Agency-listedUSFSFee
Kite Lake
Drive-up · U.S. Forest Service · CO · 39.32868, -106.12872
Ask an AI about this campsiteOpens Grok already loaded with this site. It reads the same records this page is built from, and links whatever it tells you.
Ask about this camp →U.S. Forest Service lists this as a developed campground. Expect marked sites, a fee station or a reservation, and the usual campground rules. The dispersed-camping freedom of the surrounding forest does not apply inside it. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Kite Lake
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 12,023 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Kite LakeNIFC · AirNow
Checking active fires & air quality…
Active wildfires from NIFC (within ~50 mi); air quality from AirNow. Always confirm current fire restrictions with the managing office before you go.
Everything you need — measured from Kite Lake · Pike and San Isabel National Forests · CO
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
- HHardware4 mi
- @Mail5 mi
- GGrocery10 mi
- FFuel10 mi
- LLaundry10 mi
- EVEV fast charger10 mi
- +Urgent care10 mi
- MMechanic11 mi
- WWater11 mi
- OOutfitter21 mi
- PPropane21 mi
- RxPharmacy21 mi
- AAir-up22 mi
- ShShower32 mi
- DDump33 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 10 mi out.
One dot per need — the nearest of each kind, straight-line from camp. Places from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors); the EV fast charger from the US DOE station locator. Open in Google Maps ↗
The site — Kite Lake
Access
Drive-up
Land
U.S. Forest Service
Elevation
12,023 ft
State
CO
Coordinates
39.32868, -106.12872
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around Kite Lake · Pike and San Isabel National Forests · CO (OpenStreetMap)
- Nearest townAlma · ~4.3 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelShell · ~9.8 mi
- Propane / LPG7-Eleven · ~21.0 mi
- GroceriesShell · ~9.7 mi
- PharmacyWalgreens · ~21.2 mi
- Hospital / clinicTimberline Clinic · ~10.3 mi
- HardwareAlma Super Storage · ~4.1 mi
EV charging — from Kite Lake · Pike and San Isabel National Forests · CO — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger10.2 mi straight-line SE — DC CORRIDOR FAIRPLAY PL1 · ChargePoint Network · CHAdeMO, CCS · 1 fast port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach15 within 25 mi · 61 within 50 · 366 within 100 · 472 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)12.3 mi — Frisco, CO - Frontage Road - Tesla Supercharger, Frisco
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)10.8 mi — Beaver Run Resort and Conference Center, Breckenridge, CO · Blink Network · J1772 · 4 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily
- Also listed, not counted aboveNACS-only Level 2 — Mountain Comfort B&B - Tesla Destination, Alma, 6.0 mi · NACS (Tesla) · hours: 24 hours daily. Open to Teslas only. · AFDC lists it “Free”
- Pricing at the fast chargernot listed
- Power (kW)not listed by AFDC — “DC fast” spans roughly 24 to 350 kW, so ask the network.
- Read this honestlyStraight-line miles, like every distance on this site. Roads run longer than this, and you have to get back. We know where a charger is listed. We don’t know if it works today, how fast it is, or the road miles. Check the network before you commit.
Snapshot 2026-09-16 · AFDC record 257262 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Kite Lake · Pike and San Isabel National Forests · CO — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Vault / pit toiletKite Lake · at this camp · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletFourmile · ~8.4 mi S · USFS
- Vault / pit toiletHorseshoe · ~9.2 mi S · USFS
- Flush restroomSki Cooper · ~9.5 mi W · USFS
Open Kite Lake elsewhere
Other camps near Kite Lake
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Mosquito Peaks~3.5 mi
- Four Mile Creek Campground~8.4 mi
- Horseshoe Campground~9.2 mi
- Selkirk~9.9 mi · fee
The unit that manages Kite Lake
Stay limits, road closures and fire restrictions at Kite Lake are set by Pike and San Isabel National Forests, not by the campsite — check there before you go.
Snow, and when this opens
The nearest automatic snow station is Buckskin Joe at 11,160 ft, about 2 miles away. It sits about 863 ft lower than this camp, so treat it as a guide rather than a reading for this spot. We do not repeat a depth here, because any number we stored would be stale by the time you read it — the station publishes today's.
How we know this — Kite Lake
Source
U.S. Forest Service recreation data
Confidence
Likely — The record is good enough to put a pin on, but thin in places. Treat the details as a starting point, not gospel.
How it was placed
Developed FEE campground (not free) - review | auto:usfs-fee 2026-08-20: US Forest Service developed campground, agency coordinates, agency states a fee. No dollar amount in the agency record -- expect a charge and confirm the current rate before you go. Not field-verified. | Fee 2026-08-21: no rate published by the agency. The Pike-San Isabel NF Kite Lake Campground page, updated Jan 23 2026, has no fee section and no dollar figure anywhere on it; it says only that the campground is run by a concessionaire and is open mid May to mid October. The Forest Service recreation-site record carries no fee amount, and there is no recreation.gov listing for it at all. Call the South Park Ranger District for the current rate. Checked https://www.fs.usda.gov/r02/psicc/recreation/kite-lake-campground and https://www.fs.usda.gov/r02/psicc/recreation/camping-cabins. | Fee 2026-08-22: no rate published by the agency. The Pike-San Isabel NF page for this campground has no fee section and no dollar figure anywhere on it; what it does say is that Kite Lake Campground is run by a concessionaire and operates mid-May to mid-October, weather depending -- and concessionaire rates are set by the operator, which is very likely why the forest publishes none. There is no recreation.gov listing to cross-check. Expect to pay something at the trailhead kiosk; we will not guess how much. South Park Ranger District, the DeCaLiBron trailhead above Alma. Checked https://www.fs.usda.gov/r02/psicc/recreation/kite-lake-campground (page updated Jan 23 2026, status Site Open).
EV chargers
US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center station locator, snapshot 2026-09-16. Straight-line miles to the nearest public, open, unrestricted station; restricted and planned units are shown but never counted.
Field check
On the agency's books. The land manager inventoried this site, so its existence is not in question — current conditions are. Nobody from here has camped it recently.
What we don’t know about Kite Lake
A land record can put you within a few meters of a spot. It cannot tell you any of this — so check it yourself, and treat anything below as the open question it is.
- Road surface & last-mile access
- How many rigs actually fit
- Cell coverage by carrier
- Seasonal & winter access
- Current fire restrictions
- Whether any water here is drinkable
- Shade & wind exposure
- Noise and who else shows up
- Whether a listed EV charger works today, or the road miles to it
Before you go — Kite Lake
Camping at altitude →When the high country opens →Winter vs summer roads →Getting unstuck →All field notes →
Been here? Tell us what changed. This page is built from public records, so the fastest way it gets better is somebody who has actually pulled in. Road washed out, site gone, gate locked, or it is exactly as described — all of it useful. Send a report →