Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Rifle, CO

I cannot thank Leslie, Frederick and Tom for their support with my RVing needs! We ended up staying an extra night--such a lovely campground with special touches at every site. If we visit again, I would definitely request a back-in site along the river! Just walking along the river pathway was breathtaking! The dog park is huge and has fun obstacle course activities to encourage interactions with pets. Everything about this KOA is great! We took a day trip to the Iron Mountain Hot Springs (fun!) and to the Rifle River water falls (an easy little hike but WOW! Cool water falls and caves to explore!) Come visit this KOA! You won't be disappointed!

I was a little worried after we booked this campground, but it wasn't horrible. It's super close to the hot springs, downtown area and gondola for the adventure park shopping etc. There is noise from the freeway, but it didn't bother us and I liked the view of the Colorado River. The roads leading in are a little rough. My family of 6 needs were met and that's all that mattered to us. Also having a extra clean shower on hand was really helpful. We had a great experience. I do wish our site (10)had more shade. For 62 bucks a night we definitely come back. The location was close to everything. Also only 30 minutes from Rifle state park.

We had amazing weather and the most amazing view. The only thing that would have beat the view would have been to have a site directly on the water, but having the lakeside view made for a beautiful backdrop. The only negative was that there was no awning in our camp site. Note: if you camp in site 23 lakeside loop - you may want to select another location with an awning. Our camper has an awning and we always travel with our 10X10 tent, it came in handy this weekend!

There is absolutely zero cell phone coverage at Rifle Gap or Harvey Gap (only 4 miles from Rifle Gap), and if you are there, you can understand why you would want to unplug from the world. 

The weather was perfect and the sun was out almost the entire time. It was high 80's for the first week of June. If you are a boater and don't mind the reservoir being busy, there's plenty of room to have some fun. The fishing looked to be pretty good from what we saw being brought back in.

Let’s just start with the only downside- this campground is not near Glenwood. It’s about 20-25 miles into Glenwood Springs from here. So just know that going into it and everything else is great.

Now onto the awesome campground itself. The people are really friendly and the spots are perfectly level.

Our spot was right on the river which is beautiful. The campground maintains nice grass in the area, fire pits and picnic tables. The park is an all encompassing RV resort. There is a splash pad, a bbq/ picnic area, a trail around the river, a nice store, a pool, a dog park and to top it off big grassy areas to play in. It’s a very nice park.

I would also recommend checking out Rifle Falls (video attached) and Rifle Gap State Park which are both nearby!

Spotless bathrooms and sites! We were only passing through and needed one night to stay. Arrived after office hours but late arrival registration was easy and we got a site no problem. Showers and bathrooms were spotless. Dog walk and park were also very clean. Nice to see since many “dog walk areas” are filthy and people don’t clean up after their pets. Not the case here!

first place I went camping in Colorado and I loved it so much I paid for an extra day. it rained on the last day but it was still wonderful. felt lost in the mountains and loved it

After driving 4-10 hour days from Canada in our 16’ travel trailer, staying at Harvest Hosts, we decided to stop here to prep and regroup for the next leg of our journey. Full hook ups allowed us to flush our water systems, recharge all batteries and devices, and wait out some seriously nasty wind, like lift the trailer right off the ground wind (well felt like it I swear!). The place is super clean, easy to access, has great views and a helpful staff. Pet friendly with a small off-leash dog area even. Looks good for families too with a pool and water park, playground. Wifi was good and cell service at 2 bars. Not cheap but easy access to supplies and touristy spots.

Campground offers easy trails, fishing, great waterfalls and friendly staff. Would recommend the walk in sites for tents. Is pet friendly which was a plus. There are two other state parks nearby and a fish hatchery. Trails range from gravel to mud (especially behind the waterfall), check out the caves and more!

During my trip in August all Colorado State parks had free entry for military members, so I only had to pay the campsite fee. The rangers were helpful when I asked about rifle falls. It is pretty easy to do typical camping, boating, fishing, kayaking, etc...here. No cell service. The sites were clean and well kept. There is not much for shade.

There are two campgrounds at Rifle Mountain Park so this beginning information fits both sites so it should be in both reviews. 

Take State Hwy 13 or Railroad Avenue(which becomes 13) North through the City. Take a right on Hwy 325(bowling alley at the corner), this will head you toward Rifle Creek Golf Course and Rifle Gap State Park. Drive over the dam at Rifle Gap and continue on Hwy 325 past Rifle Falls State Park(GO THERE!) until you reach the Rifle Fish Hatchery. The road will change to gravel after the fish hatchery. The entrance to the park starts about 2000 feet after the road turns to gravel. 

There is a $5 day pass for the park that you can pay on site in cash. This is not the same as the state parks pass. This park is maintained by the town of Rifle, not the forest service or park service. Just past the park is national forest so if you want free camping, you can go past the park and camp in forest service land. 

This park is absolutely stunning! There are sky high walls of red and orange rock on both sides and a creek running down the park with lush greenery everywhere. Plenty of camping areas located in the park but they do fill up fast on weekends. 

Sites are $10 plus $5 for each additional vehicle. They are smaller sites but with all the activities to get into you will get lost in the beauty that is Rifle Mountain Park. There is firewood for sale and group camping areas if you are in need of more space. 

This park is best known for its climbing routes and fishing. But it is a great place for biking and hiking too. 

This site has a big more space between sites. There is room for up to 2 cars at each spot or the perfect space for an RV or campervan. There is also another offshoot road for group camping that seemed to be blocked of by a group so you couldn’t even drive through it to get a spot. Since this park is monitored by the town and not state or national parks, there doesn’t seem to be someone regulating the space.

If you have been to Rifle, you wouldn't expect the camping to be like it is in this campground. No fee, just past Rifle Mountain Park, sites on the river, small campground. Once you drive up here out of Rifle it is lush and a nice wooded area. Much cooler than down in the valley. We got a great site, however we ended up getting a lot of rain and our site (as well as most other ones) got flooded out. We ended up bailing, but if you are looking for an area that is not highly traveled, this is a great spot. Lots of 4wd roads nearby, I was able to get here in a passenger vehicle however.

We stayed in Site # 60 in the cedar campground it had electric I believe we filled with water. There is a loop with full hook up but there a little further than the lake but nice. Our site had a nice covered area with the picnic table under it & a great view from it. The lake is good for kayaking other than there are some people that come a few times a week to pull kids on tubes and they about swamped up. It's a beautiful lake, the weather is warmer than everywhere else we were in Colorado but still nice. Loved watching the deer get a drink from the lake later in the day. 

This park has 4 loops and there is a lot of nice sites. All have differrent things to offer.

Rifle falls is close by we spent several days taking chairs over there & sitting near the waterfalls it was cooler there. There is a campground there but it's busier and has a lot more people coming to see the falls. 

Close by you have Rifle Falls, Glenwood Hot Springs, Iron Mountain springs a little less busy and really nice.

This campground is nice for a couple of days. Convenient to Glenwood Springs and Rifle. Large pull throughs recommend the back in near the river. very clean!

if you don't want cars and people walking by all day long, find another place to camp (Rifle Gap 10 miles away). This place is busy during the day. Quiet at night.

This place was great. Off the interstate so not to get a lot of drive by traffic. We camped right on the lake, with a concrete pad, picnic table and the bathhouse was close by. Plus just a few minute drive to the Rifle falls.

When we got to Rifle Gap the campsite was amazing. It had a little pavilion thing over the campsite, the campsite was enclosed by some logs and filled with gravel, it had a nice fire pit, and a picnic table! We set up and had a wonderful nighT by the fire! However, when we woke up we were covered in ants. Our tent had ants all over it and our campground was covered in thousands of ants. It even rained while we stayed there and the ants did not disappear, they were under the pavilion, in our tent, on our tent, under our tent. It was terrible. On a brighter note, 5 miles down the road from the Gap is Rifle Falls. This place is amazing and so beautiful! There are caves, falls, trails, and a hatchery at the end of one of the trails! There's also an old amphitheater that is super cool!

Wow. Wow. Wow. Who knew there was water in Colorado that was a Hawaii turquoise blue!?
I certainly had no idea! According to the visitors center the color is due to a unique mineral deposit in the water. Minerals are magnificent!

Okay, as for the campgrounds- well first they pretty much all overlook the lake so you get a view of that beautiful scenery.

This is one of those unicorn state park campgrounds that has full hookups as well, What a treat!

Do keep in mind that in summer months the sun here is intense and there is really no shade to speak of. It can also get very windy!

Also, super close to the town of Rifle which has plenty in the way of food and groceries if needed. Great place for water sports if you’re into that!

Our second stop on our epic road trip from MN to AZ. We pulled into Rifle Gap and were just blown any! I mean literally blown away! lol. It was so windy but what can you do? That's nature for ya. It didn't stop us from enjoying this beautiful park. Nice and clean facilities. Nice sites with level pads.

I wanted to love Rifle Gap State Park. It was truly beautiful, and well kept. BUT the other campers were loud and had music playing well past quiet time hours. There was a fire ban, but at least three other campsites had fires going. The camp itself was amazing, they just needed someone to make sure that people follow the rules for everyone's enjoyment and peace of mind.

I have camped in many state parks across the US, but my experience at this state park was very disappointing. The staff were rude and intentionally unhelpful. The area is beautiful with many other camping options. The best part of our experience with Rifle Gap State Park was when we cancelled the rest of our reservation and found Elk Creek Campground about 20 minutes away outside of New Castle.

I have stayed at this campground 3 times in the past 2 years and have been very happy every time. It is clean, and the staff is friendly. It is nice to be so close to the lake. We go as a group and they have always been able to accommodate us with sites near each other. Sunset views are amazing and it is near Rifle Falls and not too far from Glenwood Springs.

We stayed in Cottonwood which is brand new with nice shower facility and gorgeous lake views. There were a few other campers in other parts of the campground but being shoulder season, we had the place almost to ourselves (except for some geese) we were originally going to stay up the road at rifle falls state park but that smaller campground was super muddy due to snow melt. Good cell reception at the visitors center.

There is a $5 day pass for the park that you can pay on site in cash. This is not the same as the state parks pass. 

This park is maintained by the town of Rifle, not the forest service or park service.

This park is absolutely stunning! There are sky high walls of red and orange rock on both sides and a creek running down the park with lush greenery everywhere. 

Plenty of camping areas located in the park but they do fill up fast on weekends. Sites are$10 plus$5 for each additional vehicle. They are smaller sites but with all the activities to get into you will get lost in the beauty that is Rifle Mountain Park. 

There is firewood for sale and group camping areas if you are in need of more space. This park is best known for its climbing routes and fishing. But it is a great place for biking and hiking too. 

This campground is in the middle of the park and is spread on both sides of the road. They are a little tight together but with all the greenery it feels more secluded. There are picnic tables and fire pits at each site and a small group camp spot. The camp host is very sweet but only seems to be there part time.