Indian Paintbrush Campground

Indian Paintbrush Campground is a medium sized campground located within Bear Creek Lake Regional Park just a 20-minute drive south from the heart of downtown Denver. There’s so much to do in the park that, for visitors, it’s hard not to want to stay overnight. The campground also gets an impressive amount of traffic from concert and event goers at nearby Red Rocks Amphitheater in the summertime—the lower parking lot at the venue is a mere 5-minute drive to the campground.

When you pay your camping fee or pay for your overnight stay at one of the two yurts or three cabins available for rent on the grounds, a pass for Bear Creek Lake Park is included within that price. If you are hoping to nab a sought-after spot in the yurts or the cabins, though, be sure to make reservations as early as possible. The campground doesn’t open until April 1, but the park begins accepting reservations in early January, and they book out relatively quickly for popular summer weekends.

The campground itself, though not heavily shaded, offers wide-open views of the lethargically rolling foothills to the Rocky Mountains. Red Rock’s blood-orange, towering sandstone formations assert their prominence along the skyline. Statistically speaking, you’ll avoid rain—locals claim that it’s sunny in Denver 300 days a year (though meteorologists assert that it’s sunny/partly sunny around 260 days a year).

This campground is super well maintained and offers amenities like clean bathrooms with hot showers and 47 sites with electrical hookups. Each site has a fire ring, a grill, and a picnic table, and there are several group sites with a 25-person capacity. Note that the campground won’t take reservations fewer than four weeks before the intended arrival date for these.

Indian Paintbrush Campground is ideally located inside the park. It’s just a short walk from Big Soda Lake and the swim beach, and it is accessible by the C-470 paved bike trail. It’s also within walking distance of the horse stables that offer rides around the park and can accommodate a wide variety of groups.