Best Campgrounds near Aurora, CO

The entrance road is hard to find - Drive to the Indian Hot Springs facility in Idaho Springs, take Montane Road. It turns into Hidden Wilderness Road when the pavement ends.

As already stated by others, this is a Jeep trail. Do not attempt without 4WD at any time of year. It’s dangerous to turn around, and the trails kinda busy. You could get in a bind here if you’re not careful.

There are multiple campsites along the road, one at each switchback, and at least a dozen on top of the mountain. Campsites on top are large, wooded, and spread out. The switchback spots aren’t as good. I was able to find a flat spot up top big enough for a 10x10 tent, but I had to look around a bit.

If you keep following the main “road”, it eventually ends at a private gate, and you’ll need to turn around and backtrack about a quarter mile to get a camping spot.

I spent 2 weeks here in a full size 4x4 pickup with stock suspension, drove up and down the mountain about 5 times, slowly, without issue. I probably wouldn’t drive up there in a Subaru, but I did in fact see several Subarus up there on weekends.

This is a popular place for locals to shoot guns and ride dirt bikes. There are brass shell casings on the ground literally everywhere, and a LOT of shooting most days. More traffic than you would think on such a treacherous road, almost all locals coming up for the day.

Saw a couple of NFS maintenance trucks, no rangers or other staff. Peaceful spot at night. I’m a remote worker, and Starlink and Verizon both have good signal. Firewood everywhere. No water, rivers or lakes, but otherwise no complaints.

We camped at tent site #41 for 3 nights in June and had a great experience. The site was clean, grassy, and very private—even though we could see neighbors, it was quiet and peaceful. No tent pad meant we could set up wherever we wanted, and there was plenty of space.

Bathrooms (vault toilets) were clean, firewood was available onsite, and there were bear-proof containers. The campground has both sun and shade, with lots of trees and a beautiful setting. Manitou Lake is just a 3-minute drive away, and town is about 6 minutes out—close but still feels like a getaway.

What made this campground amazing was how family-friendly it is. My daughter made friends, rode her scooter on the paved roads, and had a blast. We saw lots of families biking, walking, and enjoying the outdoors together.

Heads up: I have Verizon and had no cell service at the campground.

Can’t wait to come back—highly recommend for families!

Base Camp at Golden Gate Canyon is everything you expect it to be and more from the overview! Nestled right in beautiful Colorado, even!& I love camping! Okay, I admit, I love‘camping’ in parks where there are cabins with beds and air! So of course, we stayed in a climate controlled cabin! Reminded me of KOA Campgrounds and similar price except this park is in COLORADO with amazing views and KOA’s are just barely outside of boring iowa/SD cities(the ones we stayed in) the scenic walks were worth it themselves!

But they have all sites, not just cabins, of course.(: I have 3 children and not one of them wanted to leave!!!(Made my sanity go a bit crazy, but says a lot when children stay somewhere for vacation and aren’t complaining and becoming bored before the end!) When we didn’t understand something they jumped to explain without being annoyed or irritated. They really hooked us up there! A little note: in my experience, and I’m sure everyone there is great, but Dillon, especially, took so much time to answer our questions show us around and ensure we had a quality time! He was so kind and has that approachable personality of someone who loves to help others and ensure you have the best possible time!! 10/10 would stop again!