Free camping near Lake, CO
Within 25 straight-line miles of Lake, CO there are 47 camps: 24 free, 12 fee, 11 unpriced. The closest is Hinsdale County, 5.1 miles west of town. The closest one our audit calls free is Hinsdale County, 5.1 miles out. 3 of them are camps Dave has slept at.
Who manages them: 34 on the Forest Service; 7 on the BLM; 6 on an agency our record does not name.
| Camp | Miles | Cost | Water | Nearest town | Season today |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hinsdale CountyDave slept here | 5.1 | Free | Nellie Creek (stream) | 1.5 mi to Henson | — |
| Slumgullion | 5.3 | Free | Slumgullion Creek (stream) | 5.9 mi to Lake City | — |
| Hinsdale CountyDave slept here | 6.3 | Free | — | 6.3 mi to Lake | — |
| Deer Lakes Campground | 6.7 | Unpriced | — | — | — |
| Williams Creek Campground | 7.0 | Fee | Williams Creek (stream) | 7.2 mi to Henson | — |
| Mill Creek Campground | 9.1 | Unpriced | Lake Fork Gunnison River (river) | 7.9 mi to Henson | — |
| Hidden Valley Tent Campground | 9.8 | Unpriced | Cebolla Creek (stream) | 10 mi to Lake City | — |
| Burrows Park Dispersed Camping | 10 | Free | Lake Fork Gunnison River (river) | 6.9 mi to Eureka | — |
| Spruce Campground | 11 | Free | Cebolla Creek (stream) | 11 mi to Lake City | — |
| Cebolla | 12 | Free | Rough Creek (stream) | 11 mi to Smith Place | — |
| Alpine Plateau Dispersed Area | 14 | Free | Campbell Creek (stream) | 13 mi to Lake City | — |
| Big Blue Campground | 14 | Unpriced | Soldier Creek (river) | 13 mi to Lake City | — |
| West Fork Cimarron Dispersed | 15 | Free | — | 8.0 mi to Portland | — |
| Middle Fork Cimarron Dispersed | 16 | Free | Middle Fork Cimarron River (river) | 12 mi to Portland | — |
| Silver Thread Campground | 16 | Fee | South Clear Creek (river) | 11 mi to Sunnyside | — |
| North Clear Creek Campground | 16 | Unpriced | North Clear Creek (river) | 9.8 mi to Sunnyside | — |
| East Fork Dispersed | 16 | Free | Silver Jack Reservoir (water) | 13 mi to Dallas | — |
| Owl Creek Pass Dispersed | 17 | Free | — | 8.7 mi to Portland | — |
| Cimarron Forks | 17 | Free | — | 12 mi to Portland | — |
| Bristol Head Campground | 17 | Fee | South Clear Creek (river) | 10 mi to Sunnyside | — |
| Bristol Head | 17 | Fee | — | 12 mi to City of Creede | — |
| Lost Trail | 18 | Fee | Rio Grande (river) | 14 mi to Middleton | — |
| Ouray CountyDave slept here | 18 | Free | Mineral Creek (river) | 3.7 mi to Ironton | — |
| Crooked Creek Dispersed Area | 18 | Free | — | 14 mi to City of Creede | — |
| Cebolla Creek CG | 18 | Unpriced | Rudolph Gulch (stream) | 1.0 mi to Smith Place | — |
| BLM Dispersed Camping | 18 | Free | Animas River (river) | 0.1 mi to Middleton | — |
| Amphitheatre Campground | 19 | Fee | Portland Creek (stream) | 0.5 mi to Ouray | — |
| Silver Jack | 19 | Fee | — | 13 mi to Ridgway | — |
| Silver Jack Campground | 19 | Fee | Hanging Lake (water) | 12 mi to Dallas | — |
| Road Canyon Campground | 19 | Unpriced | Road Canyon Reservoir Number 2 (water) | 13 mi to Spar City | — |
| Beaver Lake Camground | 20 | Free | Beaver Lake (water) | 12 mi to Dallas | — |
| Corkscrew | 20 | Free | — | 6.1 mi to Ouray | — |
| River Hill Campground | 21 | Fee | Rio Grande (river) | 14 mi to Spar City | — |
| Thirty Mile Campground | 21 | Fee | Rio Grande (river) | 16 mi to Spar City | — |
| Big Cimarron | 21 | Free | Beaver Lake (water) | 12 mi to Dallas | — |
| 30 Mile Stock Unloading Area | 21 | Free | Rio Grande (river) | 16 mi to Spar City | — |
| Thirty Mile Campground | 21 | Fee | — | — | — |
| Angel Creek | 21 | Fee | — | 2.1 mi to Ouray | — |
| Dispersed Camping Area | 21 | Free | Red Mountain Creek (river) | 0.7 mi to Ironton | — |
| Cunningham Gulch Dispersed Camping | 21 | Free | Cunningham Creek (river) | 2.8 mi to Howardsville | — |
| Thistledown Campground | 21 | Unpriced | Canyon Creek (river) | 0.1 mi to Thistledown | — |
| Red Bridge Campground | 21 | Unpriced | — | — | — |
| Cunningham Gulch Dispersed Camping | 22 | Free | Cunningham Creek (river) | 3.1 mi to Howardsville | — |
| Cunningham Gulch Dispersed Camping | 22 | Free | — | — | — |
| Dispersed camp site | 22 | Free | Red Mountain Creek (river) | 1.4 mi to Ironton | — |
| Marshall Park Campground | 24 | Unpriced | Rio Grande (river) | 4.0 mi to Sunnyside | — |
| Rio Grande Campground | 24 | Unpriced | Rio Grande (river) | 4.5 mi to Spar City | — |
Every distance on this page is a straight line from Lake, CO, not a driving distance — a camp four miles out across a canyon can be an hour of road. Cost is the audited three-state verdict on each camp's own record: free, fee, or unpriced where we could not confirm a price. A blank column is a gap in the record, not a statement that the thing is absent. Camps come from state and federal agency records, not from a visit, except the ones marked. Seasons, permits and fire rules change: confirm with the managing office before you go. Found a fee where we show free? Tell us on the contact page.