Best Tent Camping near Red Feather Lakes, CO

Tent camping near Red Feather Lakes, Colorado provides a mix of primitive and established options within the Roosevelt National Forest. Comanche Peak View Campground offers primitive tent sites with fire pits and flat spots for tents, accessible with high-clearance vehicles. This dispersed camping area serves as an alternative to the more crowded Red Feather Lakes and Lost Lake campgrounds during summer months. Canyon Lakes Ranger District also manages several dispersed tent camping areas throughout the region, with Crown Point Road Dispersed camping providing walk-in tent sites in a more remote setting.

Most tent campsites in the Red Feather Lakes area require campers to be self-sufficient. Dispersed camping locations typically lack amenities such as potable water, established restrooms, or trash collection. Fire regulations vary seasonally, with restrictions common during dry summer months. Bear activity is present throughout the region, requiring proper food storage. Weather conditions can change rapidly at higher elevations, with afternoon thunderstorms common in summer months. Tent campers should bring adequate water supplies, as natural sources may be limited or require treatment before use.

The backcountry tent camping experience near Red Feather Lakes offers solitude and natural beauty not found at developed campgrounds. Large boulders and rock formations provide natural windbreaks for tents at several sites, particularly at Comanche Peak View. According to reviews, "There are lots of fun boulders in the campground area to climb around on or tuck your tent next to if needing protection on a windy night." The area serves as an excellent base for exploring nearby hiking trails. Primitive tent camping here allows visitors to avoid crowds while still accessing the recreational opportunities of the Roosevelt National Forest. Night skies offer exceptional stargazing opportunities due to minimal light pollution in these remote tent-only areas.

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Best Tent Sites Near Red Feather Lakes, Colorado (45)

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Tent Camping Reviews near Red Feather Lakes, CO

1624 Reviews of 45 Red Feather Lakes Campgrounds


  • Rosa B.The Dyrt PRO User
    Jun. 25, 2025

    Lost Lake Dispersed

    Lost Lakes

    The road to lost lake requires high clearance. It is located 30 min away from Red Feather Lakes. There are a lot of dispersed camp sites. Ours was set back from the road, in a meadow, surrounded by boulders. Loved it! The lake itself is small, but had enough space for many groups of people to enjoy. Folks were swimming, paddle boarding, and we enjoyed a Colorado version of a “Beach Day.” My fav spot to camp so far.

  • NThe Dyrt PRO User
    Oct. 17, 2021

    Dowdy Lake Campground

    Reflections

    Status: Open year round 

    Reserve mid spring through September 877-444-6777 or recreation.gov 

    weekend reservations recommended 

    70 sites including 10 walk-in tent 30 sites year round $24.00 tent sites $32.00 electric $64.00 double sites 

    Vault toilets, water during season ,tent sites have bear boxes, picnic table, fire ring/grill, trash no sewer or water hookups The campground has beautiful Ponderosa Pines but the Pine beetle is beginning to take its toil. 

    The back loop closes early fall. all sites have electric except the tent sites. There are 5 double sites. The campground can accept various size rigs. The day use area with a boat ramp and pit toilet with a nice size parking lot. There were a lot of people fishing from the shore. The lake is beautiful with small islands and rock formations. The road to and in the campground is gravel and rather dusty. Potholes 

    Directions: Drive 21 miles north of Fort Collins on US Highway 287. Turn left (west) onto the Red Feather Lakes Road (County 74E) and travel approximately 22 miles. Turn right (north) and travel another mile to signed campground entrance on the right.

    LNT

    Better than when you found it 

    Stay safe Happy travels

  • C
    Aug. 2, 2018

    Glacier Basin Campground — Rocky Mountain National Park

    Great Campground

    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!

  • Chad K.
    Aug. 3, 2019

    Moraine Park Campground — Rocky Mountain National Park

    Great campground

    This campground is in the middle of Rocky Mountain NP. Our site was in loop D. The sites are a little packed but give you enough space to spread out. Each site has a picnic table and a fire ring with a shared bear box. The tent pads are level as d have plenty of shade. The bath rooms have no showers and are a little dated but adequate for a national park. It is centrally locates to bear lake and Estes Park. We will be back.

  • I
    Aug. 31, 2020

    Vedauwoo Tent Campground (Wy) — Medicine Bow Routt N Fs & Thunder Basin Ng

    Pretty, close to HWY, nice trails, not much water

    Checked in about 8:30pm on weekday for car/tent camping.  Got last spot on upper tent loop (FC/FS-self serve).   Upper tent loop also has some RV spots. It seems like a very popular spot for XC RV drivers. The upper loop was very quiet, both the people and the area, and far enough from Interstate that Hwy noise was not an issue. The only problems were the wind(strong in am), and the lack of running water. Vault toilets were clean enough. The faucets near toilets did not work. The only available water was from the green well pump, and it had noticeable color to it. I used it for cooking and cleaning, but not drinking. Great trails! We did a nice 3.5 mile loop around Turtle Rock. It has good and climbing/bouldering, wish I had more time for that. It was cool due to a recent rainfall, and the 8000'ish elevation kept it that way at night. All creeks were dry in late august, and the 3 ponds were nearly so. Very pretty spot that feels more remote than it is. There is a lower tent walk in loop, which is much better sheltered from road noise and wind.  The lower tent loop has vault toilets, but it does not have water as far as I could tell.  Lower tent loop was completely vacant and available, while upper RV/tent area was full.

  • Amanda M.
    Aug. 7, 2018

    North Michigan Campground — State Forest State Park

    Gorgeous Rocky Mountain Camping - North Michigan Campground

    We found State Forest State Park on a whim this past July 2018. We were on a road trip from California to Colorado for a wedding in Granby, CO. We were camping in Utah at Dinosaur National Monument, but due to the smoke from a nearby wildfire and the high heat of the summer, we decided to cut our stay one day short, and head over to the Rockies a day early. We wanted to be fairly close to our final destinations, Granby then RMNP, but wanted to go somewhere we hadn’t been before. My boyfriend and I are both animal lovers, and our dream was to finally see a moose on this trip out to Colorado. In researching moosey areas on the internet, we found the Moose Visitor Center at State Forest State Park. We figured that a place with a Moose Visitors Center was as moosey as it comes, so we reserved a site online and headed out to Colorado.

    It was late afternoon when we arrived, but since we had already eaten, we didn’t have much to do besides set up our tent and sleeping pads for the night. Getting to the campground and visitors center is easy as they are both right off the highways 41 and 14, but it is quite a drive to get to, in general. The scenery is so pretty, that we did not mind the drive to or from SFSP. North Michigan Campground is right by a lake, it is pretty.

    The sites are primitive - each site had picnic benches and a firepit, but at the time we visited there was a Stage 2 fire ban in place, so we couldn’t have a campfire. The fire ban included the burning of wood and charcoal - using a propane stove was OK.

    There were pit toilets, and they were well maintained. The sites appeared to have once had more in the way of trees and shade, but it looks as though SFSP was hit by the pine beetles, like so much of Colorado. It’s sad to see the destruction the beetles left in their wake, and fewer trees mean less privacy and less shade for tent campers. We would have had a hard time setting up extra tarps in case it had rained that evening. Bringing an easy-up or canopy would be smart in the summer to protect against sun and heat, or a passing thunderstorm.

    WARNING: You ARE in bear country and there were no bear bins in the campground - be bear safe and bear smart, lock all of your food and toiletries inside your car at night. I was once told by a ranger in Yosemite NP that bears can recognize coolers when peering into car windows, so we always put a towel and gear over our coolers when keeping them in the car overnight.

    We packed up early and arrived at the Moose Visitors Center when they opened. The visitors center was educational and interesting, and the staff was friendly and knowledgeable and answered all of our questions. After studying some maps of the area with the rangers, we decided to try our luck driving along Highway 14 towards Fort Collins.

    We stopped at various spots along the highway, and ended up walking around the Joe Wright Reservoir for a while. Thunderheads were rolling in, and some rain and thunder started, so we decided to start making our way back towards SFSP then head down to Granby, our next stop. We were around Cameron Pass and had given up on seeing any moose when we saw traffic slowing and cars stopped alongside the road - there were two young bull moose snacking by a small river on the side of the road! We pulled over, turned our hazard lights on, grabbed the camera, and jumped out to see our first moose. The moose seemed unconcerned by their growing audience, and continued to chomp away on their lunch - there was a small ravine between the moose and their human audience, so neither moose nor humans felt threatened.

    According to the staff at the Moose Visitor Center, there are only about 1,000 moose in the entire state of Colorado - and here we stumbled across two moose at once! We were ecstatic, and so happy we made the impromptu, unplanned trip out to State Forest State Park! We returned to the Moose Visitors Center to share the experience with the rangers (they record the specifics of moose sightings in the area on a board), and the ranger gave us a high five for spotting our first ever moose.

    I would like to return to the area someday to hike, I imagine the nearby trails must be goregous!

    CAMPSITE SPECS

    Fees: $18/night

    Plumbed Toilets: NO - pit

    Drinking Water: Yes

    Showers: NO

    Picnic Table: Yes

    Firepit: Yes

    Cooking Grates: Yes

    Shade: Limited!

    Cell Service: NO

    Animal Bins/Food Lockers: NO

  • L
    Jul. 16, 2018

    Moraine Park Campground — Rocky Mountain National Park

    Spacious and shaded

    This campground is beautifully designed. The spaces are slightly spread out and staggered to offer more privacy than others in the area. Lots of trees and big rocks to add to the privacy. Very clean facility, with easy access to bathrooms, water and bear boxes. We were very pleased with the quality of the tent space and table. (Technically we tent camped at a site for an RV, but it still has a level tent spot). It was one of the best in the area we have camped at. Also walking distance to a shuttle that will take you to nearby touristy trailheads (like Bear Lake). Only disappointing thing is the full fire ban currently in effect- so no campfire.

  • Isabelle K.The Dyrt PRO User
    Aug. 22, 2017

    Comanche Peak View Campground

    Primitive camping not far from Fort Collins

    I have camped here multiple times and always have a great time. There are a few primitive sites here with fire pits, plenty of firewood for gathering, flat spots for a tent and fairly accessible with a high clearance vehicle. This campground is an especially good option for those wanting to avoid the summer crowds of the close by and popular campgrounds of Red Feather Lakes and Lost Lake. I often use this as a home base for exploring some of the trails in those areas. There are also lots of fun boulders in the campground area to climb around on or tuck your tent next to if needing protection on a windy night.

  • Judy B.The Dyrt PRO User
    Jul. 7, 2019

    Aspenglen Campground — Rocky Mountain National Park

    A quiet oasis in a busy park

    Aspenglen is located just inside the Fall River Entrance Station.  Once you have entered the park it is the first left that takes you down to the Aspenglen campground.  There are a few more trees in this area, so you are more likely to find shade.  There are some sites that are specifically for tents and others that accommodate small to medium RV's.  There are no hookups for electricity or water and cellphone service is mostly non-existent.  The sites are spaced more widely apart than at Glacier Basin.  There are bear boxes to store your food, fire rings, and tables.  Three loops, and some walk-in sites compose the layout.  There was a host at the campground.  They did sell firewood near the check-in post.


Guide to Red Feather Lakes

Tent camping near Red Feather Lakes, Colorado, offers a serene escape into nature, with various options for those looking to pitch a tent in beautiful surroundings.

Explore Scenic Hiking Trails

  • The Comanche Peak View Campground provides access to stunning trails and expansive views, perfect for hiking enthusiasts seeking solitude.
  • At Grandview Campground, you can enjoy nearby hiking trails and the chance to spot moose while taking in the picturesque lakeside scenery.
  • Upper Chipmunk Backcountry Campsite is ideal for those who love a challenge, requiring a strenuous hike to reach breathtaking mountain views.

Enjoy Peaceful Camping Experiences

  • Deadman Road Dispersed offers a remote feel with numerous hidden spots, perfect for campers looking for tranquility away from the crowds.
  • For a more primitive experience, Crown Point Road Dispersed allows for campfires and pets, making it a great choice for those wanting to connect with nature.
  • Fire Route 309 is another excellent option for those seeking a quiet retreat, with ample space for tent camping and the freedom to enjoy campfires.

Experience Unique Local Wildlife

  • At Cache la Poudre River, campers can enjoy the beauty of the river while keeping an eye out for local wildlife, including moose and various bird species.
  • Upper Blaire Dispersed Camping offers a chance to see cows roaming freely, adding to the rustic charm of your camping experience.
  • Horsetooth Mountain - Backcountry Site 2 provides a unique opportunity to observe wildlife while enjoying stunning views of the reservoir, making it a memorable spot for nature lovers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near Red Feather Lakes, CO?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Red Feather Lakes, CO is Cache la Poudre River with a 5-star rating from 1 review.

What is the best site to find tent camping near Red Feather Lakes, CO?

TheDyrt.com has all 45 tent camping locations near Red Feather Lakes, CO, with real photos and reviews from campers.