Searching for the best camping near Carbondale, CO? Camping, hiking, biking: however you want to spend your days near Carbondale, you'll find great campgrounds with The Dyrt. Find the best campgrounds near Carbondale, CO. Read reviews from campers like you and find your perfect campsite.
"This is a BLM site with five primitive camping sites available. However there is a bathroom. I didn't locate any potable water spigots."
"We have stayed in the designated spots down by the stream, and also up the steep, dirt road to the dispersed sites past the designated spots."
"I came down to Marble, CO from Carbondale with the intention of staying at the Marble campground on a Wednesday but it was full so I went up the road about 10 miles to the McClure campground and was very"
"Spent one night here, besides being right off the highway this place is amazing! Close to Marble which worked well for me."
"You can also pay to camp ($6 per site/vehicle) at the Radium Recreation Site which offers a more developed campground with the usual tent pads, picnic tables, fire pits and decently clean toilets."
"The views on the drive are SPECTACULAR! We found a great meadowy spot with a fire pit. It was peaceful and the view was awesome."
"Make sure to get the passes over before noon as your likely to get a lightning storm not much after noon. It's has been to date the most rewarding hike me and my daughter's have done."
"The last campsite had the most people, which was the one by Snowmass Lake."
"We stayed here for most of our camping trip to Colorado and loved it! It's easily the most beautiful campground we've stayed at. There's only ~5 sites, each with a picnic table and fire ring."
"This was a stunning campground tucked away high up in the mountains on Independence pass."
$10 / night
"Its about a 2 mile hike in, but its a great, easy hike and the campsite makes it totally worth it. The views of Maroon bells at crater lake are unbelievable. There is wildlife everywhere."
"Snowmass lake is on the 4 pass loop trek near Aspen. You have to hike in either covering 3 passes going clockwise from maroon bells or 1 pass going counterclockwise."
"We entered through the White Mountain National Forest off-road areas. You can camp anywhere you’d like, though there are no electrical or plumbing hook-ups."
"Got in late and found a spot on a busy holiday weekend, it was forested with a good rock fire ring but some trash left over. Felt secluded enough but had hiking trails around. Saw a few other cars."
"Camp sites here are not well defined (look for fire rings). The trail is heavily rutted, and if it just rained gets incredibly muddy."
"Great little spot, saw a couple coyotes but they were just curious and walked by. Loves this location, granted it was the winter so there was no traffic after 5 pm and before 10 am"
RangerQuiet campground, off grid, no cell signal, no wi-fi. Busy campground due to proximity to Aspen. Adequate space between sites. Pit toilets, dumpsters available. May pose access challenges for larger rigs. Each site has picnic table, fire ring, bear box. No amenities, no laundry, no showers, no electricity. Smallest amount of road noise, depending on what site you are in. Day use parking lot available.
TravelerLovely quite campground in the woods next to a river. We stayed on the side away from the river and I wish we had stayed on the river side, but it was still fantastic. No cell service, pit toilets, no showers. A little far away from civilization/stores, which is exactly what we were looking for. Site 10 setup is great, park near the picnic table and fire ring, pitch tent a little further up the slope under the trees. It did get coooold during early June, bring a good sleeping bag and warm clothes!!
RangerThis remote campground might pose some access challenges for larger rigs. Clean pit toilets, no showers, no laundry. Fresh drinking water and dumpsters are available. No dump station in campground. Mixture of river and non river sites. Plenty of room and privacy between sites. No mobile phone coverage, no wi-fi, no amenities within 30 miles of the campground. 2 campground hosts on site. Small reservoir lake nearby for fishing and canoeing. Hiking and fishing nearby. Each site has a picnic table, fire ring and bear box.
LegendGeneral: A mix of pull-thru RV sites, back-in van sites, and walk-in tent sites. We called about two weeks prior and were happy to secure a site on a Saturday at the very end of April. This campground is located right on I70 so you will definitely hear highway noise (and occasional train noise). The sites are stacked on a hillside and as would be expected in an RV park, there is little separation/privacy between sites. The road in is a bit rough but so were many of the area roads after a harsh winter.
Site Quality: Sites are gravel. Site 55 was just long enough for our 18-foot van to fit. Not all of the van sites had picnic tables, but our site had a table where we could set up our camp stove and we ate inside our van. It also looked like there was a gas grill that might be shared for the van sites, but we didn’t inquire about it/use it. We had a fire pit but didn’t use it. Fires are NOT permitted in the RV sites and although there was a sign indicating a fire ban, you could speak with the office to see if fires are currently permitted in designated campfire pits.
Bath/Shower house: Was very clean and nicely appointed. Did not use the shower.
We chose this campground knowing we would hear highway noise, but it was a convenient location for our hike to Hanging Lake the next day. Craig was very welcoming both on the phone and upon our arrival.
LegendThis is one of the smaller sites alongside the main road you will find just a short distance outside of Aspen. I was passing through late in the season, technically during "closure" but was able to snag a site because it had not yet been closed due to unusually warmer fall. There had been some snowfall higher up but where I was there had not so the camp had not been closed. They had however turned off the potable water source but vault toilets and sites remained open.
I was located in site 5 which had a small back in area, a picnic table and fire ring. There were also bear boxes throughout camp, which you need to use if you are here because there is a population of bears that will raid camp. I made sure to keep any food in the car behind doors and cleaned up away from camp with my own water source so as to not attract anything to come near. Bears do scare me a bit!!
The site for my tent was lush and grassy, it had not yet frozen or died for the season so it felt very fluffy underneath my tent.
Temperatures dropped dramatically at night and I was happy there was no fire ban when I visited because I used my fire for a heat source in the evening and then hand warmers inside extra socks at night. It was pretty peaceful at the camp as a whole.
While there I enjoyed hiking on the Weller Trail which heads directly out from the parking area near the camp and treks a short distance with some amazing views. I was so happy to have found this site for only $21.
TIPS:
Typical season is May to the end of September if it is before or after this time check with the Forest Service to see if they have opened camp for season.
Bring a flashlight there is no external light at the campground so you will not be able to see anything without one.
TravelerWhat a hidden gem this campsite was! The bathrooms are cleaner than any campsite I've ever stayed in and were always well stocked with toilet paper. There's running water, and secure dumpsters around the grounds. Each campsite also has its own secure bear box that was large enough to fit my 50qt cooler. Firewood is available for sale, and the campground hosts are very friendly and helpful!
The campground is adjacent to the reservoir and is within walking distance of the marina grounds. With plenty of beachfront access, many campers were able to set up day tents by the lake, anchor boats, and launch paddle boards and canoes easily. There are a wide variety of campsites available, with everything from larger RV pull-throughs, to small tent-only sites. Some are a bit more shaded than others, though, and I do wish we'd been able to snag one with more tree cover.
This campground was easy to reach and maneuver around in my RWD low-set sedan, and the roads are very well maintained. There is no cell service at all out here though, and it is easily a 20-30 minute drive to Basalt.
This was such a delightful find, though, and I will definitely be back!
LegendThere are three sections to this campground: Osgood, Allgeier, and Mechau. Osgood and Allgeier have electric hookups; Mechau does not. Our site, 17 (Osgood), was a very large pull-through equipped with a large metal picnic table, fire ring (although there was a statewide burn ban when we stayed there), lantern hook, and bear box. There is good physical separation between the sites. The vault toilets were very clean and there is one flush toilet, located between Osgood and Allgeier, however, the showers were closed due to Covid. You hear road noise from just about any site, but it is not that bad.
There are two options that lead to the small town of Redstone, about two miles away: a trail or a secondary road (not the highway). We made reservations for a Tuesday in September and it was a good thing we did as the campground was full. Convenient to the towns of Redstone, Marble, and Carbondale and not that far from Glenwood Springs.
LegendThis small CG has 11 FCFS sites. About 1/2 are RV or trailer size. Trappers lake complex is about 5 mi. Campground host onsite, firewood for sale. $22/$12 senior. No cell signal on T-Mobile for me. CG has tables, fire rings, one vault toilet and one dumpster. Bear boxes are at each site. NO WATER, system looks to be kaput. Trail goes down to river for fishing.
RangerOne of my favorite campsites! We pulled in late night and were able to find a site(it was a thursday). The self pay system was easy and convenient. the campsite was small but nice with a great picnic table and fire ring. The current fire ban in that area meant no campfire, but the stars were amazing. You have a great view of Mt elbert and the twin lakes. There are also hiking trails down to the lake and vault toilets dispersed throughout the campground.
Nestled in the stunning landscapes of Colorado, Carbondale offers a variety of tent camping options that cater to outdoor enthusiasts seeking adventure and tranquility.
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According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Carbondale, CO is Lower Prince Creek Campground with a 4-star rating from 1 review.
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