Camping near Buena Vista, Colorado

Camping near Buena Vista at a glance

Public campgrounds

7 (7 National Forest)

Getting a site

6 reservable and 1 first-come

Cost

Lowest posted fee at Bootleg: "$10 per night"

Distance from Buena Vista

8.4 miles (Bootleg) to 13 miles (Iron City) in a straight line; 7 within 15 miles

Elevation

8,400 ft (Bootleg) to 9,900 ft (Iron City), 7 of 7 on record

Campsites

131 across the 6 campgrounds that state a count

RVs

4 take RVs; no hookups on record; longest stated RV length 73 ft (Cascade)

Drinking water

1 of 7

Distances are straight-line miles from Buena Vista's point in the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2025), not driving distances. Every other fact comes from each campground's own sourced record, linked from its page.

More campgrounds within 30 miles of Buena Vista

• Buffalo Springs, 16 miles from Buena Vista in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site: $24 per night); listed under camping near Fairplay.
• Mirror Lake, 17 miles from Buena Vista in a straight line , National Forest , first-come (Single Site: $14 per night); listed under camping near Tincup.
• Weston Pass, 17 miles from Buena Vista in a straight line , National Forest , reservable ($22 per night); listed under camping near Fairplay.
• Angel of Shavano, 18 miles from Buena Vista in a straight line , National Forest , reservable ($25.00 for overnight use as of 2025.); listed under camping near Poncha Springs.
• Angel of Shavano Group Campground, 18 miles from Buena Vista in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Overnight Use:); listed under camping near Poncha Springs.
• North Fork Reservoir, 18 miles from Buena Vista in a straight line , National Forest , first-come ($18.00 for overnight use as of 2025.); listed under camping near Salida.
• Dexter, 21 miles from Buena Vista in a straight line , National Forest , reservable ; listed under camping near Leadville.
• Middle Quartz, 21 miles from Buena Vista in a straight line , National Forest , first-come (free); listed under camping near Pitkin.
• White Star, 22 miles from Buena Vista in a straight line , National Forest , reservable ; listed under camping near Lake.
• Parry Peak, 22 miles from Buena Vista in a straight line , National Forest , reservable ; listed under camping near Leadville.
• Whitestar, 22 miles from Buena Vista in a straight line , National Forest , first-come ; listed under camping near Leadville.
• Lakeview, 22 miles from Buena Vista in a straight line , National Forest , reservable ; listed under camping near Buena Vista andLeadville.
• Quartz, 22 miles from Buena Vista in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site: $14 per night); listed under camping near Pitkin.
• Twin Peaks, 22 miles from Buena Vista in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Site: $28 per night); listed under camping near Leadville.
• Rivers End, 23 miles from Buena Vista in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site: $18 per night); listed under camping near Almont.
• Lakeview, 24 miles from Buena Vista in a straight line , National Forest , first-come (Single Site Non-Electric: $26 per night); listed under camping near Almont.
• Lakeview Gunnison, 24 miles from Buena Vista in a straight line , National Forest , reservable ; listed under camping near Gunnison.
• Monarch Park, 24 miles from Buena Vista in a straight line , National Forest , reservable ; listed under camping near Poncha Springs.
• Dinner Station, 25 miles from Buena Vista in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site: $18 per night); listed under camping near Almont.
• Pitkin, 25 miles from Buena Vista in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site: $24 per night); listed under camping near Pitkin.
• Horseshoe, 26 miles from Buena Vista in a straight line , National Forest , reservable ; listed under camping near Fairplay.
• Snowblind, 26 miles from Buena Vista in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site: $14 per night); listed under camping near Sargents.
• Fourmile, 26 miles from Buena Vista in a straight line , National Forest , reservable ($24 per night); listed under camping near Fairplay.
• Gold Creek, 26 miles from Buena Vista in a straight line , National Forest , first-come (free); listed under camping near Pitkin.
• Lottis Creek, 26 miles from Buena Vista in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site Non-Electric: $26 per night); listed under camping near Almont.
• Halfmoon West, 27 miles from Buena Vista in a straight line , National Forest , reservable ($26 per night); listed under camping near Leadville.
• Elbert Creek, 27 miles from Buena Vista in a straight line , National Forest , reservable ($26 per night); listed under camping near Leadville.
• Halfmoon East, 27 miles from Buena Vista in a straight line , National Forest , reservable ($26 per night); listed under camping near Leadville.
• Cold Spring, 27 miles from Buena Vista in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site: $14 per night); listed under camping near Almont.
• Ohaver Lake, 28 miles from Buena Vista in a straight line , National Forest , reservable ; listed under camping near Chaffee.
• O'haver Lake, 28 miles from Buena Vista in a straight line , National Forest , first-come ($28.00 for overnight use as of 2025. $10.00 for day use as of 2025.); listed under camping near Salida.
• Lodgepole, 29 miles from Buena Vista in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site: $18 per night); listed under camping near Almont.
• Dorchester, 30 miles from Buena Vista in a straight line , National Forest , first-come (free); listed under camping near Almont.

Things to do near Buena Vista

Public land and water within 30 miles of Buena Vista, the public land its campgrounds sit in, and landmarks at those campgrounds, nearest first.

• Cottonwood Hot Springs, a hot spring whose mapped point is 4.7 miles from Buena Vista; soaking details on swimholesmap.com.
• Mount Princeton Hot Springs, a hot spring whose mapped point is 6.8 miles from Buena Vista; soaking details on swimholesmap.com.
• Pike and San Isabel National Forests, all 7 campgrounds here sit inside this national forest, the nearest Bootleg at 8.4 miles from Buena Vista; publiclandsdb.com has its dispersed-camping rule, ranger offices, and boundary.
• Browns Canyon National Monument, a BLM unit whose mapped point is 8.8 miles from Buena Vista; its camping rule, field office, and boundary on publiclandsdb.com.
• Buffalo Peaks Wilderness, a wilderness area whose mapped point is 12 miles from Buena Vista; its permit and camping rules and boundary on publiclandsdb.com.
• Clear Creek Reservoir fishing, a fishing water whose mapped point is 15 miles from Buena Vista; stocking record and species on fishypedia.com.
• Collegiate Peaks Wilderness, a wilderness area whose mapped point is 17 miles from Buena Vista; its permit and camping rules and boundary on publiclandsdb.com.
• Twin Lakes Reservoir fishing, a fishing water whose mapped point is 19 miles from Buena Vista; stocking record and species on fishypedia.com.
• Frantz Lake fishing, a fishing water whose mapped point is 21 miles from Buena Vista; stocking record and species on fishypedia.com.
• Mount Elbert Forebay fishing, a fishing water whose mapped point is 23 miles from Buena Vista; stocking record and species on fishypedia.com.

Supplies and emergencies near Buena Vista

Groceries

• City Market supermarket · 0.7 miles · Hours Mo-Su 06:00-22:00
• Loaf 'N Jug convenience store · 0.7 miles · (719) 395-2121 · Hours 24/7
• Stop 'n Save convenience store · 0.7 miles

Fuel

• Loaf 'N Jug fuel station · 0.7 miles · (719) 395-2121 · Hours 24/7
• Phillips 66 fuel station · 0.7 miles
• Shell fuel station · 0.9 miles

RV dump station

• B1 service point · 2 miles
• Mt. Princeton RV Park & Cabins RV park · 2.1 miles · (719) 395-6206
• BV Overlook Camp & Lodging campground · 2.7 miles · (719) 395-8318

Pharmacy

• Salida Pharmacy & Fountain pharmacy · 22 miles

Laundromat

• Pancho's laundromat · 1 mile
• Wally La-La's laundromat · 1 mile · Hours Mo-Sa 08:00-21:00
• Laundromat laundromat · 22 miles

Not mapped in OpenStreetMap within 25 miles of Buena Vista: propane, potable water fill, and ice. Stores, fuel, propane, dump stations, water fill, laundromats, and pharmacies are the nearest few mapped within 25 miles, straight-line, © OpenStreetMap contributors (data as of 2026-10-01; this extract under the ODbL). Hours are as mapped; call ahead.