Best Tent Camping near Delta, CO

We arrived at Soap Creek Campground around noon on a Friday in mid-July and found several wonderful sites to choose from. We selected site 8 as it was fairly close to the restroom, had decent shade, and large enough to accommodate our large tent and two vehicles...with room enough to spare to play washers! Vault toilets only, but they were very clean...host normally sells firewood, but they were out, however they did allow us to gather our own. No water at this time as it is spring fed and was low. Mostly surrounded by tent campers, but a few RV's made it down the narrow, windy and bumpy dirt road to the campground...but for the most part they kept their generators off (no electricity at this campground) during quiet hours. We were able to walk to the creek and what a view! Would definitely recommend and can't wait to go back!

This campground is near the visitor center just off the rim road, about a 25 mile road from one entrance to the other. There are several hiking trails for exploring the Colorado National Monument; you could keep busy for a couple days or more, depending on how much you enjoy hiking. There is also rock climbing.

The campground has 3 loops:

• A: no reservations, open year round

• B: reservations and walkup. If you have a reservation, your site will have a "Reserved" sign along with dates and your last name. No check in is required. Open sites have an "Open" sign.

• C: doesn't show up on recreation.gov so it looks like it is also walkup. I think groups can reserve it. There are tent pads which I didn't see in A and B (but you can pitch a tent in A and B). Only tents and truck campers are allowed, and no generators are allowed in loop C.

Bathrooms seem fairly new with auto flush toilets, motion sensor faucets and hand dryers. There is potable water at various locations clearly marked with a "water" sign. No electric, water or sewer at sites.

There are a few "driveway" styles in loops A and B: back in/pull in, pull alongside and pull through. Picnic tables and grills are back among juniper and pine trees, and you can pitch a tent. I would stay in loop C if I had a tent...very nice sites.

And the views are beautiful, especially at sunset.

This campground is on NPS land, so there is a fee ($16 in season+ water/$8 off season no water) that can be paid at the nearby ranger's station on the honor system. All 13 sites are in a single loop at the end of the road on the North Rim and are all first come first served. Pinyon and juniper offer shade and some visual privacy, however sites are all close so there is little audible privacy. Pets are OK if leashed. There are nice sized BearSaver boxes at each site, plus a fire ring and large picnic table. Vault toilets and potable water are both in the center of the camping loop, where you can also find other tables and lots of shade. Chasm trail begins near the end of the loop and there are great views of the canyon a short distance from all sites. Beware: drought year, so lots of yellow jackets - they swarm vehicles in search of water! Also, water is a limited resource brought in by truck to this canyon, don't be wasteful :)

This campground has decent separation between sites but not much shade because the juniper trees are so short. The views at this park are incredible, however you won't see much from your campsite itself. It's tucked into thick juniper forest. This place has lots of bear activity so be sure to bring a bear canister to supplement the provided bear boxes. We saw a blonde haired black bear along one of the roads and were so happy that we were in our car. There's a little self service kiosk for walk up sites. Vault toilets, picnic table, and a fire ring with open flame grill. Just be aware that to do anything on the north rim of the canyon it is a several hour drive. So your activities will likely be limited to the south rim. Would gladly return!

We stayed in a camper van over a busy holiday and loved it! We were hoping for a peaceful getaway for us and our dog and found it at Kebler. Yes, some of the spaces are close together but everyone there made it work well. The angled spots and strategic landscaping help too. Plenty of grassy common areas to stretch your legs and your pup’s (on leash), so much so we didn’t feel like we missed out on anything by not being parked with the big coaches along the river. Even better since the large river spots had little/no natural shade (most seemed to have their own awnings that our van didn’t so no worries there I think for them). The tent spots were in a different area on the other side of the property a little away from the busier parts. They also had less shade but had level pads and but seemed closer to the bridge (and hiking). The community vibe was respectful and friendly and it was lovely to stroll about and enjoy it all. Families were out and about, playing with their children and trying different things to do. There was a little playground and some activities in a covered space like velcro axe throwing and corn hole. There were soccer goals set up at one of the grassy areas too. There was also a frisbee golf course, hammocks and picnic tables scattered around the property. A sign by the bathrooms invited camp guests to go gentle group hike if you meet at the bridge at the posted time in the morning. The general store was open during the day and had more than I expected (came for stickers and snacks, left with a game of Bananagrams and more). There wasn’t cell service but wifi worked well for what we needed. The bathrooms were clean and the water was warm. On a busy weekend you might need to use the portable toilets near the tent sites if the regular ones are occupied at a busy time. In the future, splitting the shower and toilet facilities might help with that long term, but I am not sure how hard (and expensive) that is to do in places that are tucked away into the mountains like this. We did use the coin laundry and that worked well. At the time of our visit it was $2 for the washer and $3.50 for the dryer. There was a variety of cute cabins for rent with a good range in size and cost - and some have own their bathroom and even little patio spaces. The hosts and staff were friendly and helpful, even doing trash pickup in the morning if you left it out at a certain time by your site. Kebler is in a beautiful setting, has thoughtfully-designed spaces and is carefully maintained. We would definitely come back - hopefully in a camper van / travel trailer or even just to stay in one of the cabins.

There are approximately 90 sites, split among 3 loops: - A: reservations (through recreation.gov)

• B: reservations electric hookups

• C: no reservations  

Loops A and B have many more back in/pull in and pull through sites than loop C has.  See photos for sites. Most sites in loop C are roadside for the vehicle/RV with a few pull through and back in sites; the sites are spacious.

In June, all sites in A and B were booked. There was plenty of room in C early in the afternoon but it filled up by evening. A rainy Saturday led to a half full loop C that evening. Based on the activity every morning in loop C, it looks like most people spend only one night in that loop. The Reserved signs in loop A and B indicated people with reservations are more likely to stay a few nights.

If the campground fills up, there is dispersed camping just outside the park on the right (as you drive out). It looked like a area that could accommodate several campers without being on top of each other.

There is no water at the sites, but a potable water station is available. There are vault toilets in each loop...kinda smelly but that's what you get with a vault toilet!

Each site has a picnic table, fire ring and bear-proof lockers. Due to fire danger, no fires are currently (June, 2018) allowed in the fire ring. The lockers are necessary if you don't want to store food in your locked car or RV. Mule deer are more of an issue than bears; they come right through the sites so I wouldn't leave anything out..for bears or deer. If you have a dog, there are very few areas where they are allowed at this time.

No generators are allowed in the campground. It's real camping!

Rim RockTrail and Uplands Trail (two mile roundtrip for each) lead to the visitor center from the campground. From the visitor center, the Oak Flat Loop is a 2 mile hike with some great views and a 400 foot drop in elevation (followed by a climb back to the visitor center). This "black" canyon is unique in terms of color and the shape and sheer steepness of the rocks.

If you want an adventure, there is a trail to the Gunnison River off Oak Flat Loop. It's a mile to the river from that point with about a 1,400 foot drop in elevation. The trail is not well marked and more difficult to find your way back. You need to get a permit at the visitor center for this area (and other areas within the canyon).

If you drive the South Rim Drive, there are plenty of overlooks along with some short walks (1/4 to 3/4 mile roundtrip). When the road ends, the Warner Point Trail is a 1.5 mile roundtrip.

East Portal Road (right turn just after entering the park) takes you to the Gunnison Diversion Dam and Crystal Dam, where the road ends. This will get you to the river and bottom of the canyon. There is another campground called East Portal with 15 sites with tent pads; some sites are walkin. Vehicles longer than 22 feet are prohibited on East Portal Road.