Best Tent Camping near Idledale, CO

• 14 day/night stay max.
• $24 a night for tent or RV camping (there are way more hook-up sites over tent sites. Loop D is one of the two options for tent camping and I highly recommend any of the sites in that loop.)

Bring your fishing pole, SUP, kayak, or hammock to hang out by the lake. This is my favorite campground in Colorado for the accessibility to the lake and town nearby.

This Rocky Mountain National Park campground is fantastic. I tent camped with my husband for 3 nights in Loop B. We saw tents and all sizes of campers many with families. Our tent site included a nice tent pad, picnic table, fire ring, and a shared bear box. The fire ban had been lifted and we could buy fire wood each evening-and ice cream! Clean bathrooms with flush toilets. This campground is very close to a number of trails. We hiked the Sprague Lake Trail. It’s 2 miles round trip and pretty easy. Breathtaking views. If you don’t hike, you can drive all the way to the Trail Ridge gift shop and cafe at the top. This park fills up quickly-amost 3 million visitors a year-so plan to get started early. We love RMNP. We will be back this fall!

I stayed here in 2016 on a bicycle tour across America. It featured some fantastic views of the nearby lake and mountains and had very clean facilities. Only problem, from a camping in a tent perspective, is due to its location if a storm rolls in the wind can really hit from every angle. Otherwise the price is very reasonable.

This campground has a equestrian area and a tent camping area. The tent camping is to the right after you enter, there are two tent loops with bathrooms. Water spigots next to the bathroom. There are a few trails here, some are horse trails. Overall a beautiful spot with some shade!

Note there's a 3 day limit on tent camping.

When traveling in this area and looking to explore Rocky Mountain National Park or the surrounding areas finding camping ahead of time is very important. During summer months campground fill quickly and overflow camps like this become your backup plan which sometimes can be difficult to squeeze into last minute. 

From May until September this campground opens its doors to the masses for only$12 per night. Clearly a lot less expensive than some of the campgrounds offered in the area, this camp is quite appealing for those who wish to find inexpensive camping and can enjoy their time in nature without all the frills of an improved campground. This campground is first come first serve which is very important to know if you are wanting to stay in the area and will be arriving later in the day or near a weekend. 

When I visited the season had just opened, literally the day of and there was no one on a weekday at the campground early in the day. I took a stroll around the campground and noticed there is an honor box for paying camp fees and that rangers were in the area driving through the various properties placing kiosk signage up and checking sites. 

This campground offers no running water for those camping here. There are toilets but they are primitive and non-flushing. The sites looked comfortable and like they would be great for camping in a tent or mid-sized RV however they could become a little cramped if visiting in larger units. 

The floor of the campground is blanketed with pine needles which give a fragrant welcome. 

Each campsite has a picnic table and bear box on the site in addition to a fire ring with a small grill on top. You are encouraged to bring your own fire wood and not collect the fallen and absolutely cannot cut firewood in this area. 

Just across from the campground is a pull off and picnic area for Roosevelt National Park which does not offer camping but does have additional areas for hiking and enjoying the nature of the area. There is also another restroom in this area. 

One of the things I found to be very helpful about this campground for controlling traffic and also for accommodating groups was the placement of a few larger sites with additional parking toward the front of the campground. I noticed when I pulled in that in the front portion of the loop there were wider areas which made navigating a bit easier for RVs and also near the dumpsters in this area there seemed to be additional parking. Again during the first part of the season with no traffic passing through this might have been deceiving but it looked to be a great option. 

TIPS: 

• Check out Lucy Lake and the Camp Church in the area. The lake is an amazing location to see some of the picturesque views of Long’s Peak and hike without having to actually go into the park. The church is an actual Catholic Church build originally for a summer camp, its unique design and location are worth a pull off. 
• Bring everything you might need with you. The closest store is more than 15 miles away so you will not be able to pick up last minute supplies without running into the larger community. Make sure you bring plenty of water for everyone and anything you might need for your stay. 
• Check the reports for the area before you tent camp. This area has bear and upon occasion they have a few rogue bears visiting camps. You can find information in advance by checking out tourism centers in Estes Park or by looking at the Rocky Mountain National Park site.

Great tent camping nice space. Beautiful area! The camp host was very nice made us feel welcome.

This is a small campground near Lake George in the Lost Creek Wilderness.  The setting here is great, its a smaller primitive campground without many trees on the trailer side, but the surrounding area is what makes it special... in actuality the tent sites are some of the best we have seen (not being tent campers) and this makes us sometime think maybe we should ditch the trailer for a tent site when coming here.  The tent sites are right along the Terryall creek in the tress and the trailer sites are on the other side.  There are many trails that lead off from this Campground that go above the CG or into Lost Creek Wilderness.  There are many rock formations and the vistas are great.  The CG has picnic tables and fire-pits... all sites and the road are gravel so not always even, but easily manageable.  There is trash and water available, although water is only form a hand-pump.  The host is very nice and the sites and vault toilets are clean.

if you pick a tent site it’s your best bet the electric sites are too close to RV’s

Limited number of tent sites, which is wonderful, for privacy and enjoying peace and nature! Camp hosts were wonderful.

We had a blast and thanks to this site we plan on doing much more camping. Good tent sites, clean bathrooms, fire pits, and fun trails.

This was a very nice, clean campground with lots of amenities. We stayed in a tent site and all tent sites have a fire ring, table and bear box. The bathrooms and showers were very clean and well maintained. Our site was on the very edge of the campground so we had some great views and saw plenty of deer and an elk. 

The one criticism is their very strict 2 tent max policy. We had a group of 5 people (under the 6 person max) and set up our three 2-person tents but were told to take one down. We didn't understand why we couldn't have three tents since we were under the 6-person maximum. There were sites with a single tent that was much larger than our three small tents combined!

Small campground with tent sites, RV sites, and cabins. Main building has camp store with a variety of items available for purchase. Nice bathrooms including showers available.

There are RV, Tent and Yurt camping sites. Bathrooms, showers, dishwashing area and laundry facilities but still in nature and beautiful views and trails, especially in the non-electric tent sites. Great staff at the check in area.

Site #7 was clean, maintained. One official tent site and a good spot for another two person tent. Partial sun depending on time of day. Between two other campsites so possibly noisy in the evening depending on your neighbors.

Stayed at a tent site one night and wish we had planned for two. Beautiful facilities and well-kept sites. Would love to explore all the trails next time. A place to go back to.

We camped here after a Red Rocks show. The spot is a great area. About 20 minutes off of I-70. There are many pull offs along this road that could theoretically be good camp sites. However there are “no camping” signs, which is why I gave it 3 stars. Everything is great besides that: beautiful stars, good tent site, safe parking area.

The spot we chose is a bit farther down the road than the one listed here. It’s in between the bend in the road. We parked at the pull off and walked down a small hill to find a good tent site and a fire ring.

Also be aware it’s pretty chilly compared to just a few miles up the road. It was in the mid 30s at night.

Tent camped on a weekday. Walk-to site was well spaced from other sites and had some nice shade. Pit toilet could have been cleaner. A rowdy rv party was noisy in the day but calmed down at night. Could see it being noisy on the weekend