Searching for the perfect place to pitch your tent near Watkins? With The Dyrt, it's easy to find Watkins campgrounds for you and your tent. Each tent site offers quick access to one or more of Watkins, Colorado's most popular destinations.
Camping is allowed at numbered designated campsites. No fee is charged. Practice Leave No Trace Principles.
Camping is limited to 14 days in one location. After 14 days, your camp must be moved at least three miles away.
Maximum stay is 28 days within a 60-day period. After 28 days, all property and people must leave the Roosevelt National Forest.
NOTE: Campers who build any fires face fines up to $5,000 and/or up to six months imprisonment for open fire violations.
Leave No Trace must be observed, as in any outdoor space.
In any season this area is prone to very strong dry winds that can pick up a hot coal from a campfire that has lain dormant for as much as three days and ignite dry vegetation, causing horrific devastation. People from outside Colorado may not understand how tinder dry this area can be. 197 homes in this area have been destroyed by wildfires. All of these fires were started by humans.
Local residents overlook this area and if they see visible flame or smoke they will call the Boulder County sheriff. Any campers who require a campfire are recommended to disperse camp near Sugarloaf Mountain where fires are permitted.
White Ranch Park is one of two Jeffco Open Space parks that allows for permitted camping. Sawmill and Sourdough Springs Campgrounds offer semi-primitive, tent-only, walk-in camping in designated sites is available by online permit. Required camping permits must be obtained at least 24 hours in advance. Permits are $12 per campsite, per night and valid for up to three consecutive nights. Camping is limited to a total of six nights within a 30 day period.
$12 / night
$12 / night
The Dutch Fred Trailhead is located south of Indian Creek / Rampart Range area. The trail enters into a system of 115 miles of motorcycle and ATV trails in the Rampart Range area. In order to use any vehicle on National Forest lands, it must either have a valid state license plate or be registered with the Colorado Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Program. Contact Colorado State Parks at 303.866.3437 for OHV registration information. Registered OHVs may be subject to fines if used where they are not specifically permitted.
On the west side of South Foxton Road, hiker and equestrian trails allow visitors to climb to scenic overlooks. Mountain bikes are welcome to explore the east side of South Foxton Road and connect to the 10.1-mile North Fork Trail that originates at the parking lot and terminates at the South Platte River, allowing access to the Colorado Trail.
Reynolds Park is one of two Jeffco Open Space parks that allow for permitted camping. Semi-primitive, tent-only, walk-in camping in designated sites is available by online permit.
$12 / night
National Forest
Pike and San Isabel National Forests and Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands
Part of Pike and San Isabel National Forests Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands. Mount Herman Trail begins at a small parking area on a switchback on Mount Herman Road. This trail provides a 2-mile one-way hike to the summit of Mt. Herman.
Stayed the last night with a rental RV that we needed to return to Denver by 10;30 AM. Campground has an unusual lay out with "loops" being 3 rings of sites. Sites are spread out well. Lots of privacy, Within an hour's drive of the RV rental return location (with a Costco on the way to fill the gas tank). Some sites have elec/water/sewer at the sites. Some have just electrical - this was our site. A communal water/sewer was available with ability to handle two vehicles at the same time.
This was a one-night overnight tent spot after a work conference in Golden. Drive to the site was not bad. The roads are a little bumpy to get into the tent-only camping but even my little Chevy did okay. Bathroom facilities are good with coin-operated showers. Relatively quiet but there is quite a bit of road noise from I-70.
If you are used to RV sites or KOA you will be ok with this. On a scale of 1-5 here are my impressions.
Overall esthetic 2. The lake is nice. The rest of the area is well compacted dirt with some scattered trees. City/road noise 2.
Please text 603 404 8514 if you find a phone at site 15 !
Great spacious spot with picnic table and walkable to the reservoir
Amazing and wonderful absolutely love the view
Came here with my roommates in July after only dispersed camping earlier in the summer. Nice spot with a metal fire pit (good for stage 1 fire ban), picnic table, and tent pad. Tent pad was big enough to squeeze two 3-person tents and a 6-person tent (barely). Walking distance to vault toilets. Some nice foresty hikes between Aspen Meadows and Reverend's Ridge. We could see some other campsites but didn't feel too squished. There's an actual parking lot but we just parked next to our campsite, off the road enough to let other cars pass by easily.
Really cool campground! We were able to tube on the river and we were at site five so we had direct access to the river as well. Just as a heads up this is a walk in site, but your cars aren’t parked very far away. And if you have a rooftop tent, you can still use that. Just know that your car will be parked on the road. It’s also $10 extra per night for an additional vehicle past the two vehicle per site limit.
Have to take off 1 star for the freeway noise and the lack of trees. However, the sites are nicely spaced, with many of them facing a few different ponds. The full hook-up sites are much more open than the electric only ones. Also, no showers on the full side, but what looks like a nice building on the electric side. It’s an hour to Estes Park, and it’s nice not to have to drag your rig up the mountain. Plus it’s close to Longmont where we found a couple cute breweries/cideries.
Found a great little campsite and had a fox as a neighbor! Only downfall was there was broken glass everywhere 😔
Rolled in around 5 on a Friday and got a great little spot. Clean campsites and there were a number open Saturday morning when we drove to the end of the trail. Drove around the reservoir to kayak from the north end Saturday morning.
Our spot was in Aspen Meadows. The reservation confirmation gave us directions to Reverend's Ridge campground, which is wrong. It also said our site was on Aspen Loop, and there is no Aspen Loop - only Conifer Loop. It's a very poorly marked campground. It's also directly under a flight path. The toilets smelled like ammonia, horribly...but the campsite itself was clean.
Stayed at spot 17, it did thunderstorm so glad our spot was raised and our tent didn’t flood. Clean bathrooms. Quarter showers. Sink outside near bathrooms for patron use. No fire pits tho so bring something to cook on.
Stayed two nights in July. Apparently quiet time is just a phrase here — multiple groups around us were loud well past 10pm but nobody came around to check. Bathroom access was an issue in the AM due to only one stall.
Not a lot of shade, ground kinda pebbly. If you’re looking for a quick post up near Denver or Boulder, sure. If you’re looking for peaceful camping, you could do far better. I suppose it’d be different in an RV, but tenting wasn’t good.
Either way, if you stay here, bring good earplugs.
Very quiet and bathroom and showers were clean
The campground was clean and quiet. We really enjoyed our stay. One note, the water connection is a little far from the camper in some cases, so might not hurt to bring an extra hose. We'll definitely be back
Sits at about 7600 feet, so a great place to spend a few days acclimating to altitude. Sits in Genesee Park, so there are hiking trails all around. Evergreen is next exit west with all kinds of convenient shopping and dining. Showers are a quarter every two minutes. No change machine nor ATM. Bathroom was always clean and well stocked.
Was desperate to find "something" after driving 11 hours that day, and normal paid camp grounds were full. HOWEVER I was pulling a smaller trailer, and that turned out to be a real issue. The hill getting to the site should not be a problem for any 2wd car/truck, but with the extra weight of the trailer it was definitely sketchy getting there, then once we got to the "parking lot" there was no place to turn around a trailer. I ended up backing up at least 1/8 of a mile to find a safe space to turn around.... so don't try to bring a trailer here, not even a teardrop camper.
We found a level place to park for the night at this location, and pulled out 1st thing in the morning.
Not trying to say there is anything wrong with the spot, but stay away with campers/trailers, and use it for tents only.
We called in the early evening, booked over the phone, & had a map with directions to our site waiting for us. The site was easily accessible & the restrooms were clean & well stocked. It’s close to the interstate, but just fine for one night.
This campsite has a well established fire pit with a rock ring and an established tent pad. Very good views. Site has some exposure. Tent pad has four pines around it.
This was my first backpacking experience and I couldn't recommend it more for first timers. There is a designated pad for your tent, a bear locker and even an outhouse all nearby. My wife and I stayed at site K and it was beautiful.
As usual this was a great place to camp. Site 1 is the most private but furthest from the bathrooms, Site 2/3 are closest together, Site 3 has the very best flat pad with the table, ring and still room for a 10x10 tent or shade tent area. Sites 1-4 have shade, sites 5-8 do not.
Hosts are friendly and helpful, bathrooms cleanish, stalls in good shape.
Trail #800 is pretty sketchy these days due to excessive water erosion. 3' deep and 8" wide troughs to walk along with so much overgrowth it's hard to navigate.
The trail heading North out of the parking lot is great, well maintained and also has hidden 7 dwarfs along the trail to try and find. We did it four times just to make sure we found all 7.
Closed summer of 2024 due to restoration. Google maps took me the back route to this which has road closures. Went through the main entrance to find more closures.
Stayed for 3 nights. Reviews online made me apprehensive.Thought we would be dealing with a run down camp site and neighbors that we would have to be cautious around, this was not the case. It has electrical hook ups, spots for you to fill your water tank, and an area to dump your tanks. We didn’t partake in the fishing but saw a few people pull out some nice trout.
We drove up around 8/9pm from Boulder. Most camps spots were already taken (1-8 sites only..) but we made our own site / shared with campsite #2. Roads are rough. Some loud campers nearby but we had fun.
Beautiful views and campfire spots!
Clear Creek RV park is a must! The location to downtown Golden, the friendly staff who will help you in any way, and the views are all incredible! Spots feel close but not on top of each other.
Road is rough, as discussed in other comments. Make sure you have good clearance or you will bottom out.
Honestly, beautiful day for camping. Got really windy at night. Definitely need a high clearance vehicle. I saw a low clearance vehicle at site 6 & no idea how they got there.. they had to have gotten scraped up. Going up past site 6 is a steep hill where 4x4 is highly recommended. We ended up turning around there but probably could have made it if I picked a good line. Campsites looked clean and maintained. Will be back to try getting past campsite 6 again :)
Camping near Watkins, Colorado, offers a mix of beautiful scenery and outdoor activities. Whether you're looking for a peaceful retreat or a fun family adventure, there are plenty of campgrounds to choose from.
Camping near Watkins, Colorado, has something for everyone, from families to RV enthusiasts. Just remember to check the specific campground details to make the most of your trip!
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Watkins, CO?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Watkins, CO is Winiger Ridge at Gross Reservoir with a 3.9-star rating from 20 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Watkins, CO?
TheDyrt.com has all 20 tent camping locations near Watkins, CO, with real photos and reviews from campers.
