Colorado's mountains are hard on big rigs: steep passes, tight Forest Service loops, and campgrounds with short parking spurs. The good news is that the state park system has full hookups at many parks, and a few national park and Forest Service campgrounds have power too.
This guide covers where to find hookups on public land, what they cost, and the rules RVers trip over. Private RV parks fill the gaps near most towns.
Hookups at a glance
| Where | Hookups | Price per night |
|---|---|---|
| Colorado state parks | Full hookup at many parks; electric at most | $32–$41 full, $27–$36 electric, plus vehicle pass |
| Mesa Verde (Morefield) | 15 full-hookup sites | $51 (two people) |
| Rocky Mountain (Moraine Park) | Electric only | $55 |
| Forest Service | Electric at a few campgrounds | From $32 (Junction Creek, Haviland Lake) |
State parks with full hookups
Colorado Parks and Wildlife runs 43 state parks with more than 4,600 campsites. Sites book six months ahead at midnight Mountain time on cpwshop.com, and every vehicle also needs a daily pass ($10–$12 with Colorado plates, $15–$17 out of state) or an annual pass. The stay limit is 14 days per park in any 28-day period, stricter at some parks such as Cherry Creek (14 days in 45).
These parks are among the best for RVs:
- Chatfield State Park (Littleton, southwest Denver): 197 sites, 146 with full hookups. Full hookups are seasonal, mid-April to mid-October; electric sites stay open year-round, and the dump station is open all year. Rigs over 13 feet tall must use the Plum Creek entrance rather than Deer Creek.
- Cherry Creek State Park (Aurora): full-hookup and tent sites year-round, on an 880-acre reservoir minutes from Denver.
- Cheyenne Mountain State Park (Colorado Springs): 61 sites with full-hookup and tent sites year-round, though only one loop stays open in winter and the shower building closes from November to April.
- Ridgway State Park (near Ridgway and Ouray): the Pa-Co-Chu-Puk campground has full hookups with 50-amp power and individual water and sewer. Dakota Terraces (76 sites) and Elk Ridge (98 sites) have 30-amp electric with shared water hydrants, and select sites stay open, plowed, in winter.
- James M. Robb Colorado River State Park (Clifton, Grand Junction area): the Fruita section has 22 full-hookup sites with 50-amp power and 22 electric sites; Island Acres has 40 full-hookup and 34 electric sites. Open year-round.
For more on state park camping, see our Colorado campgrounds guide.
National parks
- Mesa Verde, Morefield Campground: run by Aramark, 267 sites including 15 full-hookup RV sites at $51 (dry sites $38), based on two people. Reservations are recommended. Open spring to fall, with limited off-season loops and no dump station in the off-season.
- Rocky Mountain, Moraine Park: electric sites at $55 in summer, RVs up to 40 feet, no water hookups, with a dump station and fresh-water fill. Glacier Basin takes rigs up to 35 feet and Aspenglen and Timber Creek up to 30 feet, without hookups. See camping near Estes Park for how campground reservations tie into timed entry.
- Black Canyon of the Gunnison: the South Rim has electric sites listed at $34, but only 25 non-electric sites reopened after the 2025 South Rim Fire.
Forest Service campgrounds with power
Most of the Forest Service campgrounds we cover have no hookups. Near Durango, two are exceptions:
- Junction Creek, four miles from downtown Durango: many sites with electric hookups, RVs up to 65 feet listed on Recreation.gov. No dump station; the nearest are in Durango and Cortez.
- Haviland Lake, 18 miles north of Durango: many sites with electric hookups, on an 80-acre lake.
Details for both are in our Durango camping guide.
Rules RVers should know
- No hoses on hydrants at Pike National Forest campgrounds. At the campgrounds near Woodland Park, the Forest Service notes that Colorado regulations prohibit attaching hoses to hydrants to fill RVs. Arrive with a full fresh tank.
- Check the parking spur, not just the "max length." Many Forest Service campgrounds list long maximums, but the Forest Service warns that rigs over 36 feet will struggle in campgrounds like Meadow Ridge and Thunder Ridge above Rampart Reservoir. Large RVs aren't recommended on some byways, such as Guanella Pass.
- Mind the height limits. Chatfield's Deer Creek entrance has a 13-foot clearance.
- Winter: some state parks keep a loop open in winter (Cheyenne Mountain, Ridgway), but full hookups can be seasonal; at Chatfield they run mid-April to mid-October.
- Boondocking: if you're self-contained, our guide to dispersed camping in Colorado covers where you can camp free in national forests, and boondocking explains how it works.
