U.S. Forest Service · Rio Grande National Forest · Colorado

Road Canyon Campground

This small campground, located at the head of Road Canyon Reservoir, usually has vacancy when other upriver campgrounds are full. The area is in a fully open meadow, with no trees, and it is not screened from Rio Grande Reservoir Road. It has 6 camping units, each with a parking spur, table, and fire ring. An undeveloped overflow camping area is directly across the road. A vault type toilet is provided, but no trash receptacles (Please pack out your trash). No firewood or drinking water are available. There is fishing access and a boat launch at Road Canyon Reservoir.

Open nowBooking not publishedFrom $26 per nightTents only

More like this: first-come in Colorado · tent only in Colorado

Road Canyon Campground
Photo from the area. Jeffrey Beall (CC BY 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons
3fires
active
Elk · 27 mi away · 7,257 acres
2 more within 50 miles
Incident details ↓

Amenities & rules

EquipmentTents
FeesSingle site - $26 to $30/night. Day use - $12/day (picnicking). Shoulder season - $10/night (Sometime after Labor Day) Fee envelopes and a collection box located near the entrance.

Individual sites vary. Confirm on Recreation.gov or with the managing office.

Season & status

StatusOpen
SeasonApril
ForestRio Grande National Forest
FeesSingle site - $26 to $30/night. Day use - $12/day (picnicking). Shoulder season - $10/night (Sometime after Labor Day) Fee envelopes and a collection box located near the entrance.
RulesOn Road Canyon Reservoir, boats allowed, no wakes, trolling motors OK, primitive boat ramp

Rio Grande National Forest recreation page ↗

Weather by month

NOAA climate normals →
Weather by month near Road Canyon Campground10°20°30°40°50°60°January: 1.22 inches of precipitation, 19.3 inches of snowFebruary: 1.36 inches of precipitation, 18.8 inches of snowMarch: 1.37 inches of precipitation, 15.3 inches of snowApril: 1.33 inches of precipitation, 14.5 inches of snowMay: 1.12 inches of precipitation, 3.7 inches of snowJune: 0.84 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowJuly: 2.21 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowAugust: 2.93 inches of precipitation, 0.2 inches of snowSeptember: 2.49 inches of precipitation, 0.5 inches of snowOctober: 2.20 inches of precipitation, 7.7 inches of snowNovember: 1.38 inches of precipitation, 15.1 inches of snowDecember: 1.15 inches of precipitation, 12.6 inches of snowJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 15.2°F averageFebruary: 17.3°F averageMarch: 25.8°F averageApril: 34.8°F averageMay: 44.7°F averageJune: 53.4°F averageJuly: 59.0°F averageAugust: 57.0°F averageSeptember: 51.3°F averageOctober: 41.5°F averageNovember: 27.9°F averageDecember: 15.4°F average0 in5 in10 in15 in20 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Rio Grande Rsvr, 5 miles from the campground at 9,492 feet, station USC00057050 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 20 inches a year. The dotted line is average snowfall, about 108 inches a year on the same inches scale.

Getting there

Coordinates37.7550° N, 107.1927° W · Directions ↗

Fire nearby

  • Wildfire
    Elk

    27 mi from the campground · 7,257 acres · 90% contained

  • Wildfire
    Gold Mountain

    34 mi from the campground · 39,747 acres · 92% contained

  • Prescribed
    High Mesa Piles Rx

    37 mi from the campground · 324 acres

Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge. Call the managing office before you drive.

Supplies & services

Dump stationDump station ↗19.9 mi
Outdoor gearOuray Mountain Sports ↗32.1 mi
RV sales & serviceRV sales & service ↗34.8 mi

Locations © OpenStreetMap contributors. Call ahead; hours change seasonally.

Explore

Trails nearby

Forest Service trail data →
  • 3.5 mi
    30 Mile Horse Trail
    0.5 mi trail · hiking, horse, bike
  • 4.2 mi
    Texas Creek ↗
    5.7 mi trail · hiking, horse, bike
  • 4.2 mi
    Fern Creek ↗
    13.7 mi trail · hiking, horse, bike, motorcycle and 2 more
  • 4.3 mi
    Weminuche ↗
    5.1 mi trail · hiking, horse, bike
  • 4.3 mi
    Grizzly Creek ↗
    9.7 mi trail · hiking, horse
  • 4.4 mi
    Red Lakes
    3.8 mi trail · hiking, horse

Trailheads within three miles

Trail and trailhead records are the Forest Service's. Distances are straight-line to the nearer trail end. Trail conditions are not tracked here.

Public land it sits in

On Wilderness Atlas →

This campground sits inside Weminuche Wilderness, which overlaps San Juan National Forest.

Each unit is published as a centre point and an acreage rather than a boundary, so this section stands it in for a circle of the same area. Whether a campground is inside, and how far it is from one it is outside, are both approximate.

Guidebooks for Colorado

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Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.

Reference

Questions people ask

How much does it cost to camp at Road Canyon Campground?

Single site - $26 to $30/night. Day use - $12/day (picnicking). Shoulder season - $10/night (Sometime after Labor Day) Fee envelopes and a collection box located near the entrance.

Source: Forest Service

Is Road Canyon Campground open right now?

Open as of Oct 26, 2026. Season April.

Source: Forest Service status

Can I bring an RV to Road Canyon Campground?

Road Canyon Campground is listed for tents only.

Source: Forest Service

What if Road Canyon Campground is full?

The nearest public campgrounds are River Hill (2.8 mi), Thirty Mile (4.2 mi, partly first-come), and Bristol Head Campground (5.1 mi, first-come).

Source: Campgrounds nearby