Established campgrounds that welcome vehicle-based travelers, from public campgrounds on the way to somewhere to private camps worth a stay of their own.
Camp Bird Road, Ouray, Colorado
We’re working on adding the latest campgrounds in Colorado here.
In the meantime, BLM campgrounds are already on the public land map, with the fees and stay limits the agency publishes and a link to each one.
From 7 inches in the San Luis Valley to over 60 inches in a few mountain locations. Wolf Creek Pass averages close to 400 inches of snow
Acres in the Weminuche, the largest wilderness in Colorado 47
499,771
Three quarters the size of Rhode Island by the Forest Service’s comparison, and closed to every vehicle and bicycle
Camping on public land in Colorado
Dispersed camping is allowed across most BLM and national forest land here, with stay limits that change by office. BLM Colorado allows 14 days in any 30-day period at one location, then a move of at least 30 air miles. The White River National Forest allows 14 days in 30 and then at least 20 miles, with 7-day limits in some areas. The San Juan allows 16 days and then at least 5 road miles.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife runs 43 state parks for nights when you want a marked site. State trust land is not an option: it is closed to the public unless a parcel is leased for recreation.
Developed campgrounds have numbered sites, toilets, often water, usually a fee and sometimes reservations. They are the easy night on the way to somewhere.
Dispersed camping means no facilities and no fee. It is allowed on much Bureau of Land Management and National Forest land, within local rules on where you can pull off, how long you can stay and whether you can have a fire.
Private campgrounds and ranch stays add showers, laundry and hookups: the reset day in the middle of a long trip.
How to find a good one
The managing agency's own page is the only source for current status.
01Check the agency page for closures, fire restrictions and water before you drive in.
02Check the stay limit. Many public lands use fourteen days within a set period, but it varies by office.
03Check vehicle length limits and the condition of the access road.
04Arrive before dark, and have a second option.
Camp so it stays open
Most closures of dispersed areas follow the same pattern of trash, new fire rings and driving off the track.
01Use sites that already exist rather than making new ones.
02Pack out everything, including human waste where it is required.
03Have fires only where and when they are allowed, and drown them.
04Leave gates as you found them.
Questions people ask
Is dispersed camping legal?
On much BLM and National Forest land, yes, within local rules on where you can pull off, how long you can stay and whether fires are allowed. Rules are set by the local office and change with conditions, so check before you go. The public land map shows who manages the ground.
How long can I stay?
Many public lands use a 14-day limit within a set period, but it varies by office and by area. The campground details on the public land map show the stay limit the BLM publishes for each site.
Do I need a reservation?
For popular developed campgrounds in season, often. Many public campgrounds are first come, first served. Recreation.gov handles reservations for most federal campgrounds that take them.
How high is Colorado?
From Grand Junction at 4,591 feet to Mount Elbert at 14,433.
Altitude decides what your engine, your brakes and your lungs have to work with, and how late in the year the passes open.
4,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,000
Feet above sea level
Towns
LeadvilleThe city calls itself the highest incorporated city in the United States. Hagerman Pass starts here and Mosquito Pass drops in from the east.10,152 ft
SilvertonSouth end of the Million Dollar Highway. Alpine Loop access on County Road 2; Ophir Pass leaves US 550 just north of town.9,318 ft
Crested ButteAt the upper end of Highway 135, on the West Elk Loop byway.8,885 ft
TellurideAt the head of a box canyon. West end of Imogene Pass and the bottom of the one-way descent from Black Bear Pass.8,789 ft
Lake CityOn Highway 149 about 55 miles south of Gunnison. Eastern gateway to the Alpine Loop.8,671 ft
Buena VistaOn US 24 below the Collegiate Peaks. The road to St. Elmo and Tincup Pass leaves the valley at Nathrop, just to the south.7,960 ft
OurayNorth end of the Million Dollar Highway. Alpine Loop access on County Road 18, and the Ouray end of Imogene Pass.7,786 ft
GunnisonOn US 50 at the start of Highway 135 to Crested Butte. Highway 149 to Lake City leaves US 50 to the west.7,703 ft
SalidaOn US 50 beside the Arkansas River, east of Monarch Pass.7,084 ft
Steamboat SpringsOn US 40 in the Yampa Valley. The Colorado Backcountry Discovery Route passes through on its way to Wyoming.6,731 ft
DurangoWhere US 160 meets US 550 on the San Juan Skyway. US 550 climbs north from here to Silverton and Ouray.6,534 ft
Colorado SpringsOn I-25 at the foot of Pikes Peak, where US 24 heads west into the mountains.6,035 ft
MontroseWhere US 50 meets US 550. East end of the Rimrocker Trail and the gateway to Black Canyon of the Gunnison.5,809 ft
DenverState capital where I-25 meets I-70. The I-70 mountain corridor starts just west at Morrison.5,280 ft
Fort CollinsNorthern Front Range. East end of the Cache la Poudre byway up Poudre Canyon and over Cameron Pass.5,004 ft
Grand JunctionOn I-70 in far western Colorado, about 250 miles west of Denver. Kokopelli’s Trail starts at Loma, just to the west.4,591 ft
Passes, high roads and summits
Mount ElbertThe highest point in Colorado. No road to the top14,433 ft
Mount Blue Sky Scenic BywayIdaho Springs to the top of Mount Blue Sky14,130 ft
Mosquito PassAlma and Fairplay to Leadville13,182 ft
Imogene PassTelluride and Ouray13,114 ft
Black Bear PassUS 550 at Red Mountain Pass, down to Telluride12,840 ft
Engineer PassAlpine Loop Back Country Byway: Lake City, Silverton and Ouray12,800 ft
Cinnamon PassAlpine Loop, between Lake City and Animas Forks12,620 ft
Rollins PassWinter Park east to the Continental Divide. The Needle’s Eye Tunnel has collapsed, so it is no longer a through route by vehicle12,233 ft
Trail Ridge RoadEstes Park to Grand Lake12,183 ft
Courthouse MountainThe monolith above the Owl Creek Pass road, on the Cimarron Ridge12,152 ft
Webster PassMontezuma, in Summit County, south over the Divide toward Handcart Gulch12,098 ft
Independence PassCO 82 between Twin Lakes and Aspen on the Top of the Rockies byway. Paved, closed all winter, and shut to vehicles 35 feet or longer12,095 ft
Hagerman PassLeadville to Basalt, by Ruedi Reservoir11,925 ft
Ophir PassUS 550 north of Silverton to Ophir11,814 ft
Chimney RockThe other landmark of the Cimarron Ridge, seen from the same drive11,781 ft
Boreas PassBreckenridge to Como, over the Continental Divide11,488 ft
Cameron PassWhere the Cache la Poudre to North Park byway crosses out of the Poudre canyon beside State Forest State Park10,276 ft
Owl Creek Pass RoadThe Cimarron Ridge country, on the Ouray Ranger District of the Uncompahgre National Forest10,114 ft
Medano Pass Primitive RoadGreat Sand Dunes to the Wet Mountain Valley and Highway 6910,040 ft
Last Dollar RoadRidgway and Telluride, west of CO 62 and CO 14510,000 ft
Pass, road and summit elevations are the figures published by the agency that manages them. Town elevations are the town’s or county’s own
figure where it publishes an exact one; the rest are from the U.S. Geological Survey (3D Elevation Program at the place’s official coordinates),
retrieved September 18, 2026. Every source is listed at the foot of the page.
