Best Tent Camping near Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests and Thunder Basin National Grassland in Colorado

Recent Tent Reviews in Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests and Thunder Basin National Grassland

395 Reviews of 34 Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests and Thunder Basin National Grassland Campgrounds

• G

  Greg P.

  Traveler

  

  Nov. 20, 2024

  Six Mile Campground

  Steep hike to water

  About 4 sites for tents, 4 for RV, both 1/4 mile downhill hike to river. Bring waders, steep banks make fly casting tough. Cost to camp is $20/night as of August '24. Potable water a walk aways...may need 3 hands to operate. Excellent hiking opportunities.

• 

  David W.

  Scout

  

  Nov. 8, 2024

  Sanger Public Access Area on North Platte River

  No camping

  This spot will no longer allow overnight camping. It is day use only

• J

  Jon D.

  Guide

  

  Oct. 24, 2024

  Near Ryan Park Dispersed

  Quiet In The Woods

  Loads of sites along the FS roads out here, you don’t have to look hard, easier with more ground clearance

• D

  Dillon R.

  Traveler

  

  Oct. 19, 2024

  Rabbit's Ear Pass East Summit FR 251

  Great fall spot!

  Camp sites were plenty when I visited on a Thursday. Only people I saw were the forest service workers who were friendly and just out reminding people of the fire ban.

• 

  Fred S.

  Legend

  

  Oct. 14, 2024

  Encampment River Campground — Bureau Of Land Management

  Riverside Camping

  $10; $5 with senior/interagency pass. Camped in site 8 on Oct 12, 2024; in my opinion, this is the best site. Short walk to his/hers vault toilets in day use area. Trash cans nearby. Site was level & accommodated my van. Area for setting up tent. Hammock camping possible. We'll water pump located near entrance to campground next to site #2. Picnic table and metal firering on site. Overall, the campsite was clean. Good separation between sites. Some trees and foliage between sites. Site was mostly shaded. Encampment River was behind the site. Hiking trail nearby. Liked this campground. I would stay here again. Campground was well maintained, and the vault toilet was clean and stocked. Very weak T-Mobile and AT&T service.

• 

  Lizzy A.

  Scout

  

  Oct. 13, 2024

  FR-302 Dispersed Camping - Rabbit Ears Pass

  Oct 13 good spot not many people

  Doggies loved it, not many people

• R

  Russell R.

  Guide

  

  Oct. 12, 2024

  Ryan Park

  Beautiful

  arrived late afternoon, loads of space at the end of summer.

  Beautiful sites amongst the aspen, cold but high.

  Great toilets and super clean site

• 

  Rex S.

  Scout

  

  Oct. 10, 2024

  FS RD 103 Dispersed

  Solitude and crisp Fall Mornings

  Very few other boondockers, and well dispersed. Very quiet with minimal traffic.

• p

  paul S.

  Scout

  

  Oct. 7, 2024

  Pleasant Valley Roadside Camp on Hwy 40

  Great views, rough terrain

  Place has very good views from the mountain, however, the terrain isn't level. I found it difficult to get a good spot for my camper to be leveled.

• 

  Bruce D.

  Scout

  

  Oct. 1, 2024

  Sanger Public Access Area on North Platte River

  Great Spot!

  A little way off of WY-130 on a good dirt road. Good for up to mid-size trailers or smaller. Scattered informal sites, no water or hookups, two pit toilets. Signs indicate that camping is OK. Beautiful location on the North Platte River.

• 

  Bryce B.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 26, 2024

  Aspen Glen

  Great campsite

  Beautiful campsite. Pretty remote. No cell services for about an hour down the road unless you use the emergency WiFi at the fire station in Rustic. Fire wood is available at big bend which is about 30-40 minutes back down the mountains. Camping in September got into the high 30’s. It says water is clean. When I filled my bottle it was pretty yellow so I still boiled before drinking. We were able to hear elk calls late into the evening. All together a great site.

• 

  Maya G.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 17, 2024

  BLM North Sand Hills Campground

  Rough roads

  I picked this place because it was free. When I got there maps took me in the wrong direction then rerouted me. The roads going in there are rough and then turn to sand. Car struggled a bit. It’s clearly an area for off-roaders and people with ATVs. Since I got in so late I didn’t make it to the actual coordinates this provides. I just pulled over in a spot that was clearly camped in before and slept.

• 

  Krystal M.

  Traveler

  

  Sep. 17, 2024

  Whitewoods Outdoor Adventures

  White woods adventure campground

  Dry campground $45 right next to LOTS of BLM (which I didn't realize) campground is dirt road lots and lots of garbage but it does look like they just bought the place and is a work in progress. Owners where very nice, only a few spots very bad mosquitoes

• 

  Maya G.

  Guide

  

  Sep. 7, 2024

  Sugarloaf Campground

  Beautiful location!!

  Amazing location. Good trails. Water and clean toilets. First come first serve. Got there around 1 pm and around 6 out of the 16 spots still available. Filled up fast throughout the evening. Got below 30 degrees at night so come prepared!

• 

  Robert D.

  Scout

  

  Sep. 5, 2024

  Walden Reservoir Dispersed Camping

  Quiet place to overnight; Terrible day experience

  We showed up at night and it was very quiet, no problem finding a spot to camp. However, during the day the gnats, bugs, and ants were everywhere. Literally crawled up our boots and bodies. Great place to over night, but terrible place to hang out during the day unless you have a bug net.

• J

  Jason

  Legend

  

  Sep. 4, 2024

  FSR-296 - Dispersed Campsite

  Quiet fire road camping

  Very quiet spot. There were many other campers all around but did not hear any noise other than from highway nearby which wasn't disturbing at all. Easy access off highway although I didn't drive too far into the road as it was raining.

• 

  Paul L.

  Scout

  

  Sep. 3, 2024

  Pleasant Valley Roadside Camp on Hwy 40

  Steamboat - Beautiful view looking west.

  Summer is over, Labor Day evening, nobody except me here. 5-6 potential spots all in a row, lined up on dirt road that parallels 40 and far enough away to be quiet. Convenient to Steamboat 15 min.

• 

  Bill R.

  Ranger

  

  Sep. 3, 2024

  Tunnel Campground

  Remote, quiet (most of the time), on the edge of the Cameron Peak fire burn

  A long time favorite for our family. About 72 miles from the biggest town, Fort Collins. About 13 mile from the nearest services, which are limited, at Sportsman's Lodge & the Trading Post. 25 miles from Archer's and 26 miles from Glen Echo at Rustic which has a bit more to offer, including a restaurant and liquor store in addition to staples and touristy stuff.

  1st come, no reservations, 41 sites with the usual basic campground amenities. On site host with firewood for sale. Situated between the tiny headwaters of the Laramie River and the much larger West Branch of the Laramie. 

  7ish miles from the pavement of Hwy 14 on dirt road. No cell and no Wifi. I'm not a fan of their water which is available at one pump, near site 3. Closest cell service and Wifi that I know of would be at Glen Echo.

  Gateway to the Rawah Wilderness with the main access trailhead located a short walk away at the West Branch TH.

• 

  Toby V.

  Scout

  

  Sep. 2, 2024

  North Park Campground

  Not well kept, but has potential

  Was an old KOA. In fact, there are two typical KOA A frame buildings that need to be torn down due to their lack of upkeep. The grounds were overgrown with weeds knee high.

• Q

  Quinn M.

  Scout

  

  Aug. 27, 2024

  Walden Reservoir Dispersed Camping

  On th beach

  simple, and easy place to get to… flat awesome sunset

• J

  Janet K.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 18, 2024

  Ryan Park

  Nice campground

  Nice small campground. The Columbine loop had lots of trees that provided privacy from other sites but the campground wasn’t full. Campground hosts were super nice and friendly. Clean bathrooms and water is up and running.

• 

  Kelsey U.

  Scout

  

  Aug. 6, 2024

  Freeman Reservoir Campground

  A Secret Gem!!

  We hit this place coming from the northern Colorado border with Wyoming on a Sunday night. I've grown up and camped in Colorado my whole life, this place was 10/10, and one of my favorite spots ever! With hiking, biking, and fishing, you could spend some time here!

• C

  Colyer D.

  Guide

  

  Jul. 30, 2024

  Buffalo Pass Dispersed

  Our First Stop

  This was our first stop on a week long road trip from Colorado Springs to the Oregon Coast and, honestly, we could have just hung out there and saved all the miles.

  It was a such a beautiful area mid September. All the leaves were changing, it was cool and misty, the view was spectacular, yes it was rough as hell to get there, but totally worth it if you’ve got the rig for it.

  My only note for the area was that there were a lot hunters walking through and around our camp, but everyone was polite and respectful.

• 

  Stacy L.

  Guide

  

  Jul. 28, 2024

  North Fork Campground

  Awesome spot

  Great spot super close to the river. Lots of dispersed camping just outside this established campground. Went on a Friday night, it was pretty busy but found one of the last first come first serve spots around 6 pm. Spots are a pretty good distance apart.

• Z

  Zachary D.

  Scout

  

  Jul. 26, 2024

  Long Draw Road Campsites

  Beware campsite crashers

  I had an awesome site but I guess it was too good to be true. Not one but two other cars came, one pulling a horse trailer crashed on my site. It’s a campsite not a campground. Then, the day I was leaving, someone else came and dumped a trailer on the site. I packed up and left. That would never happen in Montana or Idaho where people actually have manners!

• 

  Donovan A.

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 25, 2024

  FR-302 Dispersed Camping - Rabbit Ears Pass

  Travel Trailer

  Leaving this review for anyone else pulling trailer. You can get a small TT into the first 4-5 sites. I would not continue after what I think is site 5 on the right that has a fairly large rock fire pit and good loop for when leaving. Great parking area to drop and go scout with your vehicle first and I'd recommend doing so.

  Mosquitos are definitely worse than usual, but otherwise a lovely spot. The tree coverage is affecting my solar generation enough where I may need to move sooner than I'd like

• 

  Donovan A.

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 25, 2024

  Buffalo Pass Dispersed

  Must have Suspension

  Just to update this since the last review had it closed. The road leading up to the summit is back open, but it is ROUGH. I had just done Rock Creek's drive up to dispersed near Dillon and thought that was bad, but this was worse. 

  You will not be able to get anything low clearance or anything you're towing that does not have independent suspension + high clearance (I dropped my 18' TT at Walmart and went to scout - glad I did) While I was 1/4 up into the climb, a Sprinter Van was stopped at what is probably the worst portion of the road. If you can make it past that first choke point, you'll pass a park then walk-in camp site on the left and then shortly after another camp spot on the right that is more van friendly. Both are not good for trailers. It is after those two sites the road goes from bad to worse.

  If you have a Camper on a F350 or high clearance + tent, it has some of the best views I've seen at a park spot. It's worth the drive up there for pictures if you're curious, but I would unhook anything you're carrying before doing so.