

  Vanessa H.

  Scout

  

  Oct. 20, 2024

  Boulder County Fairgrounds

  Big rig friendly first come first serve

  Clean shower and rest room. Easy self check in.

• 

  Landon C.

  Ranger

  

  Oct. 19, 2024

  Bailey Area Dispersed

  Difficult road to get to but beautiful views

  The road here has some gnarly washboards. I had to slow down to a crawl at points because it was thrashing my rig around so much. There is also one turn on the road where if you’re not careful, I could imagine getting stuck. However, the views are incredible and it was well worth the effort. Cell signal from Verizon is extremely good, I am getting 5G UWB and download speeds of 180mbps. There’s some cool hills to climb and many great views.

• U

  UT801

  Ranger

  

  Oct. 17, 2024

  Denver West-Central City KOA

  Nicest KOA we've been to

  And in fact I believe they were KOA of the year 2023 or 2024. More expensive than we're used to, but has nice amenities. Sites level with concrete pads, fairly large. Some space between with trees. Nice metal patio furniture provided at each site(chairs, table, fire pit). Has decent showers, hot tubs, and off leash dog park. Inexpensive pancake breakfast and pizza/wings to your site are available, also an onsite store. Kind of at the top of a rise, so good views but also kind of chilly for July (60s/40s). Massive thunderstorms with hail and heavy rain two evengings (CO mountains tend to get afternoon t-storms). Communicate via text to let you know about goings on. Good radio station out of Idaho Springs KYGT 102.7 and 103.9

• U

  UT801

  Ranger

  

  Oct. 17, 2024

  Chief Hosa Campground

  Good proximity to Evergreen CO/EZ I-70 on/off

  Stayed in spot RV24. Easy access right off freeway and convenient to TPB start. Some nice small trails in area for easy walking. Mostly pine trees. Orderly, camp hosts seem inclined to enforce rules. Quiet.No campfire pits so no burning allowed at all and most folks seem to knock off early. Showers are available for.25/2 min with a 4 min max. Appeared old, clean.

  For road cyclists: Good place to stay for Triple Bypass

  Food aside: Cooked Hatch green chile sausage and added to Sprouts Hatch mac and cheese and put into burritos. Ate leftovers for breakfast. Low FQ (fart quotient).

• A

  A A Ron J.

  Guide

  

  Oct. 16, 2024

  Base Camp at Golden Gate Canyon

  Way too expensive

  I spent the night at Base Camp because the campgrounds North and South of Ned were full and it was dark and getting late. You have to be lucky with those ones to get one of the few good spots that are there. I have been to the convenience store at BC before and it was closer to Idaho Springs (I was going there the next day to meet a friend). $39 per night for a tent site is INSANE. I could have stealth camped and there was another spot I could’ve gone too but BC was close and I was tired. I guess that’s how they make their business. Begrudgingly it worked for what I needed.

• A

  A A Ron J.

  Guide

  

  Oct. 16, 2024

  Gordon Gulch Dispersed Area

  Trash+long term campers

  The place fills up on the weekend. I drove through most of the trail system and did not find a spot. Came back during the week and took a closer spot so as not to risk it. Trash is everywhere. Multiple poop spots are within 100ft of the fire pit with copious amounts of used tp lying around. Trees are slashed, cut, and the forest is not doing well. There are multiple long term campsites here so watch out for squatters. I stayed near the start and then a bit deeper, which prompted me to take photos. I forget the site numbers but honestly it’s not looking good in most places. At the very back are what look like a few nicer spots because they are hard to get to with a non off-road vehicle. It breaks my heart how this campground exists.

• A

  A A Ron J.

  Guide

  

  Oct. 16, 2024

  West Magnolia Campground

  ‘Long term’ campsites&trash

  Couldn’t find any spots over the weekend. Drove through the whole campground. There is an absurd amount of trash everywhere, especially at closer campsites. There are multiple ‘long term’ campsites by the looks of the trash, gear, and supplies left out. The forest is not in good shape either.

  Came back mid week and stayed at site #4 because it was close and I did not want to roll the dice on not securing a spot again.

  Keeping it brief: -I thought someone had been through my campsite when I was sleeping due to things moved -I might have met the squatter at the site. Couldn’t be sure, but determined there were red flags after talking to the guy and did not want to stick around to find out -so much trash it breaks my heart

  The county needs to do something about this campsite and the similar one North of Ned.

• 

  Ioan P.

  Legend

  

  Oct. 15, 2024

  Chatfield State Park Campground

  Super nice

  Very clean, very well maintained. Large spaces near the lake.

• 

  Lori L.

  Traveler

  

  Oct. 13, 2024

  West Magnolia Campground

  Fall camping

  Great location with single tracks for hiking and mountain biking. Camping spots are well-marked. WiFi was decent. The sad part was the trash left behind from former encampments in some of the camping spots.

• 

  Andria R.

  Guide

  

  Oct. 12, 2024

  Dispersed Camp Near Dream Canyon

  Sketchy

  Two beat up, broken down cars at the entrance. Road is very rough, full of potholes from the start. Did not feel comfortable staying here.

• 

  Andria R.

  Guide

  

  Oct. 12, 2024

  Dream Canyon Campsites - Dispersed Camping

  4x4 and tents only

  Beautiful, but really need a compact 4x4 to get into and out of parking lot and there are tent sites only. We almost didn’t make it out with our 24 ft van (checked it out but didn’t stay overnight). Very crowded on a Saturday at 4:30pm.

• K

  Kerri M.

  Guide

  

  Oct. 12, 2024

  Denver East-Strasburg KOA

  Quick overnight

  Not a lot of options on I 70 east of Denver for overnight parking so opted for a KOA last minute. Easy last minute check in process. Served great for a quick in and out.

• J

  Jason R.

  Guide

  

  Oct. 12, 2024

  Forsythe Canyon Trailhead Forest Service Road 357 Dispersed — Golden Gate Canyon

  Not free, golden gate canyon SP

  Idk who did this but luckily there is service but anything nearby is outta the way. Says need permit online access filled it all out $10 plus camping. Dispersed without wheels requires a $4 fee too

• 

  Osborn T.

  Scout

  

  Oct. 10, 2024

  A-Lodge Boulder - Car Camping

  Mazda car stickers

  Want to decorate your car? You can buy mazda car stickers on various online platforms specializing in car accessories. However, I would recommend the site supdec.com. This store offers a wide range of quality stickers for Mazda, which are durable, weather-resistant and easy to install. You will be able to choose designs that will highlight the style of your car. The site also often offers various promotions and fast delivery, which makes the purchase even more convenient.

• R

  Rebecca L.

  Scout

  

  Oct. 8, 2024

  Redskin Creek Rd Dispersed Campsite

  Site #6 of 33

  Finally, a nice campsite on a road that isn't horrible. There are 30+ designated, numbered, dispersed campsites on this road. Each of them have a parking area right along the road with a fire ring a short distance away surrounded by awesome rock outcroppings. The parking areas tend to be very unlevel and there are only a few that you can pull right up to your campsite. #6 had a level spot large enough for my van and the camping area just a few steps away. These are great campsites and the area is really awesome. After so many horrible roads and places closed, it was a blessing to find this spot. The road is a bit of a washboard, but that is nothing compared to most of the forest roads in Colorado. Highly recommended! Cell service with At&t in site 6 is decent. Calling is 2 bars. at least half of the sites are big rig friendly. All of the sites are 100% free.

• c

  clinton H.

  Traveler

  

  Oct. 3, 2024

  Pull off with fire ring - Dispersed Site

  Great spot, minus the “no camping” signs

  We camped here after a Red Rocks show. The spot is a great area. About 20 minutes off of I-70. There are many pull offs along this road that could theoretically be good camp sites. However there are “no camping” signs, which is why I gave it 3 stars. Everything is great besides that: beautiful stars, good tent site, safe parking area.

  The spot we chose is a bit farther down the road than the one listed here. It’s in between the bend in the road. We parked at the pull off and walked down a small hill to find a good tent site and a fire ring.

  Also be aware it’s pretty chilly compared to just a few miles up the road. It was in the mid 30s at night.

• S

  Sawyer S.

  Traveler

  

  Sep. 30, 2024

  Dream Canyon Campsites - Dispersed Camping

  Super sick spot

  We camped a very short walk from the parking lot. Amazing camp site with not many people around.

• 

  patty W.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 30, 2024

  St. Vrain State Park Campground

  Ok

  Busy and right off highway

• T

  Tristan S.

  Scout

  

  Sep. 29, 2024

  Gross Reservoir Dispersed

  Great Spot, Bright Construction Lights

  Overall a very fun spot if you have a vehicle with some ground clearance to get to the nice sites by the reservoir. My Peak Edition Atlas handled it well. Only complaint is the damn project at Gross reservoir is a 24 hour site and the lights are ridiculously bright.

• L

  LW P.

  Scout

  

  Sep. 28, 2024

  West Magnolia Campground

  Good potential, poor experience

  I have lived in the Boulder/Nederland area for over 30 years and have always enjoyed this part of the state. The West Magnolia area has great potential for dispersed camping. My wife and I tried to camp here this past week after not having camped at this location for many years. As others noted, it could make for a convenient base camp for tons of activities in the area. 

  Unfortunately, we were unable to find any usable campsite. All sites were occupied, even during the middle of the week. Many of those sites were occupied by long term campers as made clear by the multiple tents and bags of trash piled up. A couple primo sites had been abandoned by long term campers who left their trash, broken tents and chairs, food containers and other refuse in the campsites. It was really creepy coming upon these sites. Sadly, West Magnolia has become an extreme heavy use/abuse area. As someone who has spent years in the outdoors for days and weeks at a time, I would even question the health and safety of staying in some of these heavily used sites due to obvious lack of care and stewardship (think human waste close to camp). If you decide to camp here, and can find a suitable site, please be mindful of keeping yourself and gear away from potential health hazards.

  West Magnolia is still a nice place to hike and bike, but I cannot recommend it for overnight camping.

• 

  Justin R.

  Scout

  

  Sep. 23, 2024

  West Magnolia Campground

  Campsite 21

  Great campsite, enough room for 2 maybe 3 vehicles at campsite 21. Road is not too rough, would recommend 4wd if raining or snowing. There are some deep holes when coming in if raining. We did air down due to the rain and snow while we were there.

• J

  Jo H.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 20, 2024

  Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park at Larkspur

  Nice but pricey

  Overall Nice site. Stayed one night. Too pricey for a stopover. Propane fire pit looks nice but could not use. Must have a 20 pound tank. Store was closed as we arrived at 5 pm.
  Train and traffic noise as expected for location. Lot of stuff for kids. Nice facilities. Clean park.

• T

  Tara D.

  Scout

  

  Sep. 18, 2024

  Gross Reservoir Dispersed

  Road Closed Mid-September

  There is no discernible reason that the road is closed 2 miles before where this app says the site is. Internet search says it should be open til middle of November unless there is some weather or other issue. Lovely weather, locked gate.

• T

  Thomas O.

  Scout

  

  Sep. 15, 2024

  Chatfield State Park Campground

  Greast Spot

  Stayed the last night with a rental RV that we needed to return to Denver by 10;30 AM.  Campground has an unusual lay out with "loops" being 3 rings of sites.  Sites are spread out well.  Lots of privacy,  Within an hour's drive of the RV rental return location (with a Costco on the way to fill the gas tank).  Some sites have elec/water/sewer at the sites.  Some have just electrical - this was our site.  A communal water/sewer was available with ability to handle two vehicles at the same time.

• 

  Mary A.

  Scout

  

  Sep. 15, 2024

  Denver Meadows RV Park

  Would be a ZERO if possible

  just now New Don't give this owner any business. Former homeowners of the mobile home park offered 20.5 million in 2019. The greedy owner Sean L. rejected the offer because he was dealing with the former mayor and counsel to have the area rezoned so he could make more. Hundred or residents were displaced! Karma is a bitch for this greedy owner and the politicians who went along with him. SHAME. Their was a documentary documentary made about the subject of mobile home parks being bought up and raising rents at will. The film is called A Decent Home.