Looking for tent camping near Parachute? You can find tent campsites by type, including drive-in, walk-in, and even hike-in for a backpacking adventure. Each tent campsite offers quick access to one or more of Parachute's most popular destinations.
The McClure Campground is located on Highway 133 on the south side of McClure Pass. The historic town of Marble is nearby and the campground sits at the head of Lee Creek. Each campsites has a picnic table and fire rings/grills. This quiet campground is surrounded by aspen that provide excellent shade during the summer and there are beaver ponds near by for trout fishing.
The Thompson Creek Recreation Management Area is located just a few miles southwest of Carbondale and provides beautiful, remote recreational opportunities. On the North end of the RMA is the Lorax trail, which is a popular non motorized route. In the southwest corner of the area is the Thompson Creek campground and trail, which winds along Thompson Creek to views of the rare geologic ___fin___ formations. There are 4 shaded campsites along the creek with metal fire rings. There are not picnic tables or restrooms. Must pack out all human waste to eliminate contamination of creek. There are not waste collections. Access is not recommended during wet or snowy conditions. For more information, please contact the Colorado River Valley Field Office.
Southwest and central Flat Tops area. Access often from New Castle.
Guide
The resort may not be busy in the fall, but that just adds to the appeal of staying this season. We arrived late, but check in was a breeze, and we were able to make ourselves comfortable. The bathhouse is heated and in pristine condition. On property their is a very lovely peach orchard, a dog run, and river access which would be ideal for the summer months. The camp sites are close together but have good trees and even plugs! The cabins are comfortable, with heating, mini fridges and microwaves.
And the best part: Colterris winery is right next door to walk to.
Legend
A hidden gem in Colorado! Awesome hike in camp sites along the river, but also drive up spots with camper hook ups. Amazing little hiking trails and a super impressive waterfall!
Traveler
Stayed for 2 night in Sept 24 while traveling with my mother. The bit of AT&T was my mom's favorite part of the site other than the views which it had and a lovely trailhead out of the campground.
Pros: The trailhead/views, flush toilets, WiFi(At least at our site faceing towards Fruita), trash cans, tables
Cons: Sites were real close together so it really depends on who your next to, for someone like myself with a roof top tent wished the parking spot had been a little flatter, Rec.gov reservations, sandy
The big con of this campground was we had so much difficulty with the Rec.gov app getting a site, but the very helpful folk at the visitor center helped us get a site.
Would definately go there again, just beautiful and jawdropping views, and easy access to the rest of the monument early in the morning
GuideCame to Grand Junction to get my new Timberleaf Teardrop camper and stayed here three nights. Was so thankful that there was still running water and working toilets! Site was slightly sloped but not bad. Super quiet at night. Saw the Milky Way last night! The park is amazing and offers great views and hikes.
Guide
Convenient ( quick off highway and close to Colorado NM) park but not much for advenure. Clean bathrooms. Sites were clean and well maintained and not too close together. I imagine it could be warm in summer. Friendly staff.
Scout
This campground is a gem as other reviewers have cited, BUT the road in is dangerous when wet as there is a lot of exposure off the edge. An AWD would be ok but still dicey on the downhills. The fishing platform is really a good addition for those physically compromised. Brown and rainbow fishing (rainbows should be immediately returned to the river). Very peaceful and out of the way. Can be used all seasons as it rarely gets snow.
Legend
Not to much space between rigs, but is very quiet and bit expensive. Very close to the Monument State Park.
Traveler
Easy to find with Google maps. Plenty of open space. 15min off 70.
Dirt road, a bit bumpy, but we easily pulled our 21ft Micro Minnie
and it was doable for almost any vehicle. We didn't go to far up into the sites so I can't speak to further in. Rolled in at midnight and was still simple to find in the dark.
Ranger
Stayed in spot 18 which was close to vault toilets, but they were stinky and full of bugs. Very buggy in general, not all are mosquitos but there are some of those too. Sites 1, 2, 4, 18, 21, 23 were all decent looking with some shade in the afternoon and relatively level pads. Lakes in area, one adjacent to campground and one that is down a trail to a day use area that is covered by the camp fee. Good spacing between sites. Some have electric. A little warm for July, probably 80 degrees in afternoon. Lots of aspen trees in the area might be good for a fall visit. Bear cans available for trash.
Ranger
Stayed in site 5 Loop A which is right on the river. Could hear and see trains going by occasionally on the other side of river. Sites are pretty well spaced out and have a good shade structure over the picnic table. Lots of flying bugs and it was hot in early July. Have electric hookups but still quite warm. Flush toilets were okay, nothing special. Also have to buy a CO Park Pass, so thats another $10 on top of the reservation fee.
Food aside: Ate Kikkoman teriyaki rice noodles and Kalua pork, yum!!
Ranger
Stayed in RV site along creek, which was quite nice with the sound of the water. Unfortunately, sites were not roomy, were close to each other and close to the campground road. Dogs next spot over were not restrained and roamed freely, in front of campground staff. Children wandered around. Smokers walked right by van and smoke smell came right in.
Showers and restrooms were decent and clean and had hot water but centrally located so a bit of a walk.
Food aside: Ate take out from pizza place in town, which was good. Breakfast was sausage and instant egg burritos. Yum.
Traveler
Found this spot and was very happy with the setup. Like other reviews, the highway noise was a bit loud but nothing too crazy, especially really late. There were other campers spread out nicely, you wouldn’t even know they were there. The road is a bit iffy so snagging a spot at the front would be best if you don’t have 4WD (my Nissan car struggled, we had to back up & turn around). Overall great spot for tent camping! Remember to leave no trace 🫶🏼🏕️🌎
GuideGreat little campground, I was there the first week in October and it wasn’t so busy. During the day there is some day use, but it’s in the back by the falls, so the campground stays pretty quiet. It has electric and water, but absolutely no Internet, which can be nice a good place to get away from it all.
GuideKathy (the owner) was awesome. Cedaredge is a great little spot, really quiet. Not a big RV park, don’t bring truckloads of kids and your off road vehicles. Really happy with what we had here.
Traveler
I came down to Marble, CO from Carbondale with the intention of staying at the Marble campground on a Wednesday but it was full so I went up the road about 10 miles to the McClure campground and was very pleasantly surprised at how much nicer it was than the Marble campground. While Marble did have showers and some sites with water and electricity it was much more crowded and uneven than McClure. McClures sites were all nice and level and several were pull through that could handle fair sized rigs. McClure was a dispersed site at one time but now costs $14/night compared to Marbles $40+ fee. Of course Marble has showers which are worth the extra price to some but McClure had the most important item which was a clean vault toilet. When I got to the campground there were only a couple of other sites occupied so I picked a beautiful level spot only about 150' from the toilet, which is very important to an old man with artificial knees and a weak bladder. By Friday night all the sites were taken and as most other campgrounds were also full there were lots of campers coming through the campground looking for a spot to camp. I had only planned to stay a couple of days but I liked the site so much I stayed for 5 nights. I used it as my base to drive the Crystal River trail which is about 10 miles down the road at Marble. Let me warn you right now, don't do the Crystal River trail unless you have a strong heart and a very sturdy mid sized or smaller vehicle or off-road vehicle because it is very narrow and extremely rough. I've driven some rough country and have a big 4x4 pickup but that trail was all my rig could handle and I left lots of paint on the rocks and trees at the narrower spots. I'm sure half my tires on the drop-off side were in mid air at times and since it is a single track trail if you met someone coming from the other direction one of you would have to back up to a spot that you could pass each other. Very scary. Anyway, back to McClure. The nearest place to get cell service and supplies is Carbondale which is about 20 miles away but if you are self contained and don't need to be on the internet every few minutes this place is great. There was lots of wildlife sharing my site which was fun to watch. I had a doe deer and her boyfriend show up before I even got my tent set up and squirrels and chipmunks were everywhere as were the hummingbirds. I had hummingbirds buzzing up to a foot away from my face to check out my red cap thinking it might be some kind of giant exotic new flower lol. The only reason I didn't give the camp 5 stars is that it is right next to route 133 which it turns out is a main road through this area and traffic noise is sometimes pretty loud, especially early in the mornings on week days. If I am back near that area I will definitely stay in this campground. Almost forgot one other thing. The elevation is high enough that it gets pretty cool most nights, even in July and rain showers came through almost every early morning but the rain never amounted to anything and by mid morning it was beautiful. Camp fees are on the honor system and you need to have cash or checks.
Scout
We recently stayed here for two nights. The camp hosts and maintenance employees were incredibly friendly. There is some highway noise, but it didn't bother us with some ear plugs in and rain sounds playing on my phone. The night sky is amazing at this dark sky park. I can't say enough good things about this campground, we will define back.
ScoutWalk in camping with wheelbarrows in the parking lot, connects to beautiful hiking trail! Very tidy campground. Table and fire pit, but you need to bring in firewood.
TravelerStayed one night on the way to Colorado. Super easy to find right off the highway and plenty of spots. I was the only one there when I stayed. Highway noise isn’t too much of an issue but I did have some loud and strong winds all night.
TravelerApple map directions are spot on. Lots of room - I chose to go up a rutted road a ways, for privacy. There was one camper at the flat bottom. Check weather for rain chance if you don’t have 4x4.
Scout
Went here on a Saturday in Sept after reading all the great reviews. Drove for miles and every site taken. There aren't many sites like people would make you think. Have these people been to the San Jaun Mountains - so much better. Had to drive home because just nothing available.
Traveler
Made camp here for 1 night traveling west. Many sites available both by the highway and down in the canyon. Canyon road was in good shape and even the largest RV could go down it. Sites were pretty level. No toilets, etc.
Ranger
We typically don’t stay at RV parks, but due to some extenuating circumstances have found ourselves stuck in Grand Junction for a few days. We found this park and chose it based on reviews. It is amazing! It is so well kept up, has extremely large sites with concrete patios, picnic tables, fire pit, and lawn for each side. Carrisa in the office was so nice and very professional. The bathrooms are modern and clean. The grounds are nicely landscaped with bushes and trees. There is a pool, dog runs, laundry, play area, and pickleball courts. There is some traffic noise but not too bad - it is a city location after all. The privacy fences behind the back in sites really make it nice. We would absolutely stay here again.
Guide
Overall very nice. Well maintained nice green grass and lush trees. The “lake” is more of a big pond. My impressions 1-5
2 Bathrooms 5. Free 4 minute hot shower 3. Site utilities 1. No water or electric hookup. Potable water available. 4. Staff 5. They have 4 camp hosts. 5. Overall esthetics 4( the pond is bleh) 6. Fees 1. If you are out of state they tack on $10
GuideThis was a beautiful place to camp. There were a few places along the road you could stop and camp. We stayed at the farthest site out because there were other campers at the other sites. All sites could fit more that one camper if needed.
Beautiful sunsets and sunrises at this location. The road leaving up was doable for our low clearance Winnebago solis.
RangerWe arrived just before dark and easily pulled into our site. It was mostly level and we easily leveled our van. We found the restrooms (flush toilets) to be spotless. The campground was very quiet and we could see city lights below. In the morning we enjoyed a peel sunrise view through the junipers. Sadly, we were on a schedule and couldn’t spend much time at the campground, leaving 12 hours after we arrived. Even though the campground is at 5700 feet, it was warm mid September. We kept our side screened door open all night. Would love to come back sometime as the monument looks beautiful!
Traveler
We’re Van camping in the lower campground, 50’ from the banks of the Colorado River. Electric & Water. Cabins avl. On the River and upper grounds. Our site, 44 is also located off set and below the deck of the resort event center. (Weekend celebrations may offend some, not us) quite time is 10pm. We’ve enjoyed watching Rafters, Kayakers & Geese float & fly the turns of the River. Wonderful staff. Available if needed. Kevin, manager; generous & helpful. Twilla, the work & stay host att. Is super attentive. Clean, accessible Bathhouse facilities. Discounts on rafting while booked at GCR. 1.7m to downtown Glenwood, (foodies, cute shops) bike path, or… just hang by the river near the boat launch & tent sites. (Our fav. spots!) Great place to R&R, Hot springs, Hike…
TravelerI was going to head 11 miles down the road but decided I’d rather have WiFi. It was a good call. Just past Labor Day, there were three of us last night about 1/2 mile off the main drag. Enough places to pull off though you can still hear some main road traffic.
The area was clean except one site with broken glass. Clear skies with great stargazing.
No amenities here whatsoever but that’s just fine. Comes with the free price.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Parachute, CO?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Parachute, CO is Grand Junction KOA with a 4.3-star rating from 26 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Parachute, CO?
TheDyrt.com has all 18 tent camping locations near Parachute, CO, with real photos and reviews from campers.
