Colorado RV Camping: Every Spot We’ve Stayed, by Region
We camped at eleven places in Colorado in our first year with the Brinkley, and the cheapest nights by far were on federal land. Penitente Canyon, a BLM campground in the San Luis Valley, came to $7.50 a night with my Access Pass, which is a lot less than any state park we stayed in.
I’ve lived in Colorado for more than 50 years, and the trailer keeps showing me corners of it I’d never seen. So here’s every Colorado stop from our first year, sorted by region. The full list, with what we paid, is at the bottom.
Where can you RV camp in Colorado’s high country?
Our very first campground in the Brinkley was Sugarloaf, outside Leadville, for four nights in September 2025 (it’s in Episode 1). Erin hopped out to scout it and came back with the best news a brand new trailer owner can hear: a pull-through. Rindo got caught in a thunderstorm on her first solo walk, and that night we watched football by the fire.
Leadville sits above 10,000 feet near Mount Elbert, the highest peak in Colorado, and the local tourism office calls it the highest incorporated city in North America. The Mineral Belt Trail is an 11.6-mile paved loop around town, with about six miles running through the old mining district.
Heaton Bay was one night that same month, on the shore of Dillon Reservoir between Frisco and Dillon at about 9,000 feet. It’s a beautiful spot and a cool campground, and I liked it a lot, even with the water in the reservoir running really low. The bike trail around Lake Dillon is epic, especially in the fall. I’ve never seen anything as cool anywhere.
It doesn’t have much shade (pine beetles and hazard tree removal took care of that), but the sites look out over the water and the mountains. Some sites have electric for an extra fee, and swimming in the reservoir isn’t allowed.
Where can you camp with an RV near Grand Junction?
Rabbit Valley, out by the Utah line, is one of our favorite landscapes. It’s part of McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area, which is BLM land, and we spent five nights there in September 2025. There’s no shore power, so we experimented, and the solar controller started beeping at us at 5 a.m. on a 40-degree morning. We went back for one more night in September 2026.
The Trail Through Time is a 1.5-mile loop at a working fossil quarry, and the Kokopelli trail runs 142 miles from there to Moab. Since February 2023, camping in Rabbit Valley has been in developed campgrounds you reserve on Recreation.gov, with a limit of 7 nights per month.
For hookups in Grand Junction we stayed at Camp Eddy, a private RV park right on the Colorado River. We had a 50-amp pull-through for two nights in September 2026, and Erin wrote one of her Erin’s Corner notes there. It has full hookups and an on-site dog park, and the Las Colonias Amphitheater is about a half-mile walk along the river.
Which southwest Colorado state parks work for RVs?
Navajo and Mancos were back-to-back stops on our late-summer 2026 filming trip. One had full hookups and the other had none.
Navajo State Park sits on a 15,000-surface-acre reservoir that stretches about 20 miles south into New Mexico. We had full hookups in the Rosa loop for three nights at the end of August, which worked out to $44.65 a night. Heads up if you go late in the season: from mid-September to mid-April the camper services buildings close.
Mancos is small. The main campground has 23 sites in a ponderosa pine forest, with no electric hookups at the campsites and no showers. Our basic site cost $66 for three nights, so $22 a night was the cheapest state park night we’ve had in Colorado. Mesa Verde National Park is nearby, and the park’s west side closes to vehicles from November 1 to March 31.
Mancos is also where our main generator got wet in the rain and quit. We were camped under the trees, so solar couldn’t carry us, and I drove to the Walmart in Cortez for a second generator ($575.03). The next day the first one started working again.
Is there cheap BLM camping in Colorado?
Yes, and these two were among our three cheapest stays of the year. Penitente Canyon, in the San Luis Valley, cost $30 for four nights with the half-price discount from my Access Pass. That’s $7.50 a night, our cheapest paid stay anywhere. If I had to pick one Colorado stop to go back to first, it’s this one. It’s one of my favorites.
The campground sits at about 7,930 feet among volcanic rock walls, and the canyon has nearly 300 climbing routes. A painting of the Virgin of Guadalupe sits high on one wall. Drinking water runs May to October, but the BLM says to bring your own in case the well is out.
Sand Gulch Campground, on Shelf Road north of Cañon City, was $48 for four nights with the same discount. It was our last camp before Erin’s spinal fusion surgery, and she wrote about it in Erin’s Corner. Shelf Road has nearly 1,000 mostly bolted sport climbing routes on pocketed limestone. There’s no drinking water and no hookups, and you pack out your own trash.
Where can you RV camp in southern Colorado and Colorado Springs?
Lathrop State Park near Walsenburg was night one of our first big trip, Colorado to Austin, in October 2025. It’s Colorado’s first state park (opened in 1962), and it was just us and one other trailer in the whole place. The sky went pink over the Spanish Peaks at sunset, and we rode the e-bikes around the entire perimeter. Rindo gave it 10 out of 10 for room to run. Setup took us 37 minutes. We’re coming back with the yoga mats.
Trinidad Lake was the last stop on our drive home from Austin in March 2026, three nights in the Carpios Ridge campground. Carpios Ridge has electric at every site and part of it stays open all year, which is handy when you’re rolling back into Colorado before spring really shows up. Colorado Parks and Wildlife says the K-T boundary, the line between the Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras, is exposed in the park.
Garden of the Gods RV Resort in Colorado Springs was three nights over Memorial Day week 2026. Our son was coaching swimming at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs for a month, so we met up with him and toured Garden of the Gods on e-bikes together. It was really fun. The resort is a private campground with two swimming pools and an off-leash dog area. Garden of the Gods Park itself is a free city park and a National Natural Landmark with more than 22 miles of trails.
Do you need a pass for Colorado state parks?
Yes. Your camping fee doesn’t include entry, and every vehicle needs a park pass. The cheapest way in for Colorado residents is the Keep Colorado Wild Pass, a $29 add-on when you register your vehicle, and it covers that vehicle and everyone in it for the year. We have it on our vehicles, both trucks included. Without it, a day pass for Colorado plates is $10, and since May 2026 out-of-state plates pay $15 or more.
Our 10 state park nights would have run about $100 in day passes, so the $29 pass covered itself by about the third day. The full comparison with Texas is in our state park pass breakdown.
Every Colorado stop and what we paid
That’s 33 nights in our home state (34 if you count a second, one-night visit to Rabbit Valley). Every stop also has its own page on the travel map.
| Where | Region | Type | When | Nights | We paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leadville (Sugarloaf campground) | High country | Campground | Sep 2025 | 4 | $201.72 |
| Heaton Bay Campground | High country | National forest campground | Sep 2025 | 1 | About $30 |
| McInnis Canyons (Rabbit Valley) | Western Slope | BLM land | Sep 2025 | 5 | $116.00 |
| Camp Eddy | Western Slope | Private RV park | Sep 2026 | 2 | $155.14 |
| Navajo State Park | Southwest corner | State park | Aug 2026 | 3 | $133.95 |
| Mancos State Park | Southwest corner | State park | Sep 2026 | 3 | $66.00 |
| Penitente Canyon | San Luis Valley | BLM land | Aug 2026 | 4 | $30.00 |
| Sand Gulch Campground | Shelf Road | BLM campground | Sep 2026 | 4 | $48.00 |
| Garden of the Gods RV Resort | Front Range | Private RV resort | May 2026 | 3 | $312.01 |
| Lathrop State Park | Southern Colorado | State park | Oct 2025 | 1 | $38.84 |
| Trinidad Lake State Park | Southern Colorado | State park | Mar 2026 | 3 | $127.15 |
Questions people ask
What’s the cheapest way to RV camp in Colorado?
For us it was federal land. With my Access Pass taking half off, Penitente Canyon came to $7.50 a night and Sand Gulch to $12 a night. The Access Pass doesn’t work at state parks, where our nights averaged $36.59.
Do Colorado state parks charge an entrance fee on top of camping?
Yes. Every vehicle needs a valid park pass in addition to the campsite fee. A daily pass is $10 for Colorado plates and $15 or more for out-of-state plates. Colorado residents can add the $29 Keep Colorado Wild Pass when they register their vehicle.
Which Colorado state parks are open for RV camping in winter?
Part of the Carpios Ridge campground at Trinidad Lake stays open all year. Mancos is open year-round, but its west side closes to vehicles from November 1 to March 31. At Navajo the camper services buildings close from mid-September to mid-April, so check each park before a cold-season trip.
Do you need a reservation to camp in Rabbit Valley?
Yes. Since February 2023, overnight camping in Rabbit Valley has been in developed campgrounds reserved through Recreation.gov. Camping in McInnis Canyons is limited to 7 nights per month.
See you down the road,
Matt