Free camping near Vail, CO
Yes. 3 of the 33 camps within 25 straight-line miles of Vail, CO are listed as free; 27 charge a fee and 3 have no price on record. The closest free one is Spraddle Creek Ranch, 0.5 miles northwest, on U.S. Forest Service land.
All 33 camps near Vail, CO
| Camp | Miles | Cost | Water | Nearest town | Season today |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spraddle Creek Ranch | 0.5 | Free | — | — | — |
| Gore Creek | 4.7 | Fee | — | 4.7 mi to Vail | — |
| Piney Designated Dispersed | 6.2 | Free | Piney River (stream) | 5.3 mi to Vail | — |
| Half Moon Campground | 10 | Unpriced | Notch Mountain Creek (stream) | 3.0 mi to Belden | — |
| Hornsilver | 10 | Fee | — | 1.4 mi to Red Cliff | — |
| Homestake Valley | 11 | Free | Homestake Creek (stream) | 2.7 mi to Red Cliff | — |
| Blue River | 14 | Fee | — | 5.0 mi to Silverthorne | — |
| Cataract Creek | 14 | Fee | — | 2.4 mi to Heeney | — |
| Camp Hale Memorial | 15 | Fee | — | 6.9 mi to Red Cliff | — |
| Heaton Bay Cg | 15 | Fee | — | 1.9 mi to Frisco | — |
| Heaton Bay Pa | 15 | Fee | — | 2.0 mi to Frisco | — |
| Camp Hale East Fork | 16 | Fee | — | 6.1 mi to Copper Mountain | — |
| Prairie Point | 16 | Fee | — | 4.4 mi to Heeney | — |
| Pine Cove Cg | 16 | Fee | — | 1.3 mi to Frisco | — |
| Peak One | 16 | Fee | — | 1.2 mi to Frisco | — |
| Mcdonald Flats Cg | 16 | Fee | — | 4.0 mi to Heeney | — |
| Elliott Creek | 17 | Fee | — | 1.2 mi to Heeney | — |
| Gold Park | 17 | Fee | — | 8.0 mi to Red Cliff | — |
| Windy Point | 17 | Fee | — | 1.2 mi to Dillon | — |
| Cow Creek South | 17 | Fee | — | 1.4 mi to Heeney | — |
| Prospector | 17 | Fee | — | 1.7 mi to Dillon | — |
| Cow Creek North | 17 | Fee | — | 1.2 mi to Heeney | — |
| Willows | 18 | Fee | — | 1.1 mi to Heeney | — |
| Lowry | 18 | Fee | — | 2.2 mi to Dillon | — |
| Bocco Mountain | 18 | Unpriced | Alkali Creek (stream) | 1.1 mi to Wolcott | — |
| Fulford Cave | 19 | Fee | — | 1.8 mi to Fulford | — |
| Yeoman Park | 19 | Fee | — | 1.5 mi to Fulford | — |
| South Fork | 21 | Fee | — | 9.9 mi to Silverthorne | Open |
| Sugarloaf | 21 | Fee | — | 9.6 mi to Silverthorne | Open |
| Horseshoe | 23 | Fee | — | 11 mi to Heeney | — |
| Radium Recreation Area | 24 | Unpriced | Sheep Creek (stream) | 0.3 mi to Radium | — |
| Elk Wallow | 24 | Fee | — | 2.5 mi to Norrie | — |
| Kite Lake | 25 | Fee | — | 4.3 mi to Alma | Check |
Who manages the camps near Vail, CO
Who manages them: 31 on the Forest Service; 2 on the BLM.
- White River National Forest — 27 camps: 3 free, 23 fee, 1 unpriced
- Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests — 3 camps: 3 fee
- Colorado River Valley Field Office — 1 camp: 1 unpriced
- Kremmling Field Office — 1 camp: 1 unpriced
- Pike and San Isabel National Forests — 1 camp: 1 fee
Season read for these camps, today
Today's season read covers 3 of the 33: 2 open, 0 closed, 1 worth a call. It comes from each camp's own record, so a camp with no season word is not counted either way.
Forecast near Vail, CO
This is the Weather Service forecast for the town, fetched when the page opens. It is not a forecast for any camp in the table; ground higher up or in a canyon can run colder or windier. It needs JavaScript; without it, see weather.gov.
Camping near other towns close by
The nearest towns that have their own page, with the straight-line miles between the towns.
Every distance on this page is a straight line from Vail, 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.