Dory Hill Campground sits in a stand of pine and aspen, providing campsites suitable for tents or RVs up to 40 feet long. The campground provides a rural feel with the convenience of being within city limits. Enjoy hot showers, a laundry facility and a children’s playground on-site. RVs can enjoy water and electric hookups, electric-only or dry camping. A dump station is conveniently situated on-site. Tent sites have no hookups but are nestled in treed areas with a dirt pad and picnic table provided.
Five miles from town, Arapaho National Forest provides two secluded campsites with walk-in sites for tent campers and spots with no hookups for RVs. Cold Springs Campground and Columbine Campground have sites with fire rings, picnic tables and level areas for setting up. Wheelchair-accessible vault toilets and water spigots are available at both campgrounds. Some RV sites at Cold Springs are parallel to the road and a retaining wall, making the campground unsuitable for slideouts.
Golden Gate State Park is less than 10 miles northeast of Black Hawk. Camper services stations providing hot showers, flush toilets, laundry facilities and dump stations make staying in a tent or RV at the park a convenient way to camp out. Enjoy RV amenities at Reverend’s Ridge Campground, where you can stay at sites with or without electrical hookups. Tent campers can find a more primitive experience at the Aspen Meadows campground, with vault toilets and water in the campground and fire rings and picnic tables at each site. You can also camp in the backcountry at one of four three-sided trail shelters or at one of 20 backcountry campsites. Get a backcountry permit from the ranger station to camp at the sites.
Take a hike or explore a forest road to find a site where you can pitch your tent or park your RV for up to 14 days at a time. Use previously camped-in areas, which are characterized by rock fire rings, lack of vegetation and a hard-packed surface. There are no fees, but there are also no restrooms or water spigots, so bring whatever you’ll need and pack out all trash. Store food and garbage so that bears, skunks or other wildlife are not attracted to your camp.
Each summer, lightning strikes and human carelessness cause a number of wildfires throughout the southwest. Colorado is particularly susceptible due to extended drought conditions and damage by the pine bark beetle. Before camping, contact the local ranger or campground host to ensure your desired location is not in the path of existing wildfires or has not been damaged by a recent fire. If you are hiking in the backcountry, it is a good idea to carry a radio that can access emergency information as well as two 3-foot by 100-foot strips of bright orange material that you can lay out in an "X" to signal a rescue should you find yourself in the path of a fire. When camping near fire-damaged areas, wildlife are more likely to investigate potential food sources you can provide. Keep all food in wildlife-resistant containers to prevent dangerous encounters with bears, and keep pets and children close to avoid attracting attention from a hungry mountain lion.
