Camping near Pitkin, Colorado

Camping near Pitkin, Colorado includes 13 public campgrounds on record, 7 reservable and 5 first-come. Most (12 of 13) are run by the U.S. Forest Service. The nearest, Pitkin, is 0.7 miles from Pitkin in a straight line, and 4 of 13 are within 15 miles. 2 are free. Another 33 public campgrounds filed under nearby towns are within 30 miles of Pitkin.

Maroon Bells Amphitheatre

Camping near Pitkin at a glance

Public campgrounds: 13 (12 National Forest, 1 BLM)
Getting a site: 7 reservable and 5 first-come
Cost: 2 free; lowest posted fee at Quartz: "Single Site: $14 per night"
Distance from Pitkin: 0.7 miles (Pitkin) to 64 miles (Thompson Creek Campground) in a straight line; 4 within 15 miles
Elevation: 7,144 ft (Redstone) to 10,733 ft (Maroon Bells Amphitheatre), 13 of 13 on record
Season: 2 seasonal with posted dates
Campsites: 165 across the 6 campgrounds that state a count
RVs: 4 take RVs; hookups at Redstone; longest stated RV length 99 ft (Chapman Group)
Drinking water: 1 of 13

Distances are straight-line miles from Pitkin'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.

Agency

Pitkin Pitkin · National Forest · 0.7 mi · Reservable

Sites: 22
Season: May 23 to Oct. 7
Fee: Single Site: $24 per night

Quartz Pitkin · National Forest · 3.2 mi · Reservable

Sites: 10
Season: Not on record
Fee: Single Site: $14 per night

Gold Creek Pitkin · National Forest · 4.6 mi · First-come

Sites: Not on record
Season: Not on record
Fee: Free

Middle Quartz Pitkin · National Forest · 4.8 mi · First-come

Sites: Not on record
Season: Not on record
Fee: Free

Difficult Gcg Group Campground Pitkin · National Forest · 39.4 mi · First-come

Sites: Not on record
Season: Not on record
Fee: Not on record

Maroon Bells Amphitheatre Pitkin · National Forest · 40.5 mi · Reservable

Sites: Not on record
Season: 06-03 to 10-31
Fee: Standard nonelectric: $200 per night

Silver Bell Pitkin · National Forest · 42.2 mi · Reservable

Sites: 14
Season: Not on record
Fee: Single Site: $15 per night

Chapman Group Pitkin · National Forest · 48.8 mi · Reservable

Sites: 76
Season: Not on record
Fee: Not on record

Chapman Campground Pitkin · National Forest · 49.1 mi · First-come

Sites: Not on record
Season: Not on record
Fee: Day Use Fee

Dearhamer Pitkin · National Forest · 53.3 mi · Reservable

Sites: 12
Season: Not on record
Fee: Day Use fee

Redstone Pitkin · National Forest · 55.9 mi · Reservable

Sites: 31
Season: Not on record
Fee: Not on record

Avalanche Campground Pitkin · National Forest · 57 mi · First-come

Sites: Not on record
Season: Not on record
Fee: Single Site: $21 per night

Thompson Creek Campground Pitkin · BLM · 64.3 mi · Not on record

Sites: Not on record
Season: Not on record
Fee: Not on record

More campgrounds within 30 miles of Pitkin

Snowblind, 8.1 miles from Pitkin in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site: $14 per night); listed under camping near Sargents.
Mirror Lake, 11 miles from Pitkin in a straight line , National Forest , first-come (Single Site: $14 per night); listed under camping near Tincup.
North Fork Reservoir, 11 miles from Pitkin in a straight line , National Forest , first-come ($18.00 for overnight use as of 2025.); listed under camping near Salida.
Iron City, 12 miles from Pitkin in a straight line , National Forest , reservable ; listed under camping near Buena Vista.
Monarch Park, 12 miles from Pitkin in a straight line , National Forest , reservable ; listed under camping near Poncha Springs.
Cold Spring, 13 miles from Pitkin in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site: $14 per night); listed under camping near Almont.
Lottis Creek, 13 miles from Pitkin in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site Non-Electric: $26 per night); listed under camping near Almont.
Lodgepole, 13 miles from Pitkin in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site: $18 per night); listed under camping near Almont.
Lakeview Gunnison, 15 miles from Pitkin in a straight line , National Forest , reservable ; listed under camping near Gunnison.
Lakeview, 15 miles from Pitkin in a straight line , National Forest , first-come (Single Site Non-Electric: $26 per night); listed under camping near Almont.
Rosy Lane, 15 miles from Pitkin in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site: $20-38 per night); listed under camping near Almont.
One Mile, 15 miles from Pitkin in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site Non-Electric: $26 per night); listed under camping near Almont.
North Bank, 16 miles from Pitkin in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site: $18 per night); listed under camping near Almont.
Granite, 16 miles from Pitkin in a straight line , National Forest , first-come (Single Site: $16 per night); listed under camping near Almont.
Angel of Shavano, 16 miles from Pitkin 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, 16 miles from Pitkin in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Overnight Use:); listed under camping near Poncha Springs.
Cascade, 16 miles from Pitkin in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site: $25 per night); listed under camping near Buena Vista.
Spring Creek, 17 miles from Pitkin in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site: $18 per night); listed under camping near Almont.
Chalk Lake, 17 miles from Pitkin in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site: $25 per night); listed under camping near Buena Vista.
Cottonwood Lake, 17 miles from Pitkin in a straight line , National Forest , first-come ; listed under camping near Buena Vista.
Mt. Princeton, 17 miles from Pitkin in a straight line , National Forest , reservable ; listed under camping near Buena Vista.
Rivers End, 18 miles from Pitkin in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site: $18 per night); listed under camping near Almont.
Collegiate Peaks, 18 miles from Pitkin in a straight line , National Forest , reservable ; listed under camping near Buena Vista.
Almont, 19 miles from Pitkin in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site: $18 per night); listed under camping near Almont.
Bootleg, 19 miles from Pitkin in a straight line , National Forest , reservable ($10 per night); listed under camping near Buena Vista.
Mosca, 20 miles from Pitkin in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site: $14 per night); listed under camping near Almont.
Dinner Station, 21 miles from Pitkin in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site: $18 per night); listed under camping near Almont.
Cement Creek, 23 miles from Pitkin in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site: $18 per night); listed under camping near Crested Butte.
O'haver Lake, 24 miles from Pitkin 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.
Ohaver Lake, 24 miles from Pitkin in a straight line , National Forest , reservable ; listed under camping near Chaffee.
Dorchester, 26 miles from Pitkin in a straight line , National Forest , first-come (free); listed under camping near Almont.
Buffalo Pass, 29 miles from Pitkin in a straight line , National Forest , first-come (Day Use:); listed under camping near Saguache.
Luders Creek, 30 miles from Pitkin in a straight line , National Forest , first-come (Day Use:); listed under camping near Saguache.

Things to do near Pitkin

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

Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests, 4 of the 13 campgrounds here sit inside this national forest, the nearest Pitkin at 0.7 miles from Pitkin; publiclandsdb.com has its dispersed-camping rule, ranger offices, and boundary.
Fossil Ridge Wilderness, a wilderness area whose mapped point is 8.3 miles from Pitkin; its permit and camping rules and boundary on publiclandsdb.com.
Taylor Park Reservoir water level, a reservoir whose mapped point is 15 miles from Pitkin; current water level on reservoirfinder.com.
Mount Princeton Hot Springs, a hot spring whose mapped point is 21 miles from Pitkin; soaking details on swimholesmap.com.
Cottonwood Hot Springs, a hot spring whose mapped point is 21 miles from Pitkin; soaking details on swimholesmap.com.
Pothole Lake #1 (Lower) fishing, a fishing water whose mapped point is 23 miles from Pitkin; stocking record and species on fishypedia.com.
Lake O'Haver fishing, a fishing water whose mapped point is 24 miles from Pitkin; stocking record and species on fishypedia.com.
Collegiate Peaks Wilderness, a wilderness area whose mapped point is 24 miles from Pitkin; its permit and camping rules and boundary on publiclandsdb.com.
Pothole Lake #2 (Upper) fishing, a fishing water whose mapped point is 24 miles from Pitkin; stocking record and species on fishypedia.com.
Frantz Lake fishing, a fishing water whose mapped point is 27 miles from Pitkin; stocking record and species on fishypedia.com.

Supplies and emergencies near Pitkin

Nearest emergency room

Gunnison Valley Hospital

711 N Taylor St, Gunnison, CO, 23 miles from Pitkin . (970) 641-1456

Next nearest: Aspen Valley Hospital District, 401 Castle Creek Rd, Aspen, CO, 44 miles , (970) 544-1261.

In an emergency, call 911.

Both report emergency services in the CMS Hospital General Information dataset (accessed 2026-09-26) .

Groceries: St. Elmo General Store convenience store · 11 miles · Hours Mo-Su 09:00-17:00
Monarch Crest Food & Gifts convenience store · 13 miles
Taylor Park Trading Post convenience store · 15 miles
Fuel: City Market Fuel Center fuel station · 23 miles
Powerstop fuel station · 23 miles
Sinclair fuel station · 23 miles · (970) 641-4889
RV dump station: Tall Texan RV Park RV park · 22 miles · (970) 641-2927

Not mapped in OpenStreetMap within 25 miles of Pitkin: propane, potable water fill, pharmacy, laundromat, 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.

Common questions

Where can I camp around Pitkin, CO?

13 public campgrounds are on record near Pitkin. Nearest first, straight-line from town: Pitkin (0.7 miles), Quartz (3.2 miles), Gold Creek (4.6 miles), Middle Quartz (4.8 miles), and 9 more. 7 book through Recreation.gov and 5 are first-come, first-served with no reservations.

Is there free camping near Pitkin, CO?

Yes: Gold Creek and Middle Quartz charge no fee at the campground.

Where can I camp with an RV near Pitkin, CO?

4 campgrounds near Pitkin take RVs: Chapman Group, Dearhamer, Redstone, and Silver Bell. Redstone has hookups. The nearest mapped RV dump station is at Tall Texan RV Park, 22 miles from town (OpenStreetMap).

Where can I go tent camping near Pitkin, CO?

Chapman Group and Silver Bell list tent or walk-in sites on record.

Where can I camp near Pitkin with drinking water?

Pitkin has potable water on record.

Where is the nearest emergency room to Pitkin, CO?

Gunnison Valley Hospital, 711 N Taylor St, Gunnison, CO, is 23 miles from Pitkin in a straight line and reports emergency services to CMS; phone (970) 641-1456. In an emergency, call 911.

Every campground in the state: camping in Colorado ; by agency: BLM campgrounds in Colorado and National Forest campgrounds in Colorado .