Best Tent Camping near Glade Park, CO

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.

The sign on the highway reads Drinks Canyon campground, but once you enter the campground the information sign reads Middle Drinks Canyon Campground. This nice campground situated between the highway and the Colorado river was full when we stopped. How ever while we didn't get to stay here this is a nice little campground. Nice views of the red rock walls of the Colorado are just out side your tent in all 9 campsites which all sit along the river. Like all the campgrounds in the canyon you are right next to the highway, but the low speed limit and the curvy road keep traffic noise to a minimum. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring. This is a first come first served campground. Be prepared campground has no water or trash service. Campground has one vault toilet.

This is one of several campgrounds noted in the larger Rabbit Valley Area. This CG is on the north side of the I70 interchange and seems to be more for the nonmotorized folks. However, the gravel road up to the top of the ridge was very steep and a couple sections gave me pause hauling my 18 ft TT. Total of 15 sites. In 2023 a new fee and reservation system started ($20/$10), no FCFS...7 day camping limit, with picnic tables and fire rings. One vault toilet. NO trash dumpsters noted, NO WATER, no RV DUMP. CG roads on top are all improved gravel and cabling keeps vehicles restricted. Cell signal is great, 5 bars LTE all carriers due to proximity to the freeway. Negative is truck noise constant in background from I70, so only three star rating, because of reservation system and no FCFS sites, a one nite stay will cost ya $8 reservation fee!

We stayed at the Grand Junction KOA when driving cross country from CA to NY a few years back. We drove to Grand Junction CO after a long day of hiking and tubing in Zion National Park - we arrived very late, and without a reservation. Even though it was after hours, we were able to choose a tent site then pay for the night at an iron ranger at the front office.

Our site had a patch of green grass to set our tent up on, as well as a picnic table and fire pit (that we never utilized, we just set up our tent and fell into our sleeping bags). The sites had little log fences separating the spaces.

The GJ KOA had very nice, clean facilities - having a hot shower in a clean locker room was a great way to start the morning. Wifi was available, which is always a plus.

The campground (kampground, haha) is pretty far outside of Grand Junction, and is in an industrial area, so we were initially a little sketched out and hesitant about stopping, since we were two women in their early 20s traveling alone. But once we got inside the campground and saw the layout of the grounds, we felt very safe and secure.

We were glad we decided to stop at the Grand Junction KOA, as it was a nice, clean, and safe place to stop for the night. KOAs are not my go-to type of campground for camping, but they are an easy, safe, and cheap spot to stop for the night if you don’t want to spend money on a hotel.

CAMPSITE SPECS

Fees: $26/night

Plumbed Toilets: Yes

Drinking Water: Yes

Showers: Yes (no coins needed)

Picnic Table: Yes

Firepit: Yes

Cooking Grates: ?

Shade: Yes

Cell Service: Yes + Wifi

Animal Bins/Food Lockers: NO

Trash: Yes

I arrived at this campground on top the Mesa. First I always thought the Mesa would be flat and by god it’s more than flat, it’s beautiful. The mosquitos were like mini vampires. Beside that, the Forrest and lakes were wonderful. The fishing was great. Lots of folks catching there limits.

The campsites are hit or miss if you are tent camping. Some of them are on slopes and are only good for an RV however we did sent you tents in the pull through sites. We reserved sites 1, 9, 10, 11.

Site 1 is fabulous, on the lake and great for tents or a pop up.

Site 9 is a pull through site. Has one flat spot for a tent but besides that it is next to the hiking trail and the wildlife is all around. Morning deer to chipmunks :)

Site 10 is very large for a group site per say.

Site 11 was nice and held 3 tents.

Each site has modern camp fire rings. The campground offers large wood bundles for $10.