U.S. Forest Service · White River National Forest · Colorado

Portal Campground

Portal Campground is located eleven miles southeast of Aspen on Independence Pass Road and seven miles south on Lincoln Creek Road at an elevation of 9,400'. Campers can access some wonderful day hikes from this location as well as terrain for motorcycle riding, mountain biking, ATV riding, fishing and horseback riding, among other recreation activities. Portal Campground has 5 campsites with limited spurs. 5 day stay limit. High clearance vehicles are required and 4x4 recommended. View Dates and Fees

First-come, first-served5 sitesTents only

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

Portal Campground
Photo from the area. Hunter Bryant hunterbryant (CC0), via Wikimedia Commons
1fire
active
Willow · 14 mi away · 7,359 acres
Interagency incident data as of 2026-10-26
Incident details ↓

Amenities & rules

EquipmentTents

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

Season & status

ForestWhite River National Forest
Rules5 day stay limit. High clearance vehicles are required and 4x4 recommended.

White River National Forest recreation page ↗

Weather by month

NOAA climate normals →
Weather by month near Portal Campground10°20°30°40°50°60°January: 0.44 inches of precipitationFebruary: 0.57 inches of precipitationMarch: 0.70 inches of precipitationApril: 0.83 inches of precipitationMay: 0.92 inches of precipitationJune: 0.72 inches of precipitationJuly: 1.67 inches of precipitationAugust: 1.56 inches of precipitationSeptember: 1.13 inches of precipitationOctober: 0.82 inches of precipitationNovember: 0.46 inches of precipitationDecember: 0.49 inches of precipitationJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 19.4°F averageFebruary: 20.0°F averageMarch: 27.3°F averageApril: 33.8°F averageMay: 43.7°F averageJune: 53.1°F averageJuly: 58.6°F averageAugust: 56.5°F averageSeptember: 49.9°F averageOctober: 39.9°F averageNovember: 29.5°F averageDecember: 20.7°F average0 in0.5 in1 in1.5 in2 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Twin Lakes Rsvr, 14 miles from the campground at 9,236 feet, station USC00058501 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 10 inches a year.

Getting there

Coordinates39.0760° N, 106.6129° W · Directions ↗

Fire nearby

  • Wildfire
    Willow

    14 mi from the campground · 7,359 acres · 92% contained

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

Supplies & services

Outdoor gearUte Mountaineer ↗13.5 mi
Dump stationDump station ↗33.1 mi
RV sales & serviceHoliday RV ↗48.3 mi

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

Explore

Trails nearby

Forest Service trail data →
  • 0.1 mi
    Grizzly Lake
    3.6 mi trail · hiking, horse
  • 2 mi
    Tabor Creek
    3.9 mi trail · hiking, horse
  • 2.2 mi
    Mountain Boy
    2.7 mi trail · snowshoe, ski
  • 2.4 mi
    McNassar Gulch
    1.6 mi trail · hiking, horse, bike
  • 2.4 mi
    Graham Gulch
    2 mi trail · hiking, horse, bike
  • 2.8 mi
    New York Creek
    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 →

Collegiate Peaks Wilderness begins about 0.4 miles away, and it is the closest of these.

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

We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.

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

Reference

Questions people ask

Do I need a reservation at Portal Campground?

No. Portal Campground is first-come, first-served. Sites are taken on arrival and paid at the fee station.

Source: Forest Service

How many sites does Portal Campground have?

5 sites.

Source: Forest Service

Can I bring an RV to Portal Campground?

Portal Campground is listed for tents only.

Source: Forest Service

What if Portal Campground is full?

The nearest public campgrounds are Lost Man Campground (3.2 mi, first-come), Lincoln Creek Dispersed Campground (5.3 mi, first-come), and Lincoln Gulch Campground (5.3 mi, first-come).

Source: Campgrounds nearby