Agency-listedMunicipal · dispersedFreeOpen today

Temple Canyon Park (Canon City)

Drive-up · public land · CO · 38.40834, -105.31708
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The land manager lists this site. Someone from the agency inventoried it, so it is a real camp — not a spot we guessed at. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.

Temple Canyon Park is a City of Canon City mountain park about 8 miles southwest of town, listed as free on the city's own campgrounds page. There are just two camping areas, deliberately spread apart, so it is the quieter of the city's two free parks. It sits next to the Temple Canyon trail down to Grape Creek and The Temple rock formation. The city describes dispersed camping, vault toilets, fire rings and some picnic tables, and NO WATER -- bring everything. Open year-round. The city's Park Rules and Regulations limit overnight camping in its Mountain Parks to 72 hours once every two weeks, with extensions available by calling the Park Department at (719) 269-9028. Fires are allowed only in the campfire rings the city provides, and the city can ban open fires outright in high or extreme fire conditions -- a Stage 2 fire ban was in effect when we checked on 2026-07-20, so check the current ban before you plan on a fire. One honest wrinkle: the same city rules PDF has a general line closing City Parks at 11 PM and a general ban on camping without the City Administrator's permission, and the campgrounds page calls this 'dispersed camping' while the rules PDF says camping is limited to designated sites. Those read as in-city-park rules, with the Mountain Parks section being the one that governs here -- but it is ambiguous in the city's own documents, so camp in an obvious established site and do not be surprised if a ranger reads it differently. The access road is unpaved and rough by most accounts; the city does not publish a road condition, so scout it before you commit a big rig. The deal these towns offer is simple: camp free, and they hope you buy fuel, groceries or dinner in town. Be a good guest and it stays free for the next traveler. Town rules change often and we have not visited -- confirm current rules with the city before you go.

Can I go now? — Temple Canyon Park (Canon City) · public land · CO
Open today Year-round per the agency record.
public land record: “Year-round” Read against the calendar on 2026-09-18; with JavaScript your browser re-checks it against today.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
USGS topographic map of Temple Canyon Park (Canon City)
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Aerial image of Temple Canyon Park (Canon City)
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Weather outlook — at Temple Canyon Park (Canon City)
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 6,105 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Temple Canyon Park (Canon City)NIFC · 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 Temple Canyon Park (Canon City) · public land · CO

15 MI30 MI60 MIYOUR CAMPN ↑Water · 5 miWDump · 34 miD7-Eleven · Propane · 38 miPFuel · 4 miFForge Mini Mart · Grocery · 4 miGWalgreens · Pharmacy · 6 miRxTrue Value · Hardware · 6 miHWaggener Break & Ato Repair · Mechanic · 6 miMLaundry · 5 miLShower · 31 miShAir-up · 37 miADermatology Clinic · Urgent care · 6 mi+Badfish · Outfitter · 38 miOCanon City Post Office · Mail · 6 mi@HION NETWORK CANON CITY PL2 · EV fast charger · 5 miEV
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
  • FFuel4 mi
  • GGrocery4 mi
  • WWater5 mi
  • EVEV fast charger5 mi
  • LLaundry5 mi
  • MMechanic6 mi
  • HHardware6 mi
  • @Mail6 mi
  • RxPharmacy6 mi
  • +Urgent care6 mi
  • ShShower31 mi
  • DDump34 mi
  • AAir-up37 mi
  • OOutfitter38 mi
  • PPropane38 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water

The read: water is basically at camp, fuel & food sit about 4 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 — Temple Canyon Park (Canon City)

Access
Drive-up
Land
public land · dispersed
Elevation
6,105 ft
State
CO
Coordinates
38.40834, -105.31708
Cost
Free

Nearby & resupply — around Temple Canyon Park (Canon City) · public land · CO (OpenStreetMap)

  • Water featureGrape Creek (stream) · nearby
  • Nearest townProspect Heights · ~4.5 mi
  • Drinking waterDrinking water · ~4.6 mi
  • FuelExxon · ~5.5 mi
  • Propane / LPGnone within 31 mi
  • GroceriesSafeway · ~5.5 mi
  • Hospital / clinicSt. Thomas More Hospital · ~5.7 mi

EV charging — from Temple Canyon Park (Canon City) · public land · CO — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)

Nearby restrooms — around Temple Canyon Park (Canon City) · public land · CO — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)

Open Temple Canyon Park (Canon City) elsewhere

Other camps near Temple Canyon Park (Canon City)

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

How we know this — Temple Canyon Park (Canon City)

Open season
Year-round
Source
municipal park records
Confidence
Researched — The record is detailed and internally consistent, and the coordinates land where the managing agency says this site is.
How it was placed
Coordinates: OSM way 781608595 'Temple Canyon Park', landuse=recreation_ground, operator='City of Canon City', centroid; corroborated by OSM node 358927649 (leisure=park) 0.01 mi away. Camping rules: City of Canon City official campgrounds page, https://www.canoncity.org/515/Campgrounds , fetched 2026-07-20, which labels this park literally '(Free)' and describes 'Dispersed camping, vault toilets, fire rings, some picnic tables, no water' and 'Open year-round'. Stay limit: City of Canon City 'Park Rules and Regulations' PDF, https://www.canoncity.org/DocumentCenter/View/640 , section 'Rules Pertaining to Mountain Parks (Royal Gorge, East Ridge, Red Canyon, Temple Canyon Parks)': 'Overnight camping is limited to 72 hours once every two weeks.' The city's East Ridge Campground on the same page is $20/night and was NOT ingested. Documented conflict in the city's own rules (11 PM City Park closure / 'designated campgrounds only' vs 'dispersed camping') is disclosed in the field_note. Not visited. Verified 2026-07-20. Pin verified INSIDE the park polygon by point-in-polygon test against the way full node geometry from the OSM API (api.openstreetmap.org/api/0.6/way/<id>/full.json, not Overpass), 2026-07-20.
Season
Read from the agency's own season / closure text in this record (data/conditions.py) and checked against the calendar. The words we read are printed under the verdict at the top of the page.
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 Temple Canyon Park (Canon City)

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.

Before you go — Temple Canyon Park (Canon City)

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 →