Camping near Red Feather Lakes, Colorado
Camping near Red Feather Lakes, Colorado includes 4 public campgrounds on record, 3 reservable and 1 first-come. All are run by the U.S. Forest Service. The nearest, Dowdy Lake, is 1 mile from Red Feather Lakes in a straight line, and all 4 are within 15 miles. 1 stays open all year. Another 21 public campgrounds filed under nearby towns are within 30 miles of Red Feather Lakes.
noindex Fewer than 5 campgrounds here clear the indexable bar yet, so this page stays noindex.
Camping near Red Feather Lakes at a glance
- Public campgrounds
- 4 (4 National Forest)
- Getting a site
- 3 reservable and 1 first-come
- Cost
- Lowest posted fee at North Fork Poudre: "Single Site: $19 per night"
- Distance from Red Feather Lakes
- 1 mile (Dowdy Lake) to 6.9 miles (North Fork Poudre) in a straight line; 4 within 15 miles
- Elevation
- 8,100 ft (Dowdy Lake) to 9,150 ft (North Fork Poudre), 4 of 4 on record
- Season
- 1 open all year
- Campsites
- 123 across the 3 campgrounds that state a count
- RVs
- 3 take RVs; hookups at Dowdy Lake, West Lake, and Bellaire Lake; longest stated RV length 130 ft (Dowdy Lake)
- Drinking water
- 3 of 4
Distances are straight-line miles from Red Feather Lakes'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.
- Sites
- 62
- Season
- Year-round
- Fee
- Single Site (non-electric): $30 per night
- Sites
- 35
- Season
- Not on record
- Fee
- Single Site: $28 per night (walk-to), $41 per night (electric)
Bellaire Lake - Sites
- 26
- Season
- Not on record
- Fee
- Single Site: $30 per night (non-electric), $41 per night (electric)
- Sites
- Not on record
- Season
- Not on record
- Fee
- Single Site: $19 per night
More campgrounds within 30 miles of Red Feather Lakes
- Kelly Flats, 10 miles from Red Feather Lakes in a straight line , National Forest , first-come (Single Site: $30 per night); listed under camping near Rustic.
- Big Bend, 10 miles from Red Feather Lakes in a straight line , National Forest , first-come (Single Site: $23 per night); listed under camping near Rustic.
- Dutch George, 11 miles from Red Feather Lakes in a straight line , National Forest , first-come (Single Site: $29 per night); listed under camping near Rustic.
- Mountain Park, 11 miles from Red Feather Lakes in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site Non-Electric: $30 per night); listed under camping near Rustic.
- Mountain Park Group Campground, 11 miles from Red Feather Lakes in a straight line , National Forest , first-come (Overnight Use:); listed under camping near Rustic.
- Narrows, 11 miles from Red Feather Lakes in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site: $29 per night); listed under camping near Rustic.
- Lower Narrows, 11 miles from Red Feather Lakes in a straight line , National Forest , first-come ; listed under camping near Larimer.
- Jacks Gulch Group Campground, 12 miles from Red Feather Lakes in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Group overnight; electric add-on $5/night (see Recreation.gov)); listed under camping near Rustic.
- Jacks Gulch, 12 miles from Red Feather Lakes in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site Non-Electric: $30 per night); listed under camping near Rustic.
- Stove Prairie Landing, 13 miles from Red Feather Lakes in a straight line , National Forest , first-come (Single Site: $29 per night); listed under camping near Rustic.
- Sleeping Elephant, 13 miles from Red Feather Lakes in a straight line , National Forest , first-come (Single Site: $23 per night); listed under camping near Rustic.
- Ansel Watrous, 15 miles from Red Feather Lakes in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Peak Season Single Site: $29 per night); listed under camping near Rustic.
- Tom Bennett, 16 miles from Red Feather Lakes in a straight line , National Forest , first-come (Single Site: $19 per night); listed under camping near Rustic.
- Big South, 17 miles from Red Feather Lakes in a straight line , National Forest , first-come (Single Site: $23 per night); listed under camping near Rustic.
- Tunnel, 17 miles from Red Feather Lakes in a straight line , National Forest , first-come (Single Site: $28 per night); listed under camping near Larimer.
- Aspen Glen, 18 miles from Red Feather Lakes in a straight line , National Forest , first-come (Single Site: $23 per night); listed under camping near Rustic.
- Browns Park, 18 miles from Red Feather Lakes in a straight line , National Forest , first-come (Single Site: $22 per night); listed under camping near Rustic.
- Chambers Lake, 21 miles from Red Feather Lakes in a straight line , National Forest , reservable (Single Site: $30 per night); listed under camping near Larimer.
- Long Draw, 23 miles from Red Feather Lakes in a straight line , National Forest , first-come (Single Site: $25 per night); listed under camping near Larimer.
- Grandview, 25 miles from Red Feather Lakes in a straight line , National Forest , first-come (Single Site: $25 per night); listed under camping near Larimer.
- Rocky Mountain National Park Aspenglen Campground, 28 miles from Red Feather Lakes in a straight line , National Park Service , reservable ; listed under camping near Larimer.
Things to do near Red Feather Lakes
Public land and water within 30 miles of Red Feather Lakes, the public land its campgrounds sit in, and landmarks at those campgrounds, nearest first.
- Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests, all 4 campgrounds here sit inside this national forest, the nearest Dowdy Lake at 1 mile from Red Feather Lakes; publiclandsdb.com has its dispersed-camping rule, ranger offices, and boundary.
- Dowdy Lake fishing, a fishing water whose mapped point is 1.4 miles from Red Feather Lakes; stocking record and species on fishypedia.com.
- Bellaire Lake fishing, a fishing water whose mapped point is 3.3 miles from Red Feather Lakes; stocking record and species on fishypedia.com.
- Cache La Poudre Wilderness, a wilderness area whose mapped point is 13 miles from Red Feather Lakes; its permit and camping rules and boundary on publiclandsdb.com.
- Comanche Peak Wilderness, a wilderness area whose mapped point is 18 miles from Red Feather Lakes; its permit and camping rules and boundary on publiclandsdb.com.
- Chambers Lake fishing, a fishing water whose mapped point is 20 miles from Red Feather Lakes; stocking record and species on fishypedia.com.
- Rawah Wilderness, a wilderness area whose mapped point is 24 miles from Red Feather Lakes; its permit and camping rules and boundary on publiclandsdb.com.
- Neota Wilderness, a wilderness area whose mapped point is 25 miles from Red Feather Lakes; its permit and camping rules and boundary on publiclandsdb.com.
- Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness, a wilderness area whose mapped point is 25 miles from Red Feather Lakes; its permit and camping rules and boundary on publiclandsdb.com.
- Leazenby Lake fishing, a fishing water whose mapped point is 25 miles from Red Feather Lakes; stocking record and species on fishypedia.com.
Supplies and emergencies near Red Feather Lakes
Nearest emergency room
Estes Park Medical Center
555 Prospect Mountain Dr, Estes Park, CO, 31 miles from Red Feather Lakes . (970) 577-4470
Next nearest: Poudre Valley Hospital, 1024 S Lemay Ave, Fort Collins, CO, 32 miles , (970) 495-7000.
In an emergency, call 911.
Both report emergency services in the CMS Hospital General Information dataset (accessed 2026-09-26) .
- Groceries
-
- Hill Top General Store & Antiques
- Trading Post
- Shell
- Fuel
-
- Shell
Not mapped in OpenStreetMap within 25 miles of Red Feather Lakes: propane, RV dump station, 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 Red Feather Lakes, CO?
4 public campgrounds are on record near Red Feather Lakes. Nearest first, straight-line from town: Dowdy Lake (1 mile), West Lake (1.5 miles), Bellaire Lake (3.5 miles), and North Fork Poudre (6.9 miles). 3 book through Recreation.gov and 1 is first-come, first-served with no reservations.
Is there free camping near Red Feather Lakes, CO?
Not at a developed campground: each of the 4 public campgrounds on record near Red Feather Lakes charges a fee, listed in the table.
Where can I camp with an RV near Red Feather Lakes, CO?
3 campgrounds near Red Feather Lakes take RVs: Bellaire Lake, Dowdy Lake, and West Lake. Bellaire Lake, Dowdy Lake, and West Lake have hookups.
Where can I go tent camping near Red Feather Lakes, CO?
Dowdy Lake and West Lake list tent or walk-in sites on record.
Where can I camp near Red Feather Lakes with drinking water?
Bellaire Lake, Dowdy Lake, and West Lake have potable water on record.
Are there year-round campgrounds near Red Feather Lakes, CO?
Yes: Dowdy Lake is open all year, per the managing agency. The rest are seasonal or have no season on record.
Where can I camp near a lake around Red Feather Lakes, CO?
Bellaire Lake sits on Bellaire Lake.
Where is the nearest emergency room to Red Feather Lakes, CO?
Estes Park Medical Center, 555 Prospect Mountain Dr, Estes Park, CO, is 31 miles from Red Feather Lakes in a straight line and reports emergency services to CMS; phone (970) 577-4470. In an emergency, call 911.
Every campground in the state: camping in Colorado ; by agency: National Forest campgrounds in Colorado .