Camp at 10,000 Feet
Camping & Public Lands Near Leadville
Lakeside campsites, high-country forests, fourteener basecamps, RV parks, and public lands beneath Colorado's highest peaks.
Find Your Basecamp
Camping Around Leadville
Leadville sits at more than 10,000 feet and is surrounded by National Forest, mountain lakes, trailheads, and some of the highest peaks in Colorado.
The easiest place to start is Turquoise Lake, just west of town. Several Forest Service campgrounds ring the lake, putting boating, fishing, hiking, and mountain biking right outside your campsite.
Head south toward Halfmoon Creek for access to Mount Elbert and Mount Massive, or continue toward Twin Lakes for big views, reservoir camping, fishing, paddling, and access toward Independence Pass.
If you'd rather have hot showers, RV hookups, or easier access to town, Leadville also has a couple of private campgrounds that make a good middle ground between camping and a hotel.
Choose Your Campsite
What Kind of Camping Are You Looking For?
Leadville has a surprisingly wide range of options, from developed lake campgrounds to primitive high-country sites.
Camp Beside a Lake
Turquoise Lake and Twin Lakes offer some of the area's best developed camping, with boating, paddling, fishing, trails, and mountain views right outside camp.
Best for: families, fishing, paddling, lake days, tents, vans, and small RVs.
Camp Near the Fourteeners
Halfmoon Creek puts you near the primary trailheads for Mount Elbert and Mount Massive, along with the Colorado Trail and Mount Massive Wilderness.
Best for: hikers, climbers, early starts, backpackers, and mountain-focused trips.
Camp With More Amenities
Private campgrounds near Leadville offer options such as RV hookups, showers, laundry, stores, Wi-Fi, and tent sites without giving up access to the surrounding mountains.
Best for: RVs, families, longer stays, road trips, and travelers who still want a hot shower.
Just West of Town
Camping at Turquoise Lake
Turquoise Lake is the obvious place to start if you're looking for developed camping close to Leadville. The large reservoir sits just west of town beneath Mount Massive and is surrounded by Forest Service campgrounds.
Boating, paddling, fishing, hiking, biking, swimming, and scenic drives are all right here, while downtown Leadville remains close enough for groceries, dinner, or forgotten gear.
Baby Doe Campground
Baby Doe sits on the eastern shore of Turquoise Lake among lodgepole pine and subalpine fir. Several sites are close to the water, making it especially appealing if lake access is your priority.
The campground has picnic tables, fire rings, vault toilets, and easy access to fishing, boating, hiking, and the lake.
Good for: families, fishing, paddling, lake access, tents, and a classic Forest Service campground.
Molly Brown Campground
Molly Brown also sits along the eastern side of Turquoise Lake, surrounded by shaded lodgepole pine forest.
A short nature trail connects into the longer Turquoise Lake Trail, which follows the shoreline toward the western end of the lake.
It's named for Leadville's famous Margaret "Molly" Brown, whose family made its fortune during the local mining boom.
Good for: hiking, fishing, lake access, families, and combining camping with Leadville history.
Silver Dollar Campground
Silver Dollar sits in the forest near the eastern shore of Turquoise Lake at roughly 10,000 feet.
The sites are slightly removed from the immediate shoreline but still within easy walking distance of the lake.
Good for: tents, smaller RVs, hiking, fishing, families, and campers who want trees rather than an exposed lakeside site.
May Queen Campground
May Queen sits at the far western end of Turquoise Lake in thick lodgepole pine forest, farther from Leadville than the campgrounds near the dam.
The location feels more tucked into the mountains and puts you near the Holy Cross and Mount Massive wilderness areas, the lake trail, fishing, and the western end of the reservoir.
Good for: quieter lake camping, hiking, fishing, mountain scenery, and getting farther from town.
Worth Knowing
There Are More Turquoise Lake Campgrounds
Baby Doe, Molly Brown, Silver Dollar, and May Queen are only part of the camping around the reservoir.
Other developed options include Belle of Colorado, Father Dyer, Matchless, and additional sites around the lake recreation area.
Individual campgrounds can have different operating seasons, reservation systems, water availability, and RV limits, so check current Forest Service or Recreation.gov information before choosing a specific site.
Want a Shower?
Full-Service Camping Near Leadville
Forest Service camping is beautiful, but sometimes a shower, electrical hookup, laundry room, or easy resupply makes the trip a lot easier.
Near Turquoise Lake
Sugar Loafin' Campground
Sugar Loafin' is a family-run private campground just outside Leadville and about a mile from Turquoise Lake.
Unlike the nearby Forest Service campgrounds, it offers full-hookup and water-and-electric RV sites along with separate tent camping under the pines.
Campground amenities include hot showers, restrooms, laundry, a store, playground, recreation room, and picnic tables and fire rings at the sites.
It's a strong option if you want to spend your days hiking, fishing, or exploring the lake but don't want to give up campground services.
Good for: RVs, tents, families, dogs, larger rigs, longer stays, showers, and Turquoise Lake access.
Leadville RV Corral
Leadville RV Corral takes the opposite approach to wilderness camping. It's right in town, just off Harrison Avenue.
The park offers full-service RV sites along with a small number of tent sites, restrooms, showers, Wi-Fi, and easy walking access to downtown Leadville.
You won't get the forest setting of Turquoise Lake, but you can park the rig and walk to restaurants, shops, museums, and bars.
Good for: RV travelers, downtown access, longer road trips, race weekends, and travelers who want campground services within walking distance of town.
Private or Public?
If the campsite itself is the destination, the Forest Service campgrounds around Turquoise Lake are hard to beat.
If you're traveling in a larger RV, need hookups, want reliable showers, or plan to stay for more than a couple nights, a private campground may be worth the extra cost.
Fourteener Basecamp
Camping Along Halfmoon Creek
Halfmoon Road heads west from Highway 24 into the mountains between Mount Elbert and Mount Massive.
This is serious trailhead country. The corridor provides access to both fourteeners, the Colorado Trail, Mount Massive Wilderness, and miles of high-country hiking.
It's a particularly useful place to camp if you want an early start without driving from town before sunrise.
Halfmoon East Campground
Halfmoon East is a tiny, first-come, first-served Forest Service campground at about 9,900 feet.
There are only five sites, with picnic tables, fire rings, and vault toilets. Its biggest advantage is location: Mount Elbert and Mount Massive trailheads are nearby.
Because there are so few sites and this is one of Colorado's busiest fourteener corridors, don't arrive on a summer weekend assuming you'll find an empty campsite.
Good for: hikers, fourteeners, early starts, tents, small camping setups, and simple stays.
Primitive Camping in the Halfmoon Area
Primitive camping exists on National Forest lands around Leadville, but this is a heavily used area and the rules are stricter than simply finding an old fire ring.
Stay on legal roads and use existing or designated sites. Don't drive into vegetation or create a new campsite simply because a flat spot looks usable.
Trailhead corridors can also fill very early during summer, so have a backup campground or another legal camping area in mind before heading up the road.
South of Leadville
Camping Around Twin Lakes
About 20 miles south of Leadville, Twin Lakes opens up another major camping area beneath Mount Elbert and the Collegiate Peaks.
This is an especially good base if your trip includes Independence Pass, Mount Elbert, fishing, paddling, the Continental Divide Trail, or exploring the historic village of Twin Lakes.
White Star Campground
White Star sits on the north side of Twin Lakes beneath Mount Elbert among ponderosa pine, spruce, and open mountain views.
A boat ramp and fishing access are nearby, and the Continental Divide Trail and Mount Elbert trails make this an excellent base for hikers.
Good for: fishing, boating, Mount Elbert, families, hiking, and Twin Lakes trips.
Lakeview Campground
Lakeview sits above Twin Lakes at roughly 9,500 feet, so the appeal here is as much the view as the reservoir itself.
The campground lies between the Mount Elbert Forebay and Twin Lakes with access to hiking, biking, fishing, boating, and the Continental Divide Trail.
Good for: mountain views, hiking, fishing, biking, and exploring both Twin Lakes and Leadville.
Twin Peaks Campground
Twin Peaks sits west of the reservoirs above Lake Creek in a shaded aspen and lodgepole pine forest.
At roughly 9,600 feet, it feels more like mountain forest camping than lakeshore camping. The campground is first come, first served.
Good for: tents, forest camping, hiking, Independence Pass trips, and cooler summer nights.
Beyond the Campgrounds
Dispersed Camping on National Forest Land
Much of the land surrounding Leadville is National Forest, but public land doesn't automatically mean you can camp anywhere you can park.
The Leadville Ranger District has rules protecting lakes, streams, trailheads, vegetation, and heavily used recreation corridors. Some places require camping in established or designated sites.
Use a current Motor Vehicle Use Map or reliable land-ownership map, stay on legal roads, and pay attention to signs on the ground. An old campsite shown on an app is not proof that camping is still allowed there.
Know Before You Go
Camping Rules That Matter Around Leadville
High elevation, heavy use, wildfire risk, and fragile alpine landscapes make a little planning especially important here.
Stay Away From Water Unless It's a Legal Site
Current Forest Service rules prohibit camping within 100 feet of lakes, rivers, streams, and other bodies of water unless you're in a developed recreation site or designated dispersed campsite.
There Is a 14-Day Limit
National Forest camping in the Leadville Ranger District is limited to 14 days within the same 20-mile radius during a continuous 30-day period.
Check Fire Restrictions
Fire restrictions can change quickly during dry weather. Never assume a campfire is legal simply because a site has an existing fire ring.
Bring Water
Water availability at high-country campgrounds can change during the season. Some campgrounds may have no potable water at all.
Don't build your trip around a campground spigot. Bring enough drinking water for camp and a backup plan.
Expect Cold Nights
Most camping around Leadville is between about 9,000 and 10,000 feet. Nights can be cold even in midsummer, and freezing temperatures are possible well outside winter.
Afternoon Storms Matter
Summer thunderstorms develop quickly in the high country. If you're hiking above treeline, start early and plan to be back below exposed ridges before storms build.
Store Food Carefully
Bears and other wildlife live throughout the surrounding forests. Secure food, trash, coolers, dog food, and scented items when you're away from camp.
Download Maps Before Leaving Town
Cell service can disappear quickly around Halfmoon Creek, the far side of Turquoise Lake, Twin Lakes, and mountain trailheads.
Have a Backup Plan
Summer weekends, race weekends, and good-weather periods can fill campgrounds quickly. First-come sites around popular trailheads are especially unpredictable.
Camp High
This Is What Leadville Does Best
Leadville might have the strongest camping options of any town in the Arkansas River Valley.
Turquoise Lake is minutes from downtown. Mount Elbert and Mount Massive rise directly to the west. Twin Lakes is just down the valley. Trails, fishing water, high passes, and National Forest stretch in almost every direction.
You can wake up beside a mountain lake, spend the day above treeline, and still make it back to Leadville for dinner before dark.
Keep Planning
More Places to Stay Around Leadville
Hotels & Lodging
Find historic hotels, modern motels, guesthouses, hostels, and other places to stay in Leadville.
Cabins & Unique Stays
Explore cabins, mountain lodges, Twin Lakes stays, historic properties, and other alternatives to camping.
Explore Leadville
Find hiking, biking, fishing, skiing, scenic drives, history, lakes, restaurants, and more things to do.