Best Tent Camping near White River National Forest

This campground is located in the town of Frisco, CO, but feels like being in the wilderness. Shopping and restaurants are 10 minutes from the Campground. Very clean campground. This is the only campground around Lake Dillon with flush toilets and sinks. There is walk up access to the lake for kayaks and paddle boards. A few camp sites have direct access to the lake. This campground is part of the White River National Forest and is managed by CLM with 2 camp host couples on site who are very helpful. Make reservations in advance, especially for weekends, because it fills up quickly.

This past August was my first time experiencing this Homestake Reservoir area. Homestake Road is your gateway to a variety of off-road and primitive camping sites in the beautiful White River National Forest. We spent two nights here, each night at a different campsite. One site was just right off the road and the other was one that involved walking up the mountain onto a beautiful, scenic landing. We found one trail and spent the day ascending the gorgeous mountain, which I believe was Homestake Peak. The change in landscape ascending the mountain was one of the most beautiful sites I've ever seen. I plan on returning to this area the next several times I visit Colorado because there is too much to see and experience at the beautiful Homestake Reservoir.

The Prospector Campground in White River National Forest is on the Shadow Mountain Road, off the east end of Dillon Reservoir, easily accessible from I-70 heading toward Keystone and Arapahoe Basin. It's well-managed, with the plentiful toilets getting twice-daily service from the genial hosts. Like most National Forest campgrounds, reservations can be made on line, a good idea during busy summer weekends. In addition to the gorgeous scenery, what was impressive about Prospector is the size and spacing of the campsites ... you're not right on top of your neighbor, but you're still on a level pad with a fire ring at every spot.

Sites were a bit close together but it was still in a beautiful area right on the river. We were very jealous of site #7 it was by far the best of them. On the river, and backed up to trees and a rock face and the most secluded. The rest were sort of out in the open. Definitely far from help so bring some bear spray because we would see some recent bear activity and no cell service. Each site has a food locker which was very convenient along with a fire ring and a picnic table. The grounds had vault toilets but it was very very clean. Lots to do around white river national forest and I would stay here again!