Best Tent Camping near Littleton, CO
Tent camping options surround Littleton, Colorado, with established sites at Bear Creek Lake Campground and walk-in tent areas at Golden Gate Canyon State Park's Aspen Meadows Campground. The Roosevelt National Forest provides primitive tent camping at dispersed sites, while Staunton State Park offers hike-in tent pads with more secluded settings. Jefferson County manages the Idylease Campground at Reynolds Park, a tent-only camping area requiring a half-mile hike to reach the numbered sites.
Most tent campgrounds near Littleton require campers to carry in their own water, as drinking water is limited to the more developed sites like Bear Creek Lake. Dispersed camping areas such as Gordon Gulch lack amenities and operate on a leave-no-trace basis with no toilets or trash facilities. Weather conditions vary with elevation, and snow can linger at higher-elevation tent sites well into June. Fire restrictions are common during summer months, with many areas implementing seasonal bans. Vault toilets are available at established tent campgrounds, while primitive sites require proper waste disposal techniques. Bear boxes are provided at some locations like Reynolds Park to secure food.
The terrain at tent campsites ranges from forested settings to more open alpine areas, with many offering creek access and mountain views. Walk-in tent sites at Sawmill Hiker Campground provide more solitude than drive-in camping areas, with one camper noting "it did not feel crowded or noisy" despite multiple groups camping nearby. Sites at Reynolds Park Idylease Campground are arranged in a row with an outhouse in the middle, pre-cut firewood, and bear boxes between each campsite. Dispersed camping areas closer to Nederland and the Peak to Peak Highway tend to be busier on summer weekends. A visitor to Gordon Gulch reported, "The elevation is about 8,800 ft and it is on the south side of a hill so it gets a lot of sunlight and is protected from northern winds."
