Looking for the best campgrounds near Aurora, CO? There are tons of hikes and other fun activities to partake in, as well as sights to see and explore. You're sure to find the perfect spot for your Colorado camping adventure.
Located just south of Littleton, about 45 minutes south of Denver, Chatfield State Park is a 5,800-acre nature preserve and recreation area situated around the Chatfield Reservoir. Before the 1960s, there was no reservoir, and the South Platte River flowed freely through the wide valley. But after several disastrous flooding incidents, the Chatfield Dam was constructed on the river to prevent further damage to local homes and farms. The land around the new reservoir was developed into a recreation area, and the state park was opened to the public in 1975. The dam and park are named for Isaac W. Chatfield, who served as a Lieutenant of the Union in the Civil War. After the war, he migrated west and farmed this land along the Platte until the late 1800s. With its proximity to the wider Denver metro area and suburbs, Chatfield State Park is the place to go to get outdoors and beat the summer heat. Campers at Chatfield State Park have access to nearly 200 tent and RV campsites in four loops. The majority of sites are equipped with full hookups, with the rest having electrical hookups. Parking pads are both back-in and pull-through, and can accommodate vehicles/trailers up to 45 feet. Some sites are ADA accessible. All campsites have picnic tables, cooking grills and tent pads, and have access to drinking water, flush toilets, hot showers, and laundry facilities; a dump station is located near the campground entrance. There is also a group camp area with 10 sites that can accommodate up to 36 people each. Most sites are open and grassy, with minimal shade; all are within a short walking distance to the reservoir. Park residents include deer, elk, foxes, prairie dogs, songbirds, eagles, owls, snakes and salamanders. For water fun, there’s swimming, paddling, water-skiing, and fishing on the reservoir. Boaters have access to two launch ramps, and anglers can fish on the lake or from the fishing piers for walleye, rainbow trout, bass, perch and sunfish. During the winter season, trails are open for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing, and ice fishing is a popular pastime.
$36 - $41 / night
Welcome to Denver’s natural and spacious backyard playground, Cherry Creek State Park. There’s so much to see and enjoy. Summers are busy and action packed with Cherry Creek State Park camping, while off-peak times are quiet and laid back. Anchored around a 880 surface acre reservoir, the park offers a natural prairie environment of gentle, rolling hills and complete outdoor recreation facilities, including camping, picnicking and facilities for group events.
$28 - $41 / night
The Indian Paintbrush Campground is located within the county-run Bear Creek Lake recreation area outside Denver, CO. In close proximity to the city of Denver and popular tourist destinations like Red Rocks amphitheater, the Bear Creek Lake Park camping blends urban and rural qualities to make one of the finest camping destinations around Denver. The campground has 47 campsites, 3 cabins, 2 yurts and 1 group site.
$35 - $65 / night
Golden Gate Canyon State Park offers multiple campgrounds, cabins, yurts, RV sites, group sites, and a guest house.
From Memorial Day to early October, there are 132 campsites in two campgrounds: Reverend’s Ridge and Aspen Meadow.
Reverend’s Ridge offers 38 tent sites and 59 sites with electrical hook-ups. Facilities at Reverend’s Ridge include flush toilets, shower, ice machine, laundry facilities, and a dump station.
Aspen Meadow offers 35 tent sites and vault toilets.
As of January 1, 2019 both campgrounds will be Reservation Only.
Golden Gate also offers 20 backcountry tent sites and four backcountry shelters. Our backcountry sites are available on a first-come, first-serve basis year-round. Please register for backcountry sites at the Visitor Center.
$18 - $90 / night
$50 - $170 / night
Whether you commune with nature in a tent or prefer the comfort of a camper or motorhome for your nature sojourn, Standley Lake has plenty to offer. Standley Lake offers individual campsites and Deluxe Bell Tent rentals by reservation only. Reservations can be made beginning in January of each year. There are sixty-six (66) camp sites available for reservation and six Deluxe Bell Tents. The main campground accommodates RV units, camp trailers and tents. The park offers two permanent restroom facilities with free outdoor showers and drinking water. There are also self-serve water-fill spigots located in the campground. Each campsite features a fire pit and picnic table for your use.
Public camping is available May 1 through Sept. 30. There are no hookups and no dump station available at Standley Lake, although the City of Westminster does operate a dump station that accepts discharge of wastewater from the kitchens and personal sanitary conveniences of recreational vehicles for a fee. The station is located at the Big Dry Creek Wastewater Treatment Facility, 13150 Huron St. Camping is available only in designated sites and camping passes must be displayed on campsite post at all times. There are several ADA accessible campsites and the Deer Bell Tent is also ADA accessible.
$35 - $55 / night
Set within beautiful Ponderosa Pines, Casey Jones RV Hideaway is a perfect spot to park your camper or pitch your tent and enjoy a relaxing atmosphere right here in Elizabeth, CO. We offer 22 RV sites with 50/30 amp service and water and sewer hookups. We currently have 2 sites that only have the 230/50 amp hook up and water at a reduced rate. We have a dump station on the grounds as well as restrooms. The campground is open year round for RV camping. Tent camping is only available during the summer and fall season - call for availability. Campground includes use of the dump station for permitted campers during their stay. Dump station may be used by registered campers only.
Restroom/Shower building is located a short walk north of the campground, next to the rodeo arena, in a red building with white trim.
Interested in a 30 day stay? Casey Jones RV Hideaway offers special pricing during the winter season. Call the office for details.
$45 - $65 / night
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
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.
Very clean, very well maintained. Large spaces near the lake.
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.
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.
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.
If you are used to RV sites or KOA you will be ok with this. On a scale of 1-5 here are my impressions.
Overall esthetic 2. The lake is nice. The rest of the area is well compacted dirt with some scattered trees. City/road noise 2.
Really cool campground! We were able to tube on the river and we were at site five so we had direct access to the river as well. Just as a heads up this is a walk in site, but your cars aren’t parked very far away. And if you have a rooftop tent, you can still use that. Just know that your car will be parked on the road. It’s also $10 extra per night for an additional vehicle past the two vehicle per site limit.
Stayed two nights in July. Apparently quiet time is just a phrase here — multiple groups around us were loud well past 10pm but nobody came around to check. Bathroom access was an issue in the AM due to only one stall.
Not a lot of shade, ground kinda pebbly. If you’re looking for a quick post up near Denver or Boulder, sure. If you’re looking for peaceful camping, you could do far better. I suppose it’d be different in an RV, but tenting wasn’t good.
Either way, if you stay here, bring good earplugs.
Very quiet and bathroom and showers were clean
We called in the early evening, booked over the phone, & had a map with directions to our site waiting for us. The site was easily accessible & the restrooms were clean & well stocked. It’s close to the interstate, but just fine for one night.
Overall was a good spot close to Manitou Lake and Cheesman Canyon areas. A lot of open spots on a mid-June weekend but glad we reserved as some were really small. The campground was pretty nice especially spot #2 which had a ton of space to itself: clean, close access to restrooms/trash, good fire pits, chopped wood for sale, and overall well maintained by Jerry the host. My only gripe about this campground is all the spots were really angled making it a bit awkward for a RTT'er. Sort of narrow parking and very angled lots - just need to bring leveling blocks or a way to prop yourself a bit which we had.
Bugs not bad at all and quiet from the main road down the way which was nice. Would highly recommend for tenters and RTT'ers.
This was my first backpacking experience and I couldn't recommend it more for first timers. There is a designated pad for your tent, a bear locker and even an outhouse all nearby. My wife and I stayed at site K and it was beautiful.
The state park is enjoyable. The staff is realy nice and you have all the services that you need
I ended up here on accident but loved my stay. Every staff member was so helpful and nice. Sites are close together and it is a bit pricy for an RV ($92 per night). This was my first time at a KOA, I enjoyed having all of the services right there. They fill propane tanls, air for tires, nice hot shower, laundry and a hot tub.
Beautiful state park. Great for a day or two. Bathrooms were exceptionally clean and well maintained.
This place used to be awesome. The new owners are greedy and can't "run" the campground. It's dirty, stuff is broke, keys for cabins are always missing, and prices are going through the roof for what it is.
The group campsite was spacious. The site was also pretty clean. Bathrooms were coin operated so that wasn’t the best for a shower. Would preferred a way to obtain coins or a heads up on that one. The spot we had was far from the lake so it was a bit of a walk. I’d recommend finding a site closer to the lake so you can get to the water quicker when it’s super hot. We had canopies but the sun beat us down pretty bad during the high part of the day. Very pretty paddle boarding sites.
This is a very nice, quiet and quaint camping spot! We loved the wooded areas. The flat parking pads and hook ups! There’s nothing extra special here to make it a 5 star. I’d absolutely visit again!!…. But it’s not a bucket list spot!
The coolest thing is we did see a moose!
Amazing views, friendly staff & nice set up. Wish we could have stayed a little longer. But definitely helpful when passing through.
We were going to give this a 3 star review based on our first night here in D loop. No water, sites close together and a long walk to the vault toilets, plus the site was not level. Our second night was in E loop. Sites are over 100 feet apart, level, flush heads, near free showers, and water available plus dish washing area, but no tent pads. Loops are either RV or tent. Tent loops also have sites too close for our taste, about 37 feet apart. Though if you choose carefully, a few sites are more remote. Some of the tent loops let you park adjacent to your site (loops H and I). Others you park in a common area and walk to your site. Volunteer staff very friendly. In season camp programs. Much jet noise from airliners leaving Denver. Some road noise also, but very quiet at night. Your experience will vary with your chosen loop and site. Overall nice, much more so in E loop and B loop looks similar. For tenting, I’d suggest H or I loop. Good T-Mobile.
I came up for a night of camping with one of my dogs. I reserved the area with electric hookup since I brought the van. The area was very organized and tidy. Campsite was large with a picnic table, fire pit, and central spot for trash and recycling. Area was quiet, but close to a road. No cell service for phone if you’re wondering.
Lovely campground, very well maintained with great trails all around. No mosquitoes (early September).
We’re a one night in each location maybe 2 as we tour the US in 4-6week chunks. So places like this we can pull up to after a 6-10 hour drive day and the kids can do a water park, we can grab dinner and drinks, arcade, activities etc. it’s awesome. Super friendly neighbors. Great sites. Clean, big nicely landscaped. Love the propane fire pits. We had excellent proximity to both pools, store and arcade. We leave EARLY so good to be by the exit.
Chatfield has quickly become one of our favorite state parks. We have stayed here many times over the last few years. This was our first time camping here with our Class C and we had plenty of room to center our rig while leaving room for our tow dolly and SUV.
We stayed at Site 54 on Loop B. This is the first time we’ve ever noticed the noise from the model airplane field while camping here. We were woken up multiple mornings before 7AM to the sound of model airplanes. Not a big deal, but something to be mindful of if you’re looking to sleep in.
The shower facility at the center of Loop B did not have soap or hand dryers in the restroom. Again, not a big deal, but something to know so you can plan ahead. There was also only one working dryer in the laundry, so it was a challenge to get wash done if multiple campers were trying to wash clothes at the same time.
First time camping here. The Gold Rush loop is all full hookups. We stayed in Site 95 and had no trouble fitting our 29’ Class C, tow dolly, and towed vehicle.
There are multiple facilities in the campground that have hot showers and flush toilets. The building closest to the campground office also has a laundry that works via coins or pay via app, $2 per load.
Easy access to the sand beach on Cherry Creek reservoir, plenty of hiking and biking trails, and close proximity to Aurora, Centennial, and the greater Denver metro area. We would definitely stay here again.
Everything you’d expect from a KOA - clean, well cared for, activities, store on site. Great communication from property and great Wi-Fi signal
Camping near Aurora, CO, offers a mix of beautiful scenery and fun activities for everyone. Whether you're looking for a family-friendly spot or a peaceful retreat, there are plenty of campgrounds to explore.
Camping near Aurora, CO, has something for everyone, whether you're a family looking for fun or an RVer seeking adventure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular glamping campsite near Aurora, CO?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Aurora, CO is Chatfield State Park Campground with a 4.3-star rating from 75 reviews.
What is the best site to find glamping camping near Aurora, CO?
TheDyrt.com has all 27 glamping camping locations near Aurora, CO, with real photos and reviews from campers.
