Best Tent Camping near Franktown, CO

Tent Camping Reviews near Franktown, CO

1232 Reviews of 35 Franktown Campgrounds

• 

  Jessica K.

  Scout

  Oct. 13, 2018

  Sawmill Hiker Campground

  Easy Backpacking Experience

  My husband went to this campsite with a group of Scouts and took me and our 1 year old a few weeks later. I had never been backpacking up until this point because I was always intimidated by the experience. This was an excellent "beginner" foray into backpacking!

  This semi-primitive campsite requires a permit from the Open Space Office of Jefferson County, CO. The permit is free, however you must pick up the permit in person at their offices. Be prepared with a valid ID. This is a popular campsite for Scout Troops, so calling ahead for availability is a great idea.

  There is an exact address available on the website and at the Open Space Office that you can put into your GPS and drive straight to the parking lot of the trailhead.

  My husband and I came in through the West Trailhead. It is a 1 mile, easy hike. The first 1/3 of a mile is dirt, the remainder is gravel. It is fairly hilly, but easy enough that we actually opted to push our Jogging Stroller with our kid the entire way (which is very doable) whilst wearing our backpacking gear.

  The campsites are well maintained and quite spread out from one another. So although there was a group of scouts, a group of friends, and a bigger youth group who all hiked in, it did not feel crowded or noisy.

  We brought our dog, as pets are allowed on a leash. We set up our tent on the graveled pad at each site and boiled up some soup on the provided picnic tables. The website as of 2018 will tell you that fires are permitted in the designated fire rings, however a permanent fire ban has recently been put into place (which is too bad!) and all the fire rings and wood piles have been removed from the area - so really, NO FIRES ALLOWED. The pit toilets are very accessible and clean. It is technically Bear Country, so bear boxes and trash cans are provided for the overall campground.

  My favorite thing about our particular campsite (site 15) was the view. At night you can see all the city lights of sprawling Denver, but then have a perfect view of the sunrise in the morning. Witnessing the sunrise from this spot will always be one of my favorite memories. Seriously so amazing!

  We hiked out the next morning, simple as that, but realized we had misplaced our car keys...after 2.5 hours of searching and walking back and forth between the campsite and our car, we found our keys in the bottom of our tent. So really, if I could offer one piece of advice, always know where your keys are! Despite this incident, the location was great and the experience worthwhile! And I feel like it gave me a good taste of what to expect when backpacking in the future, which is exactly what I was looking for.

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• K

  Kyla K.

  Traveler

  May. 2, 2019

  Mueller State Park Campground

  Amazing Facilities

  Some friends and I camped here in early October. It got a bit chilly at night, two layers, smartwool socks, a Carhart beanie, sleeping pad plus a medium temp sleeping bag kept me semi warm in our tent. The hikes we went on were beautiful and the restrooms were clean and close to our site. Because it was a last minute reservation we ended up in the RV section of the campsite so it was a little nosier than neccessary. We saw the park ranger ride through about every half hour to hour during our weekend stay. I would defintely stay there again!

• 

  Hayley K.

  Legend

  Jun. 8, 2020

  Buffalo Campground

  Great Campground for Hikers and Bikers

  This campground is set a couple miles down road 550 after all the free recreation area campsites.

  The sites are pretty close together but there are well maintained pit toilets as well as a dumpster on site for trash. The surrounding area is filled with hiking and biking trails, including the Colorado Trail. 

  The campground is over 7k feet of elevation and a lot of trails intersect so make sure you keep track of where you are and what trail you are hiking on for the day. Not many are loops on their own. 

  There are a couple pit toilets places throughout the campground. Clean fire rings and picnic tables at all the sites. 

  Keep your eyes out for ticks and mosquitos. We found a couple of ticks on the dogs after they ran through the tall grass and the creek. 

  Across the road is a creek that is great for water hangouts and light fishing. We were here in May and the weather was about 70 during the day and 35-40 at night with plenty of shade and wind protection. It has sites for RV’s, tent, or van stay.

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• 

  Cara W.

  Guide

  Jul. 11, 2018

  Castle Mountain Recreation Area at Wellington Lake

  Private but Crowded

  Beautiful lakeside camping just outside of Denver. Campsites are a bit close together, but great for groups! No hookups here but you have bathroom facilities and a visitor center where you can buy firewood. Campfires allowed in the fire pits. If you have an RV beware quiet hours from 10pm to 8am, no generators allowed. Lake is perfect for paddleboarding, kayaking and fishing and you will most likely have phone service if you are with AT&T or Verizon. Many day use areas, however vehicles and individuals are charged. For campers, if you bring more than one vehicle you will be charged daily for any additional ones. No drinking water is available, you must bring your own. Dirt roads to the lake are rough and narrow. Close to Deckers for incidentals. Intersects with the Colorado trail for hiking and biking and close to the Colorado River for tubing!

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• 

  Kristin D.

  Scout

  Aug. 7, 2018

  Buffalo Campground

  Spacious sites, great trail access

  Love this place. I’m a new mountain biker and it’s currebtly my favorite trail system to ride. There’s currently a fire ban in most of Colorado, and Buffalo Creek is included. We just got creative with a small lantern so it felt like we were sitting around a fire.🔥The sites are very full on the weekends being so close to Denver, so a few people asked to share. The signage isn’t always clear, make sure you only camp where there’s a site number or it’s a $1K fine! It’s a favorite place, but don’t tell everyone! 😂

• 

  Hayley K.

  Legend

  Sep. 24, 2019

  Swift Puma Heights Campground — Cheyenne Mountain State Park

  Easy to get to, not the most secluded

  We stayed at this campground in order to help out with the Xterra Race that was taking place the next day. We reserved two walk in sites (30 and 34) and it was easy to find them. The walk in sites are between 20-40 feet form the parking lot and on a slight (and rocky) hill. There was plenty of privacy by way of shrubs so it felt secluded even though the sites are right next to each other. 

  You can only set up tents on the tent pads in the sites so that was a little challenging being that we needed to sleep 10 and could only fit 1 tent per site. But we were able to make it work. Also, the ground is very compact, so stakes were hard to get into the ground and we had to tie off our guy-lines to the bushes to keep them in place during the night.  

  Keep in mind that you are on a military base area so you will hear TAPS periodically throughout the day and night. Campground is open year-round 

  It has:

  51 Full Hook-Up sites 

  10 Basic Tent sites 

  Coin operated showers and laundry (Seasonal; These amenities are for active campers only.)

  Overall the sites were great. Bear food lockers and water at each site. The firepits were large and well ventilated. The bathrooms were super clean and accommodating. Lots of trails and ranger led events happening to keep you (and your kids and dogs) entertained.

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• 

  Dave V.

  Legend

  Sep. 13, 2018

  Colorado Campground

  There are many campgrounds in Colorado, but only one Colorado Campground!

  CAMPGROUND REVIEW: COLORADO CAMPGROUND PIKE NATIONAL FOREST

  https://www.recreation.gov/camping/colorado-campground/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=70684

  Colorado Campground is one of several campgrounds less than 10 miles north of the city of Woodland Park off Route 67 in the Pike National Forest.

  Situated at 7800 feet elevation, even summer nights get cool. Nearby 5 acre Manitou Lake is a trail walk away. You can toss your canoe or kayak in, but unless you are simply trout fishing, it’s tiny size doesn’t offer much variation.

  Numerous foot trails lead into the National Forest, offering wonderfully quiet hikes and exploration.

  There are 81 sites available, but some are adjacent to highway 67, so periodic road noise will be heard. The ponderosa pines assist in muffling highway noise.

  Neighboring sites are visible across the entire campground, but they are situated in such a way that you are not directly on top of each other.

  The back loop sites are larger and set deeper (Site 19, 20,21, 22, 23) which are my choice. Sites can be secured on www.recreation.gov. There are double sites which garner double fees. At the time of this review, sites are $23.00 nightly (a bit pricey for no showers or modern facilities). When there during the week, not including the host and groundskeeper, only four sites were filled. Most sites were reserved for weekends and upcoming Labor Day holiday.

  No RV/Campers over 36 ft permitted. Parking pads are gravel, a few are pull-through. Sites are non-electric with no hookups…no showers Water spigots, metal trash containers and pit latrines are spaced out through the campground. Each site has one stationary picnic table and a fire pit. Most sites appeared fairly level. No specific tent pad locations.

  With the towering ponderosa pines, there is ample shade.

  Plenty of trails permit mountain biking as well as the paved centennial bike path that runs along highway 67 from Woodland Park 15 miles north…that you can walk, in-line, cycle and even ebike.

  You have plenty of local activities to keep you busy, including the Red Rocks a couple miles south…or drive east on Rt 24 to Pikes Peak, or further into Manitou Springs for the Incline, Red Rock Canyon Open Space, Garden of the gods and more!

  Just six miles south into Woodland Park offers every food or shopping option.

  All in all, a nice, clean campground in a great location.

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• 

  Taylor L.

  Scout

  Aug. 24, 2024

  Aspen Meadows Campground — Golden Gate Canyon

  Good spot for a relaxing camping trip

  Came here with my roommates in July after only dispersed camping earlier in the summer. Nice spot with a metal fire pit (good for stage 1 fire ban), picnic table, and tent pad. Tent pad was big enough to squeeze two 3-person tents and a 6-person tent (barely). Walking distance to vault toilets. Some nice foresty hikes between Aspen Meadows and Reverend's Ridge. We could see some other campsites but didn't feel too squished. There's an actual parking lot but we just parked next to our campsite, off the road enough to let other cars pass by easily.

• 

  Tyler W.

  Scout

  Aug. 22, 2018

  Swift Puma Heights Campground — Cheyenne Mountain State Park

  Great Walk-In Sites!

  Stayed in the Swift Puma campground, walk-in site 29, great privacy, very clean and well maintained with level camp pad, picnic table and bear box. Short walk from parking spot to the campsite. Close to bathrooms and showers, both very clean, showers are quarter operated, 4min/$1. Several deer nearby, many trails within the park that are worth checking out and accessible from campgrounds! Helpful Staff!