Best RV Parks & Resorts near Fairplay, CO

Gore Creek Campground is a true gem of the National Forest Service. If you are looking for a great boondocking location that is close to great trails and breathtaking views, this just might be the place for you. The entrance to the campground is ~2 miles off of I-70 Exit 180 on Bighorn Road. Only 10 minutes from Vail Village and 25 minutes from Frisco.

We stayed in Site #8, which provided plenty of room for our 22’ travel trailer and pickup. The sites each have a large picnic table and fire ring.

Pit toilets are spread through the campground and were very clean and well maintained. The campground hosts do a great job of keeping everything tidy and looking great. They also have bundles of firewood for sale for $7 at their site just inside the entrance to the campground.

I can’t say enough about this place. It’s probably my favorite spot to camp in Colorado. I almost didn’t post this review for fear of the secret getting out.

This Pike National Forest campground is run by Rocky Mountain Recreation which means you'll pay a $10 transaction fee if you make a reservation on recreation.gov. It looks like some sites are strictly walk-up. Check recreation.gov to see what's available, but you can just show up if there are available sites, pay at the self-pay station, and avoid the $10 transaction fee on recreation.gov.

Every site has a picnic table and fire ring. Vault toilets (rather fragrant as you walk by because of the vent pipes) and trash dumpsters are conveniently located throughout the campground as is potable water. There are no bear-proof lockers but locking up your food is a prudent move.

There are mostly back in sites but some pull through sites. Most of the pull through sites are partially protected from the road by a few tall pines and large rocks, but the pull through curve may be tight for some RVs. There are a few double sites (with double charge) if you need more space.

Manitou Lake on the edge of the campground is a popular fishing spot, and there's a trail around the lake.

Our site (#45) was rather close to the road, but the road noise was not bad throughout the park. Sites 40 through 44 are on a small loop and are probably the nicest sites even with a bit of road noise; these sites are near the trail to the lake.

In my opinion, there are two things that make this campground stand out: 1) The sites are large and not on top of each other. This campground could have twice as many sites, but it's nice that it doesn't. 2) It's a great location because you're close to Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods, Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, US Air Force Academy, Cripple Creek (only if you're into gambling), lots of hiking trails...and on and on. It's close to Colorado Springs and even closer to Woodland Park. If you want craft breweries and restaurants, you'll find plenty. We enjoyed being close to a larger city after being in lots of small towns. We loved the inexpensive food at Uchenna (Ethiopian and Mediterranean), Taste of Jerusalem, and Azada Mexican as well as craft beer (Fossil Craft Beer Company and Phantom Canyon Brewing Company with ginger wheat ale, Belgian ale aged on cherries, hazelnut coffee stout, coconut/chocolate porter, and on and on) in Colorado Springs. Beer is $3 during a 3 to 6 pm happy hour at Phantom Canyon....yes!

This campground is only open between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day.

Round mountain campground

$20 per night. There are no electrical hook ups or sewer hook ups for big rigs. It looks a little bit like dispersed camping. Each site has a picnic table and a designated fire pit. The sites are pull through in some situations. Not all of them, but some of them. There are restrooms on site with your credibly clean. The camp management seems to do a good job of keeping the area well organized. It’s nestled down in the trees and he’s very pretty and secluded. The issue in this area is that it is all designated for OHV usage so there is some noise. We pulled it on a Thursday afternoon and could see three or four ATVs riding around. The campground has designated quiet hours from 10 PM to 6 AM, but that won’t stop you from getting disturbed during the daytime. The other issue in this area as there is no firewood. They sell bundles for eight dollars at the managers office. My recommendation would be to come well prepared and bring lots of your own firewood. At the time we got in their water pump was also not working, but they were selling bottled water again at the Campground managers station.

Colorado campground is situated outside of Woodland Park (10 minute drive) and right next to Manitou lake.  This is a great area central to the Pikes Peak wilderness area so many trails are nearby and activities while still being close to civilization if you forget something or choose to eat-out.  The CG itself is large, but the sites are well spaced apart...it is a primitive CG with picnic table, fire-pit and gravel pull through or back-in spots.  There are water spigots, vault toilets and garbage cans equally dispersed throughout.  In the summer they have an educational series also on the weekends of various nature/wildlife "seminars" that are great for the kids in their small amphitheater, although i don't know how frequent they are scheduled.  As others have stated its a short walk to the lake for fishing and canoeing if you choose.  The CG is well maintained and hosts are friendly.