11 Must Haves for Tent Camping in Colorado 2024
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The road to Paradise Basin leads to some of the best spots for dispersed tent camping in Colorado
Car camping in Colorado is often paired with hitting up scenic hiking trails.
Leaning towards nature’s luxury, we prefer to pitch our tents among alpine wildflowers while summer camping in the colorful Rocky Mountains.
But peeping Aspens in the fall across the Rocky Mountains is a great way to end your camping season with an exclamation point!
With over 40 years combined camping experiences, we’re STILL tent camping with spouses and kids, but we’ve learned a thing or two along the way.
First, we’ve got our favorite campgrounds we love returning to.
But it all boils down to this: when it comes to camping essentials, do not skimp on comfort or great coffee.
Here are our tried-and-true eleven must haves. Many of our favorite pieces of gear for camping work well on overnight backpacking trips too.
Tent camping in Colorado offers serenity and great views like this one
Essentials for Camping in Colorado
Whether you’re tent camping in a national forest campground or dispersed camping on BLM land, your first three essential pieces of camping gear center around sleeping in the warmest, driest, and comfiest way possible.
What is dispersed camping?
Many people love camping away from developed campgrounds and with no one else in sight. Dispersed camping is the term used for camping anywhere in the National Forest OUTSIDE of a designated campground.
This means no services, like trash removal, and little or no facilities like picnic tables and fire pits. You bring everything you need, including WAG bags to carry your human waste out. (Some popular dispersed camping areas may have toilets, but I have yet to see one.)
There are extra responsibilities and skills that are necessary for dispersed camping. It is your responsibility to know these things before you try this new experience. We will delve into those in a future post.
Sound sleep at night means more energy for outdoor adventures each day. So let’s start by talking about the best tents for camping in Colorado’s mountains and forests.
1. Tent
A tent is the first camping essential; Melody used this Featherstone tent hiking the Four Pass Loop
When camping in Colorado, you want a good sturdy tent that will keep you warm and dry.
Tents with ventilation are great to keep air flow moving through on warmer camping days.
We suggest bringing a tent with a rain fly, in case of a passing afternoon thunderstorm that Colorado summers are known for. A rain fly also provides an extra layer of insulation from chilly temps at night.
A footprint (or tarp) underneath your tent, will keep your tent floor dry and clean and more tear resistant from rocks or twigs.
Our 3 favorite tents for camping in the mountains:
REI Base Camp 6 Tent - Roomy enough for six people; we’ve had ours for 20 years!
Featherstone UL Granite 2P Backpacking Tent - Your no-frills freestanding tent that’s ready for any kind of adventure, whether it’s car camping, backpacking or thru-hiking.
Marmot Tungsten 4P Tent with Footprint - Free-standing design with two D-shaped doors and two vestibules for gear storage; two doors = no climbing over your partner for middle of the night bathroom trips.
PRO TIP: Know where to pitch your tent, and where not to
2. Sleeping Bag
Warm, lightweight sleeping bags are essential for tent camping in Colorado.
Remember, the higher in elevation you choose to camp, the chillier the nights will be, even in summer.
#1 on our list of gear for camping in Colorado is a warm, lightweight sleeping bag.
You can plan on 3-4 degrees colder temps with every 1,000 feet higher you ascend. Colorado nights can be significantly colder than sunny day time temps, especially when you are camping above 8,000 feet.
Your first tent camping essential is a down sleeping bag. Lightweight and warm, they pack down tight.
There are many synthetic filled sleeping bags that are light and packable as well. If you are allergic to duck down, these are a good option.
Sleeping bags are rated by how cold of a night you can sleep in your bag and still stay warm. We lean towards a 20 degree sleeping bag for camping in Colorado in summer in the mountains.
We help you choose the right bag by breaking down our top 3 sleeping bags for Colorado camping during spring, summer, and fall.
Here’s two of our three favorites:
Kelty Cosmic 20 Down Sleeping Bag - Lightweight and great for backpacking too! Everyone in our family has one.
Zenbivy Core Bed - Sleep more on a bed, and less in a bag.
Looking to add extra warmth for sleeping at high elevation or around the campfire after the sun goes down? Go for the fire resistant Rumpl blanket.
After all of your hiking and exploring, you will want a good sleeping pad to keep you warm and comfy at night
3. Sleeping Pad
Your choice of sleeping pad is just as important as your sleeping bag, in our opinion.
A good sleeping pad adds comfort and warmth off the cold ground, meaning you’ll sleep better under Colorado’s star-studded skies.
Unfortunately, this is one of the essentials for camping too many people skip.
Our Kelty sleeping bags with our older Exped sleeping pads
Did You Know? A sleeping pad's R-value measures how well it resists heat flow through it ("R" for resist). The higher the R-value, the better it will insulate you from cold surfaces. Most sleeping pads R-values range from less than 2 to 5.5 or more.
Pick a noiseless sleeping pad that also packs down light and tight, in case you decide to head out on an overnight backpacking trip down the road.
My trusty, old medium-wide Exped Synmat Sleeping Pad has a pretty high R-value rating of 4.9 and makes hardly any noise when I move around on it.
Our top 3 sleeping pads for Colorado camping:
Exped Dura 5R sleeping pad - Their customer service is five-star; they’ve replaced 2 of our older pads due to small issues.
Zenbivy Flex 3D Mattress - Great for car camping and backpacking alike.
Sea to Summit Ether Light XT sleeping pad - Lightweight and great for side sleepers; ultralight for backpackers.
RELATED: A Simple Guide to Preparing for a Backpacking Trip
4. Camp Stove
A two burner stove should be top on your list of gear for camping
Waking up to the smell of sizzling bacon and coffee in the middle of a pine tree forest is unmatchable.
My favorite camping memories as a kid are watching my dad flip pancakes in hot bacon grease over the camp stove.
A solid two burner camp stove is one of our car camping essentials.
Get one with a large cook surface and a good set-up for wind resistance. Powerful output with excellent simmering abilities and easy clean-up are important must-haves in a camp stove as well.
Our trusty Jetboil gets water boiling in a flash
PRO TIP: Boil up water in a snap for coffee and hot cocoa first thing in the morning with a JetBoil system. Our old JetBoil system frees up the camp stove for other cooking and boils water in a flash.
Our top 3 favorite camp stoves:
Camp Chef Everest - We love using this high-pressure compact camp stove that stays lit even in windy conditions, thanks to a 3-sided windscreen.
Jet Boil Genesis Basecamp - The world's first complete cooking solution in one easy-to-carry travel bag. Jetboil makes smaller systems great for backpacking too.
Eureka Ignite Plus 2-Burner Camp Stove - Ideal for large groups
5. Camp Coffee Maker
For true coffee snobs, making good camp coffee surprisingly has lots of options.
While I love a good pour over, my husband relishes the Aeropress version. Our favorite tent camping friends loves the famous French Press.
Lots of options for making coffee, a must have when camping
Since kids look forward to a steaming mug of hot cocoa upon slipping out of their sleeping bags, the first thing we do in the mornings is fill a large Thermos Carafe with hot water.
Our large Thermos has become essential for camping in the Rocky Mountains.
PRO TIP: Find a large vintage Thermos beverage dispenser that keeps water hot for hours — ready for coffee and hot cocoa afficiandos. Search your local Goodwill or find many on eBay.
Our Jetboil boils up water in mere minutes, keeping the two burner stove freed up for cooking up camp vittles.
Wearing layers and holding hot drink in hand, chilly mornings have nothing on us!
We keep insulated mugs, one for each camper, on hand in our camping supplies at all times.
Stanley Classic Vacuum French Press
Our top 3 favorite ways to make camp coffee:
Miir Pourigami - Slides in your back pocket as the world’s smallest, most durable and portable travel coffee dripper.
Aeropress Go Travel Coffee Press - My husband uses this EVERY MORNING.
Stanley Classic Vacuum French Press - Holds 48 fluid ounces of piping hot joe.
6. Large Skillet
One of the best gifts we ever received was a huge hand-me-down skillet from a camping buddy.
It’s gone everywhere we’ve gone tent camping in Colorado and beyond.
A large skillet is a car camping essential
One large skillet and a large pot will go a long ways in serving up all sorts of one-pot meals around the camp fire.
Invest in an enduring cast iron skillet, plus a non-stick skillet to get your camp kitchen started.
Next to sleeping gear, your outdoor kitchen is of utmost importance on your list of gear for camping.
Our top 3 favorite camp skillets:
Barebones 10” All in One Cast Iron Skillet - Comes pre-seasoned with sunflower oil and boasts two pour spouts and comfort grip handle.
Lodge Dutch Oven Combo - It's a deep cast iron skillet, a fryer, OR a Dutch oven. Voila!
Jetboil Summit Skillet - Serve up pancakes or an egg scramble in this lightweight, nonstick skillet.
Your ultimate guide to Colorado camping. We’re spilling the beans and sharing all our best tips and tricks to make your Colorado camping trip unforgettable.
Our 75 full-page Exploring and Enjoying Camping in Colorado eBook (PDF) covers:
Types of Campgrounds
How to Practice Leave No Trace Principles While Camping (lnt.org/)
Bear Awareness & Safety
How to Book a Campground Online
Tips for Getting Last-Minute Campsites in Colorado
Our Favorite Campgrounds in Colorado
How to Set Up Your Entire Campsite
How to Set Up Your Camp Kitchen
Additional Gear Needed for Dispersed Camping
11 Camping Recipes Everyone Loves
Camp Coffee Tips
Cooking Over a Campfire
Building and Putting Out a Campfire
Camping Bin Checklists
Personal Camping Pack List
Things to Consider While Off the Grid / In Case of Emergency
DIY Med Kit
And more!
7. Large Cooler
Arguably one of the most common pieces of essential camping gear, not all large coolers are made alike.
So we’re only going to tell you about our very favorite.
Keep cold things cold and big bears out with this ultralight cooler (just 13 lbs when empty!) that’s nearly half the price of popular brands.
Our Rugged Road 65 cooler kept ice for days, longer than the Yeti, allowing us to stay off the grid.
A look inside our lightweight Rugged Road 65 cooler
Why the Rugged Road 65 V2 Cooler is essential for Colorado tent camping:
Holds 9.92 gallons or 55lbs. of ice or 65 12 oz. cans
Patented Titan Shell™ construction
7+ days of ice retention—top 1% performance
Floats upright so you can use on rafting or paddling excursions too!
Kick Flip Lid™ - Unique detachable/reversible lid with cup holders and cutting board
“Double-Up” Handle System
Non-Slip Surface
8. Camp Chair
While we absolutely love our good ole’ hammocks for chilling around the campsite, our trusty camp chairs are the true must haves for your bum when it comes to hanging around the camp fire.
From the first cup of morning Joe to dinner around the campfire, our camp chairs gets a lot of use.
A good camp chair, like the Eno Lounger SL, is a car camping essential
We’ve loved the packable, lightweight Eno Lounger SL Chairs so much over the years, we eventually bought one for every person in our family.
Look for a camp chair that offers comfort in a lightweight, packable, go-to option great for camping, concerts, soccer games, picnics and more.
Our top 3 camp chairs:
Eno Lounger Chair - If you love the ENO hammock, you’ll love this lightweight camp chair with a breathable mesh seat. We even took ours to Holbox Mexico in our carryons.
Eno Lounger DL Chair - Just taller than the SL with more headrest.
Helinox Chair Zero - Great for backpacking too, this baby packs down to the width of a standard 32 oz. water bottle and weighs just one pound.
9. Headlamp
Headlamps are a hiking and camping essential; here we are using headlamps beginning our Grand Canyon Rim to Rim hike
Essential for camping and hiking in Colorado, headlamps allow you to move around camp hands-free in before dawn or after dusk.
Getting up early to summit a 14er or snag a trailhead parking spot? No problem.
Brushing your teeth in the dark after one last s’mores treat? No sweat.
We make sure each person in our camping crew has their own headlamp to get chores down after dark.
Our top 3 favorite headlamps:
Black Diamond Cosmo 350 Headlamp - Compact and watertight with a 350-lumen beam and a red light option to light up the night.
Petzl Tikka Core Headlamp - Excellent for night hiking, campsite maneuvering after dark or reading in your tent, this baby comes with a rechargeable battery.
BioLite HeadLamp 330 - Super lightweight with a rechargeable battery.
10. Water Purifier
In addition to the obvious individual water bottles for everyone in the group, plus a community 5 gallon water jug, a water purifier is one of our essentials for camping in Colorado.
A water purifier is a Colorado camping essential, just in case!
A water purifier comes in handy when you land at a primitive campground in one heckuva gorgeous alpine setting, but the campground spigot isn’t turned on, or there simply isn’t one.
We love car camping near water, be it a creek, a river, or a lake. So remember this little tip…
PRO TIP: For emergency drinking water, scoop up water into containers from a place where water is moving or flowing and not stagnant. Then, bring water to a rolling boil in your Jetboil or camp stove for three minutes at high altitude. Let water cool naturally and store it in clean containers with covers.
Therefore, if you’re not near a water source or you didn’t pack enough water, and the nearest town is quite a ways off, a water purifier is plain smart.
This is a standard must have for overnight backpacking, through hiking and tent camping in Colorado.
Our top 3 favorite water purifiers for camping and hiking:
Katadyn BeFree 1.0 L Water Filter Bottle - Lightweight and compact, it filters at a rate of up to 2 liters of water per minute. Melody loved on her Four Pass Loop backpacking trip last summer.
Epic Water Outdoor OG Woodsman - Ridding the planet of single-use plastic bottles and boasting an interchangeable filter system on a Nalgene wide mouth water bottle - turns cloudy lake water and turns it into clean drinking water! Read our Water Purifier review here.
Sawyer Squeeze Water Filter - Weighing in at only 3 oz., it makes filtering water as simple as filling a pouch and squeezing water into your mouth.
Just a few items in our DIY first aid medical kit for camping in Colorado.
11. First Aid Medical Kit
When you’re living and exploring the great outdoors, bringing a first aid kit is always a good idea.
You can buy a med kit made for backcountry excursions or …
Create your own first aid kit.
Your DIY First Aid Kit for exploring Colorado should include moleskin (for bothersome blisters), bandages and band-aids of various sizes, tweezers, gauze roll, antibiotic cream, syringe, small scissors* and ibuprofen.
Throw in duct tape /Tenacious Tape (for repairs on sleeping and camping gear), stormproof matches and small fire starters (toilet roll tube stuffed with lint works well), a small backup lighter, and backup water treatment pills (chlorine dioxide) and now you have a pretty good first aid emergency kit for the outdoors.
Round out your emergency kit with a Leatherman Signal Multi Tool, which offers 19 tools, including a fire-starting ferro rod, 420HC stainless-steel partially serrated blade, saw, pliers, emergency whistle, customizable bit driver and a built-in hammer. Whew!
This two way radio saved us when we blew a tire driving out of the mountains. We were able to communicate to our friends easily in an area where our cell phones had no service.
Add Peace of Mind When Off the Grid
Besides bear spray, there are more things you can add to your list of tent camping essentials for peace of mind in Colorado’s rugged wilderness.
We dispersed camped at Paradise Basin up past Crested Butte and our two way radios served us well as we climbed our way there, but we sure wish we had grabbed the Garmin in-Reach Mini to check in with loved ones back home.
Purely off the grid, our cell phones were useless on this high mountain pass at an elevation of 11,309 feet. Reached via an easy 4x4 drive up near Schofield Pass, summer camping in Colorado’s Paradise Basin near Crested Butte is lovely in July and August especially.
We popped a tire on our way back down to Crested Butte. Thankfully, we were caravaning with friends and communicating via our two way radios.
Here’s our top 3 technology camping must haves when sleeping off the grid:
Garmin In Reach Mini - This compact satellite communicator weighs only 3.5 oz. and adds peace of mind while camping or backpacking in the Colorado mountains.
Midland Micromobile Two Way Radios and Walkie Talkies - We used the heck out of these while traveling 4x roads in Gunnison County with friends.
BioLite Charge 80 PD Power Bank - A fellow outdoorsman used this on a 5 day, 4 night hiking/camping trip. It charged his lights and phone in an expected amount of time and had plenty of charge remaining when the trip was over. Weighs only 22 ounces.
Summer camping in Colorado
Know Where to Pitch Your Tent
When it comes to tent camping in Colorado, use your noggin’ when you go to pitch your tent on your campsite.
There’s nothing I love more than sleeping near a rushing creek or under the protection of a tree, but first things first:
Pitch your tent near a water source that’s not prone to flooding. Plus, no one wants to haul water back and forth to camp for miles. Or learn how far away your campground spigot sits.
If it’s hot and humid, choose a space with plenty of shade and water. If it’s cold and windy, pick a spot near something that will block the wind and offer some protection. Watch out for widow-makers though! DO NOT camp underneath dead trees or dead tree limbs.
Look out for bees nests or worn paths leading to animal dens.
Free Dispersed Camping: When driving around Colorado, look for signs that let you know you're entering a national forest. Any county or forest service roads could potentially allow dispersed camping. Regulations vary and are sometimes marked. BLM Land is often marked as well as such.
BONUS TIP: When camping in bear country, food should be hung from trees in sealed bags at least 12' feet high or kept in a bear-proof canister far away from everyone’s campsite. NEVER sleep with food in the tent, and that includes not leaving ANY scented toiletries, etc in your tent as well (ie. toothpaste).
Last minute Camping reservations
Through ARVIE, we got a last-minute campground reservation due to someone else’s last minute cancellation this past weekend.
ARVIE is a great way to get some of those coveted sites that someone else had to drop. Simply enter the campground you desire and the dates you want to go. When someone drops their reservation, yours is automatically added!
Learn more about getting last-minute campsites through ARVIE.
Quick Tips for Summer Camping in Colorado
Here’s a quick bullet list of good reminders for car camping:
Don’t forget your hiking shoes and your daypack! Many Colorado Campgrounds are home to the best trailheads.
Don’t forget your bear spray either. Ask us. We’ve had a few close calls.
Plan easy one pot meals and prep as much as you can ahead of time. Bring your most used condiments, spices, salt & pepper, and olive oil.
Restock your camp gear boxes right when you get back home so you’re ready to go at a moment’s notice.
Everyone has a camp chair.
Set up a hand washing / dish washing area with a 5 gallon jug and a plastic wash bin.
Bring another 5 gallon jug for drinking water and cooking.
Mini dust pan and broom keeps tents debris-free.
Bring your hammocks, but check to make sure you’re allowed to hang them at your campsite.
Pack wet wipes / WAG bags / extra TP / hand sanitizer.
Everyone has their own cup and eating utensil, plus one insulated mug
and a bandana - each person cleans and keeps track of their own.Camp shoes are set outside your tent to keep your tent clean.
Make s’mores with a twist: chocolate covered biscuits with marshmallows or Reese’s Cup instead of Hershey’s chocolate.
Always bring hot cocoa packets, assorted tea bags, coffee, lemonade mix, popcorn, and M&Ms — it’s the little things!
Camping games like Bocce ball, Corn Hole, and Can Jam are fun on car camping trips.
Bring a deck of cards, Over Under, and other card games to pass the time during rainy weather.
We love stringing a few of these Luci Inflatable Solar Lanterns around camp.
Hang bright bandanas or ribbon to warn each other of string and ropes tethered to tents and shade canopies. No one wants to trip over those.
Bring your inflatable paddleboards — there are so many fantastic spots to paddleboard in Colorado!
Pack your fishing gear — and don’t forget your Colorado fishing license.
You will need cash to pay for firewood and last minute campsites (first-come, first-served).
Bring any hiking maps or maps of the area printed out, in case you don’t have service.
Back up batteries for headlamps or lanterns.
An individual camper packing checklist really helps make sure everyone brings what they need every time!
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