Lake Camping in Colorado: 10 Sites With Real Water Access

Colorado calls most of its lakes "lakes" out of politeness. The vast majority are reservoirs — impoundments behind concrete or earth-fill dams built between roughly the 1890s and the 1970s, largely for irrigation, municipal supply, and (later) recreation as a nice tertiary benefit. The true natural lakes are cirque tarns above treeline, one glacial pond that got promoted, and Grand Lake, which is the state's only sizeable natural body of water and now shares a shoreline with two reservoirs it was plumbed into during the Colorado–Big Thompson Project.

I say this not to be a scold but because it changes how you plan a trip. A reservoir has a fluctuating shoreline; drought years leave campgrounds a quarter mile from the water. A natural lake has stable margins and, usually, colder swimming. Both count as lake camping. Neither is a hidden gem.

A note on the word "lake," and what "water access" means

"Real water access" in this roundup means a campground where you can walk from your tent to a shoreline in under ten minutes without crossing a highway. That excludes a surprising number of so-called lakeside campground listings, which turn out to be lakeside in the sense that the lake is visible from a ridge above the loop.

I've stuck to sites I've either used myself or been sent to by people I trust. Most are on Recreation.gov or the Colorado Parks and Wildlife system; a few are first-come, first-served, which is worth its own paragraph later. I've noted the nearest town for each because Colorado geography is deceptive — two campgrounds thirty miles apart on the map can be a three-hour drive if a pass sits between them.

Eastern plains and the Front Range shoulder

Jackson Lake State Park (near Orchard, off I-76). An unlikely pick, and one I'd defend. Jackson is an irrigation reservoir on the South Platte plains, part of the Ute-and-then-Cheyenne-and-Arapaho landscape that was reorganized into farms in the 1880s. The park's facilities were built out mid-century; the swim beach is sandy and warm by mid-June, which no mountain reservoir will ever be. Cottonwoods, meadowlarks, and a lot of pelicans in migration.

Lake Pueblo State Park (near Pueblo, on the Arkansas River). A Bureau of Reclamation dam, closed 1975. Northshore and Juniper Breaks are the two big campgrounds; Juniper Breaks is more exposed and I prefer it in April and October when the temperatures cooperate. The geolgoical story here is worth an afternoon: the Dakota Sandstone hogbacks along the north shore, marine fossils in the cutbanks, and a Pueblo Reservoir shoreline that shifts several vertical feet in a dry year.

Eleven Mile State Park (near Lake George, South Park). Higher, cooler, and one of the better fisheries in the state; the reservoir sits at about 8,600 feet in South Park's grassland basin. Rocky Ridge and North Shore campgrounds have the best water access. Wind is the local villain; pitch accordingly, and see /gear?category=tent if your three-season shelter is a summer weight.

High country: reservoirs, and one honest lake

Turquoise Lake (near Leadville, San Isabel National Forest). Ringed by Forest Service campgrounds — Baby Doe, Molly Brown, Silver Dollar, Belle of Colorado, and Tabor — all named for figures out of the Leadville mining boom that stripped this drainage between 1877 and roughly 1893. The lake is a reservoir enlarged over a natural glacial pond, sitting at 9,900 feet against the Sawatch Range. Cold water. Absurd views west toward Mount Massive. Reserve through Recreation.gov if you want a specific loop.

Blue Mesa Reservoir at Curecanti National Recreation Area (near Gunnison). The largest body of water in Colorado, and the middle of three Gunnison River dams completed between 1965 and 1976; the impoundment drowned ranchland, a rail line, and the old town of Iola along the way. Elk Creek and Lake Fork are the two developed campgrounds with proper shoreline access; both close for winter, but shoulder-season camping (May, late September) is where I'd go. Drought years have done ugly things to the reservoir level; check the NPS site before committing.

Grand Lake and the Arapaho NRA