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Best Tent Camping near Nathrop, CO

1,846 Reviews

Public lands surrounding Nathrop, Colorado offer numerous dispersed tent camping opportunities with mountain views and trail access. Browns Creek South Dispersed Camping provides spacious tent sites with easy access to hiking trails and proximity to Mount Princeton. Road 240 Dispersed features wooded tent campsites along a river, while North Cottonwood Trailhead Dispersed Camping serves as an excellent basecamp for exploring the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness. Bootleg Campground, though temporarily closed, offers tent-only sites with picnic tables and designated fire rings when operational.

Most primitive tent campsites in the Nathrop area are situated on ungraded dirt or forest duff surfaces, requiring campers to bring all necessary supplies. High-clearance vehicles are recommended for accessing many of the dispersed camping areas, particularly Road 240 and some sections of forest service roads. Vault toilets are limited to established areas and trailheads, with most backcountry tent camping requiring proper waste disposal techniques. Fire restrictions frequently apply during summer months, and nighttime temperatures can drop significantly even in summer due to the high elevation. Campers should pack in drinking water or bring filtration systems, as natural water sources may be seasonal or require treatment.

Tent campers frequently comment on the solitude and scenic quality of sites in this region. According to reviews, Browns Creek South Dispersed Camping offers "big wide dispersed camping spaces" and "plenty of nice hiking," though August brings dryness with no water nearby. One visitor to Road 240 Dispersed noted that "most spots are wooded and offer plenty of shade" with opportunities to camp "right along the river." The area's elevation means temperatures can vary dramatically between day and night, with cool evenings even during summer months. Wildlife sightings are common, with campers reporting everything from birds and deer to occasional moose activity in the surrounding forests.

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Best Tent Sites Near Nathrop, Colorado (58)

    1. Browns Creek (South) Dispersed Camping

    11 Reviews
    Nathrop, CO
    8 miles
    Website
    +1 (719) 553-1400

    "Big wide dispersed camping spaces. Plenty of nice hiking - especially Brown's Creek area. Great location with easy drive to Buena Vista & Salida & Mt. Princeton."

    "Stayed near the browns creek trail head. Restrooms there, along with a few temp toilets around."

    2. North Cottonwood Trailhead Dispersed Camping

    9 Reviews
    Buena Vista, CO
    12 miles

    "After a nice meal in nearby Buena Vista, Co, we headed out on the 7-8 mile drive to the trailhead. Now 7-8 miles on a CR isn’t always the same as a similar distance on a paved road."

    "A lot of spots the further up you drive towards trailhead. Found a spot right next to the creek with room for several cars and framed in by trees. Sounds of water is awesome."

    3. Road 240 - Dispersed

    10 Reviews
    Monarch, CO
    14 miles
    Website
    +1 (719) 539-3591

    "This spot is one of the best kept secrets for dispersed camping in Colorado. The road has plenty of camping spots all the way up to the lake. Most spots are wooded and offer plenty of shade."

    "There are a few tent camping spots at the bottom right before you cross the bridge."

    4. CR 306 -Dispersed Site

    4 Reviews
    Buena Vista, CO
    11 miles
    Website
    +1 (719) 539-3591

    "Right off the highway so a little noisy at night but calms down. The river runs right by spots, relaxing sound and plenty of water. Even surface and easy to set up."

    "An easy to find camp right off the road with a few different entrances and a creek running alongside."

    5. Bootleg Campground - Temporarily Closed

    1 Review
    Nathrop, CO
    6 miles
    Website
    +1 (719) 539-3591

    $10 / night

    "Slept perfectly on a sandy tent pad listening to the river flow. This site has an in-tact bear safe, picnic tables and designated campfire ring. Will go back."

    6. Browns Canyon Dispersed

    5 Reviews
    Poncha Springs, CO
    14 miles

    "Propane for pits were allowed but while on Colorado please don’t start a wildfire. Close driving distance to Nathrop and Buena Vista."

    "Awesome location, beautiful views of the collegiate peaks and about 20 minutes away from Salida. There are lot of spots in this area (some side roads lead you to 360 views)."

    7. Mount Shavano and Mount Tabequache

    2 Reviews
    Poncha Springs, CO
    12 miles
    Website
    +1 (719) 553-1400

    "The drive up access roads from the east is easy with a truck or all wheel drive after snow melt and it's not long before you're up in the gorgeous meadows with great views."

    8. Chaffee County Road 390 Dispersed

    12 Reviews
    Granite, CO
    22 miles
    Website

    "Located near the town of Granite, this forest service road is host to trailheads and lots of dispersed camping."

    ".

    • Great views and access to a stream.
    • Great sites and fire rings.
    • Access to trails nearby and Buena Vista if you need to supplies.

    Cons

    • Little to no privacy. "

    9. Railroad Bridge

    1 Review
    Buena Vista, CO
    13 miles
    Website

    $28 / night

    10. Fooses Creek Dispersed Camping

    3 Reviews
    Monarch, CO
    17 miles

    "The creek was directly behind us and made beautiful sounds all night. There were a ton of mosquitos, but I never saw any animals or signs of animals."

    "There’s a nice little trailhead and hike nearby from the site. Keep going down the road to find sites, you’ll know you reached the end if you hit the trailhead."

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Recent Tent Camping Photos near Nathrop, CO

139 Photos of 58 Nathrop Campgrounds

Tent Camping Reviews near Nathrop, CO

1846 Reviews of 58 Nathrop Campgrounds

  • Renee H.
    Jul. 2, 2024

    Difficult Campground

    Quiet campground close to Aspen

    Quiet campground, off grid, no cell signal, no wi-fi. Busy campground due to proximity to Aspen. Adequate space between sites. Pit toilets, dumpsters available. May pose access challenges for larger rigs. Each site has picnic table, fire ring, bear box. No amenities, no laundry, no showers, no electricity. Smallest amount of road noise, depending on what site you are in. Day use parking lot available.

  • Staci W.The Dyrt PRO User
    Oct. 23, 2022

    East Ridge Campground - Royal Gorge

    Pricey but beautiful

    This campground used to be free when I first found it years ago while visiting the Royal Gorge. Since the city has invested money into fixing up the campsites with fire rings, tent pads, and what seems to be pretty good county road maintenance, it’s definitely understandable why they charge a fee.

    No water is available. There are vault toilets.

    There are NO bear boxes.

    Rules worth nothing (according to the sign upon entering camp):

    1. no alcohol (that didn’t seem to stop anyone from enjoying themselves at their site)
    2. You can only stay for 72 hours per visit unless otherwise noted.

    There’s lots of hiking and mountain bike trails near the campground, which brought lots of mellow mtb riders in during my stay.

    Because of the rules/amenities, i felt the price was a little steep as others have mentioned. However it is clean, close enough to Cañon city that you can go to town if needed, but far enough away to “unplug” from the world in a beautiful location. Overall I’d recommend visiting this campsite! I’ll happily return.

  • k
    May. 6, 2024

    Ruby Mountain Campground — Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area

    Beautiful spot

    Really gorgeous camping spot with easy access to tons of different outdoor activities. Tent sites are very well maintained and very beautiful. Walk-in sites are very close to parking, I would barely consider them walk-in sites. My only complaint is that the tent pads are made of gravel and therefore extremely hard to properly stake down tents.

  • Renee H.
    Jul. 2, 2024

    Chapman Campground And Group Camp - White River NF

    Remote, off grid camping in the mountains

    This remote campground might pose some access challenges for larger rigs. Clean pit toilets, no showers, no laundry. Fresh drinking water and dumpsters are available. No dump station in campground. Mixture of river and non river sites. Plenty of room and privacy between sites. No mobile phone coverage, no wi-fi, no amenities within 30 miles of the campground. 2 campground hosts on site. Small reservoir lake nearby for fishing and canoeing. Hiking and fishing nearby. Each site has a picnic table, fire ring and bear box.

  • 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.

  • J
    Aug. 28, 2018

    Collegiate Peaks

    Beautiful and the people really practice leave no trace.

    I gave this a 4 star because of the crowds.I backpacked to a high alpine lake called Kroenke Lake in the Collegiate Peaks wilderness area near Buena Vista, CO in August to catch some high country Cutthroats. This is a very popular hike during the summer. Camping can be congested but there are enough trees in between spots for some privacy. The designated camp sites we kept very clean by the previous visitors. There was not any trash in or around the fire ring that I often come across in other areas. The people that have previously visited, practiced leave no trace with the exception of the designated fire ring. The scenery was beautiful with a gorgeous lake with peaks of granite in the background. All of the people on the trail were friendly and courteous. It does get congested on the weekend being so close to Buena Vista and Salida. If you go little further, you can escape the congestion. I would highly recommend this hike to anyone looking for a weekend backpack trip.

  • Crystal C.The Dyrt PRO User
    Nov. 1, 2018

    Weller Campground

    Smaller Mountain Campground With Hiking Nearby

    This is one of the smaller sites alongside the main road you will find just a short distance outside of Aspen. I was passing through late in the season, technically during "closure" but was able to snag a site because it had not yet been closed due to unusually warmer fall. There had been some snowfall higher up but where I was there had not so the camp had not been closed. They had however turned off the potable water source but vault toilets and sites remained open.

    I was located in site 5 which had a small back in area, a picnic table and fire ring. There were also bear boxes throughout camp, which you need to use if you are here because there is a population of bears that will raid camp. I made sure to keep any food in the car behind doors and cleaned up away from camp with my own water source so as to not attract anything to come near. Bears do scare me a bit!!

    The site for my tent was lush and grassy, it had not yet frozen or died for the season so it felt very fluffy underneath my tent.

    Temperatures dropped dramatically at night and I was happy there was no fire ban when I visited because I used my fire for a heat source in the evening and then hand warmers inside extra socks at night. It was pretty peaceful at the camp as a whole.

    While there I enjoyed hiking on the Weller Trail which heads directly out from the parking area near the camp and treks a short distance with some amazing views. I was so happy to have found this site for only $21.

    TIPS:

    • Typical season is May to the end of September if it is before or after this time check with the Forest Service to see if they have opened camp for season.

    • Bring a flashlight there is no external light at the campground so you will not be able to see anything without one.

  • 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!

  • Hillary M.
    Jul. 5, 2018

    Kenosha Pass Campground

    Scenic campground close to gorgeous Colorado Trail

    Great campground right on Colorado Trail section 6. Family friendly with vault toilets, potable water, and very nice campground hosts. Currently under a fire ban due to the dry conditions but don’t let that discourage you! The campground is right off the highway so there is some traffic noise and a few of the spots are close together but overall a great campground, easy location, and perfect for backpacking!

Guide to Nathrop

Nathrop, Colorado, offers a fantastic selection of tent camping options surrounded by stunning natural beauty and outdoor activities.

Tent campers appreciate these amenities

Tent campers like these nearby activities

  • Hike the scenic trails around Mount Shavano and Mount Tabequache, where you can explore breathtaking views and enjoy the great outdoors.
  • Experience the thrill of mountain biking near Turtle Rock Campground, which is known for its accessibility and beautiful surroundings.
  • Fishing enthusiasts will appreciate the opportunities at Railroad Bridge, where you can cast a line in a serene setting.

Explore these local attractions

Frequently Asked Questions

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

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Nathrop, CO is Browns Creek (South) Dispersed Camping with a 4.7-star rating from 11 reviews.

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

TheDyrt.com has all 58 tent camping locations near Nathrop, CO, with real photos and reviews from campers.

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