Camp in Canyon Country
Camping & Public Lands Near Cañon City
Red rock campsites, Arkansas River camping, climbing basecamps, quiet city-owned parks, BLM land, and full-hookup RV sites.
Find Your Basecamp
Camping Around Cañon City
Camping around Cañon City feels completely different from camping farther upstream near Buena Vista or Leadville. Instead of high alpine forests, much of the landscape here is piñon and juniper, limestone cliffs, red rock, dry canyons, and open foothills.
You can camp in a primitive city park for free, stay beneath the climbing walls at Shelf Road, find a site along the Arkansas River, or use a full-hookup RV park as a comfortable base for exploring.
The lower elevation also gives this part of the valley a much longer camping season. Spring and fall can be especially good, and mild stretches of winter are often comfortable for camping at lower elevations.
Choose Your Campsite
What Kind of Camping Are You Looking For?
Cañon City has everything from free primitive sites to developed RV camping with full hookups.
Primitive Canyon Camping
City-owned Red Canyon and Temple Canyon parks offer simple campsites with vault toilets, fire rings, and very few other amenities.
Best for: tents, vans, quiet weekends, hiking, dogs, and campers who don't need hookups or water.
Camp on Public Land
BLM lands north of town include established campgrounds at Shelf Road, while the Arkansas River corridor farther west has both developed and primitive camping opportunities.
Best for: climbing, hiking, mountain biking, river trips, fishing, and simple camping.
Bring the RV
If you need full hookups, showers, Wi-Fi, or space for a larger rig, there are developed RV options around Cañon City and neighboring Penrose.
Best for: RVs, long road trips, larger rigs, families, and longer stays.
A Cañon City Secret
Camping in City-Owned Mountain Parks
One of the more unusual things about camping here is that the City of Cañon City owns several large parks outside the developed city limits where overnight camping is allowed.
These are not manicured urban parks. They're large, primitive open-space areas in the surrounding foothills.
Red Canyon Park
Red Canyon Park protects roughly 640 acres of striking red sandstone formations north of Cañon City.
Four primitive camping areas are scattered through the park. Sites have vault toilets, steel fire rings, and some picnic tables, but there is no running water or electricity.
Camping is currently free and the park is open year-round. The city limits overnight stays to 72 hours once every two weeks unless an extension is approved.
Good for: tents, vans, red rock scenery, hiking, quiet camps, and shoulder-season trips.
Temple Canyon Park
Temple Canyon is one of the most interesting primitive camping options near town.
The 600-acre city park sits southwest of Cañon City along Grape Creek and contains two dispersed camping areas separated enough to give the area a genuinely quiet feel.
Campground amenities are minimal: vault toilets, fire rings, some picnic tables, and no water.
From camp you can explore the Temple Canyon trail, Grape Creek, and the narrow canyon around the natural rock formation known as The Temple.
Camping is currently free and available year-round.
Good for: hiking, exploring Grape Creek, tents, vans, dogs, solitude, and primitive camping.
East Ridge Campground
East Ridge is another City of Cañon City campground, this one on the open ridge west of town.
Unlike Red Canyon and Temple Canyon, East Ridge has numbered designated campsites and charges a nightly fee. The setting is open and exposed, with broad views across the foothills and toward Cañon City.
Reservations are available during the main season, while winter camping shifts to first come, first served.
Good for: vans, tents, simple camping, views, mountain biking, hiking, and cooler nights above the valley floor.
Come Prepared
Free Camping Doesn't Mean Full-Service Camping
Red Canyon and Temple Canyon are best treated as primitive public-land camps rather than traditional campgrounds.
Bring your own drinking water, food, firewood when fires are permitted, and everything else you expect to need. There are no hookups, showers, stores, or campground hosts.
The tradeoff is a quieter camping experience surprisingly close to town.
North of Town
Camping at Shelf Road
Shelf Road is best known as one of Colorado's major sport climbing areas, but you don't have to be a climber to camp here.
The limestone cliffs, piñon-juniper landscape, trails, mountain biking, and old mining roads make this an interesting public-land basecamp even if you never clip into a rope.
Sand Gulch Campground
Sand Gulch is a developed BLM campground about 14 miles north of Cañon City in the Shelf Road Recreation Area.
It has 29 individual campsites plus two group sites, along with vault toilets, picnic tables, and metal fire rings.
There is no drinking water, electricity, or trash service, so bring water and plan to pack out your trash.
Many sites work well for tents and vans, while a few pull-through sites can handle larger camping setups.
Good for: climbing, hiking, mountain biking, vans, tents, and primitive-feeling camping with a defined campsite.
The Bank Campground
The Bank sits higher above Shelf Road at roughly 6,900 feet and has 33 campsites surrounded by some of the area's best-known climbing walls.
The setting is excellent, but access is more difficult than Sand Gulch. The final dirt road is rough and steep, and BLM does not recommend it for large RVs or travel trailers.
For tents, vans, smaller vehicles, and climbers, the campground gives you immediate access to trails, cliffs, and open public lands.
Good for: climbing, tents, vans, smaller vehicles, hiking, dark skies, and getting farther away from town.
Follow the River West
Arkansas River Camping
There are no developed AHRA campgrounds between Parkdale and Cañon City itself, so don't expect to find a string of riverside campsites immediately outside downtown.
Continue west on Highway 50, however, and camping begins opening up along the Arkansas River.
The closest developed option in that direction is Five Points, while primitive AHRA camping is available at selected river access areas including Texas Creek and other designated locations.
Five Points Campground
Five Points is a developed Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area campground along Highway 50 west of Cañon City.
It has 20 basic campsites with picnic tables, grills, tent pads, vault toilets, potable water, and direct access to the Arkansas River.
It's especially useful if fishing and river access matter more than staying close to downtown.
Good for: fishing, paddling, river access, tents, and travelers following Highway 50.
Primitive Arkansas River Camping
AHRA also allows camping at selected primitive sites farther west along the Arkansas River, including areas around Texas Creek and other marked recreation sites.
These sites have no campground services. AHRA requires dispersed campers to bring a portable toilet system, and fires must be contained in a portable fire container when fires are permitted.
Rock fire rings are not allowed.
Need Hookups?
Full-Service RV Camping
If you're traveling in a larger RV or simply want electricity, water, showers, Wi-Fi, and an easier setup, there are a couple of straightforward options east of the primitive canyon campgrounds.
Phantom Canyon RV Ranch & Campground
Phantom Canyon RV Ranch sits in Penrose east of Cañon City on a quiet property with wide views across the lower Arkansas River Valley.
All 40 RV sites have full hookups and 50-amp power, with large sites designed to accommodate bigger rigs.
The campground also offers separate primitive tent camping, bathrooms and showers, Wi-Fi, and pet-friendly stays. Horse camping can be arranged directly with the property.
Good for: big rigs, full hookups, tents, dogs, horse camping, longer stays, and travelers who want more room around their RV.
Love's RV Stop
Love's RV Stop on the east side of Cañon City is less about wilderness camping and more about convenience.
The large RV facility has more than 120 pull-through and back-in RV spaces, making it particularly useful for large rigs, overnight stops, and road trips.
The adjacent travel stop provides fuel, propane, showers, laundry, a dog park, food, and other services.
You won't get a secluded mountain campground, but it's hard to beat if you need an easy arrival, full RV infrastructure, and immediate Highway 50 access.
Good for: large RVs, overnight stops, road trips, fuel and resupply, dogs, and easy highway access.
Know Before You Go
Camping Rules That Matter Around Cañon City
Land ownership changes quickly around Cañon City, so the rules depend on exactly where you're camping.
Check Fire Restrictions
The lower Arkansas Valley can become extremely dry. Fire restrictions may prohibit campfires even where an established steel fire ring is present.
Always check current restrictions before lighting a fire.
Bring Water
Red Canyon, Temple Canyon, Sand Gulch, The Bank, and many primitive public-land camps do not provide drinking water.
Bring enough water for drinking, cooking, cleaning, dogs, and emergencies.
Know Who Manages Your Campsite
Camping areas around Cañon City may be managed by the city, BLM, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, or another public agency.
Don't assume the rules from one campground apply at the next one.
Pack Out Your Trash
Many public camps have no trash service. Bring bags and plan to carry everything back out rather than leaving trash beside a full fire ring or vault toilet.
Don't Create New Sites
Use numbered campsites, designated camping areas, or established legal primitive sites.
Driving onto undisturbed vegetation and building new fire rings creates damage that lasts long after your trip.
The Heat Is Different Here
Cañon City is substantially lower than Buena Vista and Leadville. Summer afternoons can be hot, especially at exposed campsites with little shade.
In midsummer, look for shade and plan strenuous activities for morning or evening.
Wind Can Be a Bigger Problem Than Cold
Open ridges and canyon camps can get very windy. Secure tents, awnings, chairs, and other loose gear before leaving camp.
Download Maps Ahead of Time
Cell service can disappear along Shelf Road, Temple Canyon Road, and other back roads. Download maps before leaving town.
Watch the Roads After Storms
Dirt roads into primitive camping areas can change quickly after heavy rain. Washouts, mud, and rough conditions are possible even when the paved roads in town are completely dry.
Camp Downriver
A Longer Camping Season
Cañon City may not have Leadville's alpine lakes or Buena Vista's fourteeners outside your tent, but it has something the upper valley doesn't: a much longer season.
Spring arrives earlier, fall hangs around longer, and many sunny winter days are comfortable enough to hike, ride, climb, and spend time outside.
Add the Arkansas River, Shelf Road, Red Canyon, Temple Canyon, and miles of public land and this becomes one of the more underrated camping areas in the Arkansas River Valley.
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