Winter RV camping in Colorado
Every one of the 12 Colorado state parks in this directory technically allows winter RV camping. That is not the same as saying they run normally. Most drop to a single loop or a single campground, close the shower building, shut off most outside water, and hand you a vault toilet instead of the flush restroom you used in July. This page goes park by park, sourced against Colorado Parks and Wildlife's (CPW) own camping and lodging pages, so you know what is actually open before you drive out there in January.
New to hookup terms or reservation systems? New to RVing covers the basics before you start planning a winter trip specifically.
What changes about winter camping versus summer
At almost every park below, winter camping means fewer open sites, not the same campground running on autopilot. Common changes: one loop or campground stays open while the rest close for the season, shower and laundry buildings shut down, some or all outside water hydrants get turned off to prevent freeze damage, and dump stations either close entirely or switch to dry-dump only (no rinse water). A handful of parks drop to first-come-first-served, self-contained-only camping with no services at all. None of that makes winter camping a bad idea. It does mean you cannot assume the park page you read for a summer trip still applies in January.
Colorado state parks open for winter RV camping
All 12 state parks in this directory allow winter camping in some form. Here is what is actually open at each, per CPW's own camping pages, checked directly for this guide rather than assumed from the summer listing.
Chatfield State Park
Only C-Loop, sites 103 through 153, stays open for winter camping. The D-Loop restroom, shower, and laundry building remains open through winter for campers staying in C-Loop, and the RV dump station runs year round. See Chatfield State Park for the rest of the park's summer camping areas.
Cherry Creek State Park
Winter camping (November 1 through March 31) is limited to the Abilene Loop, and a reservation is required rather than first-come-first-served. Electric hookups (20, 30, and 50 amp) stay live in winter, but the dump station closes for the season and reopens April 1, and showers and laundry may also close. See Cherry Creek State Park.
Boyd Lake State Park
Winter camping runs November 1 through March 31, with reduced sites available. Only the A and A/B loop restroom building, with flush toilets and showers, stays open; the B, C, D, E, and F loop restrooms close around November 1 each year, and laundry is not available in winter. See Boyd Lake State Park.
Eleven Mile State Park
Eleven Mile stays open for winter camping with reduced sites and services. Flush toilets, showers, and laundry only run roughly May 1 through Labor Day; the rest of the year you are working with vault toilets scattered through the loops instead. Water in the park is turned off for the season around May 1 the following spring, meaning it is off all winter, so bring your own or arrive with full tanks. The dump station is open by request only in winter, for campers with an active reservation. See Eleven Mile State Park.
Mueller State Park
Mueller operates year round, and the roads and sites open in winter are plowed. About 29 electrical sites stay open across the Peak View and Revenuer's Ridge campgrounds. The comfort station's flush toilets remain open, with vault toilets at Outlook Ridge, Peak View Campground, and across from site 87 as backup. Most outside hydrants are shut off for winter aside from one spigot at the comfort station, so plan to bring your own water, and the dump station runs dry-dump only (no rinse water) in the cold months. See Mueller State Park.
Ridgway State Park
Select loops in the Elk Ridge and Dakota Terraces campgrounds stay open and plowed for winter, with heated flush restrooms and free heated showers, a rare combination among the parks on this list. A year-round RV dump station also operates. Yurts are available year round too, at lower winter rates. See Ridgway State Park.
Golden Gate Canyon State Park
Reverend's Ridge Campground stays open at limited capacity for winter; Aspen Meadows closes for the season, typically late September into mid-May depending on weather. The camp office, shower building, laundry, and dump station all close in winter, though flush toilets and sinks stay available behind the campground office. Yurts and cabins stay open year round as an alternative. See Golden Gate Canyon State Park.
St. Vrain State Park
St. Vrain camps year round, with roughly 40 of its 87 sites open for winter use. Some water hydrants are shut off through winter to prevent freeze damage, so do not count on every spigot being live. See St. Vrain State Park.
Navajo State Park
All of Navajo's campgrounds except Arboles Point stay open through winter, but off-season campers need to be fully self-contained. The camper service buildings are winterized specifically in the Rosa and Tiffany areas; other parts of the park have winter closures. See Navajo State Park.
Steamboat Lake State Park
This one is different from every other park on this list. Regular campground camping does not run in winter. Instead, from around September 30 through the week before Memorial Day, Steamboat Lake offers about 12 first-come-first-served spots with electric outlets in the marina parking lot, self-contained rigs only, no tent camping, and no other services beyond trash cans and one water spigot. Treat this as dry camping with a power outlet, not a full campground stay. See Steamboat Lake State Park.
Sylvan Lake State Park
Sylvan Lake has no hookups at any time of year, so winter changes less here than elsewhere. Winter camping (November 1 through May 14) runs first-come-first-served, pay at a self-serve station. As of this writing, the park's shower house, flush toilets, and water spigots are closed due to drought conditions, on top of the usual winter reduction, so confirm current water status before you go. See Sylvan Lake State Park.
Lake Pueblo State Park
CPW's own camping page states camping is available year round at Lake Pueblo, but it does not spell out which of the park's four campgrounds stay open, whether restrooms are winterized, or dump station status for the winter months, instead directing callers to the park's visitor center for specifics. Rather than guess, call ahead if you are planning a winter stay here. See Lake Pueblo State Park.
Protecting your RV's water system in winter
Given how many of these parks shut off outside water or switch to vault toilets for the season, plan your rig's water setup as if you are boondocking, even at a park with electric hookups. A few habits that matter most: skip the standard drinking-water hose and use an insulated, heated fresh water hose if you must connect at all; carry your own fresh water and rely on your onboard tank rather than a park hydrant that might be shut off; insulate or heat exposed holding tanks and plumbing, especially on a rig not built for four-season use; run the furnace overnight rather than shutting it off to save propane, since a frozen and cracked water line costs far more to fix; and disconnect, drain, and store any hose you are not actively using between fill-ups. If a park's dump station is dry-dump only or closed, plan your route so you can empty tanks at a working station before or after the trip.
Private RV parks and resorts: mostly seasonal, a few year round
This directory's private parks and resorts are more of a mixed bag, and most do not publish a winter season at all. Grand Junction KOA Holiday states plainly that it runs year round. Garden of the Gods RV Resort in Colorado Springs also operates year round, with published fall/winter rates on its own site, though that detail comes from the resort itself rather than this directory's original research. Two parks explicitly close for the season: Estes Park KOA Holiday runs May 1 through October 15, and LaVern M. Johnson Park Campground runs mid-April through mid-October. The remaining private parks and resorts in this directory (Arkansas River Rim, Junction West Durango, Glenwood Canyon Resort, Jellystone Park at Larkspur) do not state a winter season publicly, so that is an honest gap rather than a confirmed year-round claim. Call ahead before planning a winter stay at any of them.
Picking a winter base, or deciding hookups matter more than season
If a full hookup site matters more to you than winter access specifically, see Colorado state parks with full hookups for which parks confirm sewer connections at all, in any season. If you are weighing a no-hookup winter stay against paying for a site with power, see Boondocking vs. full hookups in Colorado. For the rest of the directory, browse the full Colorado directory.
If your rig needs work before a winter trip
Frozen or cracked water lines, a furnace that will not light, or a generator that needs a look before a cold-weather trip are all things worth catching before you leave town, not at a half-empty winter campground two hours from the nearest shop. The Denver RV repair directory lists both shop and mobile providers in the metro area, researched the same way as every park on this site.
Frequently asked questions
Are any Colorado state parks open for RV camping in winter?
Yes. All 12 state parks in this directory allow some winter RV camping, but almost every one of them shrinks down to one loop, one campground, or a handful of first-come-first-served spots, with reduced or vault-only restrooms. None of them run full summer capacity from November through March.
Will my RV's water lines freeze at a Colorado state park in winter?
They can, if you rely on the park's outside spigots or leave your own fresh tank and hoses exposed. Several parks (Eleven Mile, St. Vrain, Mueller) explicitly shut off some or all outside hydrants for winter to prevent pipe damage. Plan to run your rig self-contained: heated hose or no hose at all, tanks insulated or heated, furnace running overnight.
Do any Colorado state parks keep full hookups running through winter?
Not confirmed for any park in this directory. Ridgway keeps 30-amp electric and heated flush restrooms open on select winter loops, and Chatfield and Cherry Creek keep electric hookups live on their open winter loop, but none of the CPW camping pages checked for this guide confirm sewer connections staying active at individual sites through winter. Expect electric-only at best and plan to manage your own tanks.
What about private RV parks and resorts in the directory, are they open in winter?
Mixed. Grand Junction KOA Holiday is a year-round campground. Garden of the Gods RV Resort in Colorado Springs also runs year round with published fall/winter rates, per the resort's own site. Estes Park KOA Holiday and LaVern M. Johnson Park Campground both close for the season (Estes Park KOA May 1 through October 15; LaVern Johnson mid-April through mid-October). The rest of the private parks and resorts in this directory do not publicly state a winter season, so treat that as an open question and call ahead.