Best Tent Camping near Grant, CO

Pike National Forest surrounding Grant, Colorado offers several tent camping options ranging from established campgrounds to primitive backcountry sites. Whiteside Campground, located directly in Grant, provides year-round tent camping with walk-in access options. Just 15 miles west, Lodgepole Campground near Fairplay accommodates tent campers from May through early October with more developed facilities. For those seeking more solitude, Boreas Pass Road Designated Dispersed Camping areas provide free tent-only sites at elevations reaching 10,600 feet, though these lack amenities and require proper preparation.

Most tent campsites in the Grant area feature natural surfaces with minimal grading, requiring campers to find level spots for their tents. High-elevation sites often experience cold overnight temperatures, with some campers reporting readings as low as 16 degrees even during summer months. Vault toilets are available at established campgrounds like Kenosha East, while dispersed areas require proper waste disposal following Leave No Trace principles. Fire restrictions are common throughout the region, particularly during dry summer months. One camper at Boreas Pass noted, "The spot does have a fire ring but was unable to use it as a fire ban was in place." Bear activity is present throughout the region, making proper food storage essential for tent campers.

Walk-in tent sites at Staunton State Park, located east of Grant, provide a more secluded experience. According to reviews, "Campsites are a quick walk from the parking lot and vault toilets. Make sure you bring a heater or good sleeping bag because it can get pretty cool at night here in the summer time." Peru Creek Designated Dispersed Camping areas offer tent-only options with ample tree cover, though visitors should be careful about site selection. One camper advised, "There are a ton of spots, but be careful and make sure they're approved. We stopped at one that had a fire ring made from rocks but it wasn't 100' from water." Primitive tent camping areas throughout Pike National Forest typically fill quickly on summer weekends, with weekday visits offering better chances for solitude.

2025 Detourist Giveaway

Review Campgrounds. Win Prizes.

Enter to Win

Best Tent Sites Near Grant, Colorado (101)

    1. Boreas Pass Road Designated Dispersed Camping

    45 Reviews
    Blue River, CO
    19 miles
    Website
    +1 (970) 468-5400

    "Found this spot at about 7PM on a Friday night near the Breckenridge end of the Boreas Pass Trail (39.451441,-106.014294)."

    "This this is a long Winding Road up the mountain that has many nice places to pull over and Camp right off the road. Some are a bit further back than others. Most are accessible to any vehicle."

    2. Peru Creek Designated Dispersed Camping

    13 Reviews
    Montezuma, CO
    13 miles
    Website
    +1 (970) 945-2521

    "We stopped at one that had a fire ring made from rocks but it wasn't 100' from water. we parked at night so we didn't see the  sign that said it wasn't a legal camping spot, then the next day we got a"

    "We have an off-road teardrop trailer with rooftop tent and travelled with another family with rooftop tent and we were able to spread out with plenty of level ground for our vehicles/sleeping quarters."

    3. A-Lodge-Denver

    4 Reviews
    Montezuma, CO
    9 miles
    Website
    +1 (303) 444-0882

    $49 - $149 / night

    "Tent sites are neat. Didnt think from the pictures I'd have to navigate up like I did. It was good though, quite."

    "The A-Lodge just outside of Boulder is the ultimate adventure home base."

    4. Staunton State Park Campground

    7 Reviews
    Conifer, CO
    14 miles
    Website
    +1 (303) 816-0912

    $28 / night

    "If you’re looking for a quick easy weekend camping trip with well maintained trails, you should check this park out. Campsites are a quick walk from the parking lot and vault toilets."

    "I brought stoves no bigger than a jetboil/MSR dragonfly. Headlamps are a must. Also, we went in June and July. Check the weather."

    5. Glen Isle Resort

    3 Reviews
    Bailey, CO
    9 miles
    Website
    +1 (303) 816-0790

    "The river is a little noisy from the road and close to the horses. Its beautiful though . Meadow spots are quieter. National Forest hiking trails within walking distance. Amazing hosts."

    "There are also nearby attractions and rec activities. Up the road there is a trail head for a hike, and there’s a lot of ample fishing opp nearby."

    6. Lodgepole Campground

    3 Reviews
    Jefferson, CO
    10 miles
    Website
    +1 (719) 836-2031

    "The drive in was also amazing. When you get to the gate make sure you have 7$ cash.

    One of many stops we made in Colorado."

    "There is access to the Colorado Trail right in the campsite."

    7. Kenosha East Campground

    2 Reviews
    Jefferson, CO
    6 miles
    Website
    +1 (303) 275-5610

    $20 / night

    "We were thankful that they put our safety first.

    Kenosha East is designed primarily for tent camping. A small trailer or camper van can be accommodated."

    8. Pike National Forest Whiteside Campground

    1 Review
    Grant, CO
    2 miles
    Website
    +1 (303) 275-5610

    "It is super helpful to grab a map of BLM land and public use areas from the ranger stations in Grant or Bailey CO. You can also use The Dyrt!"

    9. Pike National Forest Handcart Campground

    1 Review
    Jefferson, CO
    8 miles
    Website
    +1 (303) 275-5610

    $22 / night

    "We decided to stop here on the last leg of our two week Colorado trip."

    10. Jefferson Lake Recreation Area

    1 Review
    Jefferson, CO
    11 miles

    "But- id definitely suggest setting up “camp” for the day.

    There are a few other campgrounds in this rec area including Lodgepole and Aspen. Michigan Creek is also nearby."

Show More
Showing results 1-10 of 101 campgrounds

2025 Detourist Giveaway

Review Campgrounds. Win Prizes.

Enter to Win


Tent Camping Reviews near Grant, CO

2795 Reviews of 101 Grant Campgrounds


  • Amanda M.
    Aug. 31, 2018

    Gore Creek Campground

    Gore Creek - Rocky Mountain camping off Highway 70

    We stayed at the Gore Creek Campground last summer 2017 on a drive from Southern California to Denver, CO. We took highway 15 through Nevada and Utah, and connected to Highway 70 in Utah to Colorado. To budget this trip, we tried to camp most of the way out and back to California - we saved our Airbnb rentals for Denver, where I️ was competing in Pole Theatre USA, an international pole dancing competition. We wanted to find a spot to camp for the night that was close to highway 70 and not toooooo far outside of Denver - Gore Creek Campground was the spot. It’s about 10-15 minutes outside of Vail, and about and hour and a half outside of Denver.

    Campsites at Gore Creek are reservable ahead of time on recreation.org - we planned this trip about 6 months in advanced so had no problem reserving a site for one night on a weeknight. This campground is fairly small, however, with fewer than 30 sites, so I️ imagine it fills up quickly during the peak summer months. There are mostly drive-in sites in this campground, but there were some neat walk-in sites in a loop beyond the drive-in sites.

    Gore Creek is a beautiful wooded campground that sits next to Gore Creek. There are a few ‘riverside sites’ in the campground, that were 60 yards or so from the creek. We had our pick of the sites that many months in advanced, so we chose site 9 as it appeared to be well secluded and close to the river - both were true! The area is densely wooded, so the sites have a lot of privacy, and the sound of the river is relaxing and peaceful at night, and drowned out most of the noise pollution from the nearby highway.

    Each site has a fire ring and picnic table. The camp hosts were extremely kind and welcoming, and kept the grounds and the vault toilets very clean. There is NO WATER available at Gore Creek, so make sure to bring in plenty of water for cooking, washing, and drinking.

    WARNING: You ARE in bear country - be bear smart and safe and use your bear box! We had our own bear box in our campsite - I believe each site has its own food locker. Try to lock all of your food and toiletries inside the food locker - they are large, and we have always been able to fit our big cooler into locker. If you do have to leave a cooler in the car, I was once told by a ranger in Yosemite NP that bears can recognize coolers when peering into car windows - he suggested putting put a towel and gear over your coolers when keeping them in the car overnight in bear territory.

    There is a lot of beautiful hiking trails in the Vail - Gore Creek area. We did not have much time to explore as I️ had an appointment in Denver in the afternoon, but the area is absolutely gorgeous.

    CAMPSITE SPECS

    Fees: $25/night

    Plumbed Toilets: NO - vault

    Water: NO

    Showers: NO

    Picnic Table: Yes

    Firepit: Yes

    Cooking Grate: Yes

    Shade: Yes

    Cell Service: Yes

    Trash: Yes

    Animal Bins/Food Lockers: YES

  • Florian J.
    Jul. 5, 2021

    Buckingham Campground

    Great location, sites next to creek, but very busy

    We came here in early July to hike up South and North Arapahoe Peaks (and Diamond Lake for warm-up). The sites are nice right next to a creek, with very few mosquitos. Make sure to stay close to the designated areas (fwiw, Rangers monitor the site). No campfires were allowed and they are no fire rings, so I assume that the fire ban is typical rather than the exception. Bear-proof food storage is provided at each site.

    We made it up the dirt road in our little Honda Fit but that was touch and go at times, and required some careful driving. 99% of the cars at the campground and trailhead were 4x4s. 

    The location is great with plenty of trailheads right next to the campground. But that also means that site is very busy. The trailhead parking fills up as early as 5am. It wasn't much of an issue in terms of loudness, but it does mean that the only two restrooms are also used by hundreds of hikers each day …

    There are no trash bins (i.e., pack out whatever trash you produce), there is no drinking water (except for the creek if you have filters), all sites are walk-in though parking is just a few meters away (one is ADA accessible with parking right next to the site). With Google Fi (Spring) we had no cell reception (we lost signal even prior to the start of the dirt road, so many miles before the campground). Sites are in the shade below trees, and there are picnic tables.

    Overall, I'd visit this place again, just because of the convenient access to amazing trails and scrambles. Trails to Diamond Lake (10km out-and-back) and Arapahoe pass were quite busy, but not unpleasantly so. The trail up to the Arapahoe Peaks (13km out-and-back to South Peak) was *much* less busy though we still saw about 8-10ish groups throughout the day (took us 2:10h up to South Arapahoe Peak, about 30-40 minutes to traverse to North Arapahoe).

  • NThe Dyrt PRO User
    Oct. 18, 2021

    Kelly Dahl

    Stark

    Sites:  46   20 sites FCFS

    Reservation:  877-444-6777 or recreation.gov

    Sites that fit tent, trailers, RV's

    Open Mid May - Mid Oct

    Firewood from camp host, picnic table, fire ring/grill, bear box at tent sites, pit toilet, water, trash, no electric, hookups, dump station or showers

    Sites are very small

    Great sightseeing to check out.  Several historic mining towns and some great hiking trails.  Views of the surrounding mountains are totally amazing.

    AT&T and Verizon service but it is spotty.

    The Mountain Pine beetle is decimating the forest and it is so sad to see.  The forest service is working very hard to keep up with the removal of dead trees and it is creating expansive open area.  The plus side of the removal is for solar.  They are also removing the stumps thank goodness.  Be very careful while walking in the forest for falling limbs or trees.

    Directions:  About four miles south of Nederland, Colorado, on Colorado Highway (CO) 119, watch for the entrance to Kelly Dahl Campground on the east side of the highway at mile marker 22.

    LNT

    Better than when you found it

    Stay safe and happy travels

  • Mike S.
    Oct. 12, 2018

    West Chicago Creek

    Great place to stay, but Mt. Evans is 10 miles away

    I love this place. The campground is full every weekend between Memorial Day and Labor Day due to reservations made at recreation.gov up to 6 months and more than 48 hours in advance, and being so close to metro Denver.

    The campground has 16 sites; 4 Walk-In, 1 host and 11 are reservable. Check in after 2:00 and check out by 1:00. If someone has a reservation, like a hotel, their site is held until 1:00 the next day because of the Forest Service rule that the campsite must be occupied the first night and they could have had delays.

    The campground is at 9600’ and the last mile of the dirt road is a bit rough, but I have seen low profile cars and 42’ Class A motor home with a towed vehicle. Well water normally supplies the campground to faucets, but has not been productive the entire 2019 season and there are vault toilets. Each site has its own bear box and fire ring. The creek is less than 100 meters from the campground and fishing this year was poor... water level was low. Lots of great hiking and climbing in the area. About a 40 degree difference between day and night. During the fire ban, dispersed camping is limited to just a few areas so the campground is a great place to stay and you might still be able to have a fire in the fire ring. Privately owned cabins can be seen as you walk through the woods. Hell’s Hole Trail is a few hundred yards from the campground. I’m looking forward to going back there as host next year.

  • Jessica K.
    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.

  • William C.The Dyrt PRO User
    Jun. 5, 2023

    West Chicago Creek

    Quiet Campsite

    Quiet campground- especially early in the season.

    $22/night; Firewood bundles on-site for $9.

    Each site has a picnic table and a bear box for food storage.

    Bathrooms were clean. Sites are smaller and very close together. Little privacy if visiting during a busier time.

    Sites 7, 9, and 11 have trails that connect back to Chicago creek just a short distance away. Hiking trails are close by to nearby forests land. No cell service.

  • PThe Dyrt PRO User
    Aug. 2, 2022

    Buckingham Campground

    Beautiful setting, busy trailhead

    What an awesome site! Bear boxes and concrete picnic tables. There are only 5 campsites here and one is handicapped only. That and the next site, where I stayed, are right off the dirt road. There are 3 more sites past the barrier which are more secluded but require schlepping your stuff farther.

    Fourth of July trailhead is busy and parking fills up fast in the morning. The hike is breathtaking in beauty; the wildflower covered mountain meadows are glorious! It’s possible to backpack in and stay in the rough. I met several groups who’d done just that. Buckingham campground, however, makes a great base camp if you prefer, like I do, car camping.

    No fires allowed, of course, but a Ranger once told me as long as it has an off switch it’s okay. I brought my gas ring and was pleasant warm drinking tea and listening to a light rain hitting the awning as twilight turned to night.

    The one consistent drawback was airplane noise every few minutes. There’s a flight path right above. While I saw plenty of people in the trail the campsite was secluded and quiet, especially at night. Dogs on leash are welcome and there’s a vault toilet 😀

  • J
    Jun. 23, 2025

    Rocking Chair Campground — Eleven Mile State Park

    High Winds, Rough Roads - Won't Stay Again

    The reservoir and surrounding areas are beautiful, but we don't plan to return to this campground. The roads in are so rough and created so much vibration that it was actually damaging to our A-Liner camper (with an off-road package). The speed limit is 55 and we weren't able to go much faster than 10 mph without the vibration becoming unbearable. The campsites are totally exposed with no tree cover, but it was too windy to set up our shade tent. The winds were so strong that we slept poorly; a neighbor in a tent said the wind ripped off two of his rain fly straps overnight. We chose Site 612 because the sites in that loop looked more private and spacious, but we failed to note that there was no bathroom on that side of the campground, with the nearest facilities being a short drive away. We left after the first night.

  • K
    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!


Guide to Grant

Nestled in the stunning landscapes of Colorado, Grant offers a variety of tent camping options that cater to outdoor enthusiasts seeking adventure and tranquility.

Tent campers appreciate these amenities

  • Enjoy the freedom of Boreas Pass Road Designated Dispersed Camping, where fires are allowed, and pets are welcome, making it a perfect spot for families and friends.
  • Chinns Lake Dispersed Camping provides a serene environment with beautiful views and the opportunity for fishing, ensuring a peaceful retreat.
  • At Fall River Reservoir Dispersed Camping Trail, campers can find numerous spots along the trail, with the added benefit of being free and requiring no permits.

Local activities for outdoor enthusiasts

  • Experience breathtaking fall colors while hiking near McCullough Gulch Designated Dispersed Camping, which is conveniently located near the McCullough Gulch Waterfall trail.
  • Fishing and hiking are popular at Bill Moore Lake dispersed, where the scenic views and off-roading opportunities make for an exciting day outdoors.
  • For those looking for a more rugged adventure, Peru Creek Designated Dispersed Camping offers access to challenging trails and stunning mountain vistas.

Local attractions to explore

  • Just a short drive from Staunton State Park Campground, visitors can explore well-maintained trails and enjoy the park's natural beauty.
  • The historic charm of Glen Isle Resort provides a unique camping experience with access to a lively lodge atmosphere and nearby recreational activities.
  • Kenosha East Campground is situated at the start of the Colorado Trail, making it an ideal base for hikers looking to explore the stunning landscapes of the area.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near Grant, CO?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Grant, CO is Boreas Pass Road Designated Dispersed Camping with a 4.5-star rating from 45 reviews.

What is the best site to find tent camping near Grant, CO?

TheDyrt.com has all 101 tent camping locations near Grant, CO, with real photos and reviews from campers.