5 Great Family-friendly Campgrounds in Western Colorado
Get the family out to these scenic destinations and take advantage of these beautiful nearby camping trips.
Molly Brown Campground, Leadville
One of the only campsites along sparkling Turquoise Lake, this beautiful spot is perfect for families. Enjoy calm waters for fishing and boating or stand up paddleboard, along with lovely self-guided nature trails and numerous scenic hiking paths. When the kids get a little bored with the camping experience, head over to nearby Leadville for all sorts of fascinating history and activities, including the Route of the Silver Kings drive, which tours the eerie historic gold mines that made Leadville one of the richest placer gold strikes in all of Colorado.
Chambers Lake, Bellevue
Edging Highway 14 in Bellevue, Chambers Lake is famous for its fishing and canoeing, as well as its diverse trail opportunities and convenient wilderness access. Open from late June to late September, the area offers several established single- and double-family campgrounds, along with a few primitive campsites in strategic areas around the lake. Each established site includes a picnic table and campfire ring. Campers also enjoy access to vault toilets and drinking water along with a playground area for the kids. Elk and moose sightings are common in this area, so keep a watchful eye for wildlife.
Morefield Campground, Mesa Verde National Park
This expansive natural landscape includes hundreds of campsites, enhanced by thoughtful features such as flushable toilets and showers that make it especially ideal for families. Most of the campgrounds include picnic tables and fire pits. There are also a few sites with RV hookups.
Centered amid a meadow, the campground is surrounded by well-maintained hiking trails and diverse wildlife. While you’re there, explore Mesa Verde’s famous cliff dwellings; and, when the kids get tired of roughing it, treat them to an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast at the café in Morefield’s full-service village.
Green Mountain Reservoir, White River National Forest
The White River National Forest offers a wide variety of developed facilities including family and group campgrounds and picnic areas. Most are available on a first-come, first-serve basis for a small fee of around $18 per night.
Each campground provides access to spectacular trails within the national forest, allowing camping families to easily explore the pristine landscape. While camping near Green Mountain Reservoir, you can fish, boat, hike or play along the shoreline. Although the campsites are rustic, you will find stores nearby if you forget any essentials.
Amphitheater Campground – Uncompahgre National Forest near Ouray
Amid the breathtaking San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado, an inviting family-friendly campground lies just off the Million Dollar Highway. Dubbed the Amphitheater Campground, this gorgeous area sits in the heart of some of Colorado’s most dramatic features.
Sitting in a bowl beneath the curving mountainside, each campsite includes fire grates and picnic tables, along with easy access to fresh water and vault toilets. The steep landscape provides spectacular views of jagged terrain and a lush growth of wildflowers, trees and montane-zone shrubs. It’s also moments from Ouray, a small mountain town with great shopping and a public hot spring pool.