Best Tent Camping near Hayden, CO

Established campground with basics like a fire ring, picnic table and vault toilets. No water. If you are wanting a few days away from everything and willing to drive on dirt/gravel roads to get here, it is an awesome place to camp. Bring everything you need because there are no quick trips to a store out here. The river that flows into the lake is adjacent to campsite #1 and makes for a great night of sleep. The view waking up to the lake with the snow capped mountains in the background is truly a Colorado experience if that is what you’re looking for.

Quiet place with the sound of a babbling river running along the edge of the camp. They have a few pull throughs, several large back in and a few smaller back in sites. They also offer a large open field for dry camping. No showers, but, a few porta potties around the camp. Fire rings and picnic tables at each site. The water spigots are housed in small insulated enclosures. The sewer connections are varied distances, extensions are probably needed. Our sewer connection has a small uphill to it, but still slightly below our tank bottoms. Good space between sites, some are quite remote from others. On location camp host was swift. The WiFI was poor even with the camp half empty. I walked around and did some speed tests around the camp, best speed was 500kb. No Verizon service, decent TMobile service.

We pulled off Route 40 at 7pm on the Sunday of Labor Day Weekend and were able to nab the last camping spot. Each campsite has a place for 2 cars, a picnic table, flat places for 2-3 tents, and a fire ring with an adjustable grill. Plenty of shady trees to hang your hammock from and enough space between campsites to give you some privacy. There were many RV's and family groups set up when we camped, though noise was not an issue.

Sites are $10/night payable by cash or personal check at the entrance. There are campground hosts just as you drive in, though they were not present the night we visited. Two different park rangers came by to check on all sites in the morning (payment and fire safety, I believe). Campground offers 2 pit toilets and a trash dumpster at the entrance.

The site is close enough to the road that you can hear when cars go by, especially when they drift onto the rumble strips (which happens frequently). Bring headphones if you're a light sleeper.

This campsite is (I believe) in Gilpin County and offers very nice views from several trails nearby. The drive to get there is stunning (Peak to Peak Highway), and the campground sits right off the road. There is road noise because it's so close to the road, so if that bothers you, beware. Because of that, and the fact that the spots are built into a hill on the side we stayed on, I give it 4/5. Some may like it as it may in some cases offer a little extra privacy. We have an RV and set up shop in the parking pad which had a set of stairs up to a fire pit, picnic table, and a flat tent area. Not as popular as some other sites along P2P, and you can reserve in advance. Because of the location, the site is probably going to rate really high with people unfamiliar with the Front Range. For tent camping or those up for winging it on the chance of a walk up spot, check out Rainbow Lakes or Pawnee @ Brainard Lake a bit further North on P2P first. No hook-ups.

I arrived here about 3 or 4 in the afternoon. I was alone in the C.G. Clouds were building so I set up my tarp and pulled out my camp chair. The timing was perfect. About 5 minutes later the rain started. It lasted about 20 min then stopped. I found the pump and filled my water bag and then filtered it. The water was rust colored but the filter cleaned it up.
There is a small lake a few hundred yards away, which I didn't try fishing in, no gear. About an hour later 2 guys came in on bicycles followed by a ranger on patrol. Wonderful place to stay. I hope to return with a fishing pole.