Rocky Mountain National Park camping and RV campgrounds.

All 5 Rocky Mountain campgrounds, compared.

The short version: pick Moraine Park if you have a big rig, want electricity, or are camping in winter, because it's the only campground that offers any of those. Pick Glacier Basin or Aspenglen if you want your reservation's timed entry to cover the Bear Lake Road Corridor. Timber Creek is the west-side pick, but its reservation doesn't cover that corridor. Longs Peak is for tent campers without a reservation who can live with no water. The campgrounds sit between 8,160 feet at Moraine Park and 9,500 feet at Longs Peak. Glacier Basin and Longs Peak have already closed for 2026. Seasons, fees, and rules come from the NPS campgrounds page, last updated June 24, 2026, and checked September 11. Site counts come from the NPS campground records, and elevations from the NPS accessibility page. Glacier Basin's record lists 150 campsites but also counts 153 as reservable, so we use 150. RV limits apply to RVs and trailers alike, and fees are per site, per night.

How to book, and what your reservation includes.

Reserve Aspenglen, Glacier Basin, Moraine Park, and Timber Creek on Recreation.gov, in the Recreation.gov app, or by calling 1-877-444-6777. You can't book in person at a campground or visitor center, and there are no same-day sales. Some sites can be reserved up to six months ahead, and others come out on a short-term release. Sites go well in advance, but when someone cancels, the site goes straight back on Recreation.gov, so keep checking.

Your reservation and timed entry. A reservation at Aspenglen, Glacier Basin, or Timber Creek includes a timed entry permit. You can first enter the park at 1 p.m. on your first day, which is also check-in time. To get in earlier, arrive before timed entry hours begin (9 a.m. for most of the park) or book a timed entry permit. Glacier Basin and Aspenglen campers can also use the Bear Lake Road Corridor, and Timber Creek campers can go everywhere except that corridor. The Longs Peak camping fee doesn't include timed entry, so you'll need an entrance fee and possibly a permit. NPS names only those three campgrounds, and its page doesn't say either way for Moraine Park. Our Rocky Mountain reservations page has the timed entry details.

At the gate. Have your confirmation ready, printed or as a screenshot of the full confirmation, along with the reservation holder's photo ID, before you reach the entrance station. Cell service there isn't reliable, so don't count on opening the app. Rocky Mountain is cashless: entrance and campground fees are card only. Camping fees are separate from the entrance fee.

Pass discounts. Senior and Access Pass holders get 50% off standard sites. No other pass qualifies, including the Rocky Mountain National Park Annual Pass and the America the Beautiful annual pass.

Timber Creek in 2026. In January the park said Timber Creek would close on August 10, 2026, for sewer work. That closure was called off, reservations reopened through October 4, and the campground closes at noon on October 5.

RVs, electric sites, and generators.

Four campgrounds take RVs and trailers: Moraine Park up to 40 feet, Glacier Basin 35, and Aspenglen and Timber Creek 30. Longs Peak is tents only. No campsite in the park has water hookups. Moraine Park has 49 electric sites in Loops B and C, at $55 a night, with 20, 30, and 50 amp service. Aspenglen has no electric hookups, and RVs and trailers aren't allowed in Glacier Basin's group loop.

Dump stations run seasonally at Moraine Park, Glacier Basin, and Timber Creek. Aspenglen has no dump station or fresh water fill, and NPS points you to Moraine Park or Glacier Basin, which closed for 2026 on September 8. In winter, Moraine Park's fresh water fill and dump station stay open. None of the campgrounds has showers.

Generators can run from 7:30 to 10 a.m. and 4 to 8:30 p.m. at Moraine Park, Glacier Basin, and Timber Creek, and at Aspenglen only in Loop C. They aren't allowed in Moraine Park's Loop D, at Glacier Basin sites C76 to 104, or in Glacier Basin's group loop. Quiet hours run 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. at every campground, and that includes generators.

Timber Creek is on the west side of the park, about 8 miles from the town of Grand Lake on Trail Ridge Road. Trail Ridge Road normally closes to through travel in mid-October and reopens in the last week of May. Our Trail Ridge Road page has its dates.

Camp rules that change your trip.

A family site holds up to 8 people and 2 vehicles, and a trailer or RV counts as a vehicle. You get one camping unit plus one extra tent, and every tent goes on the tent pad. Some sites fit only one vehicle, so extra vehicles go to overflow parking, which is first-come and not guaranteed. Check-in starts at 1 p.m., and you must be packed up and out by noon.

From May 1 through October 15, you can camp 7 nights total in the park, counted across every campground. You can camp another 14 nights between November 1 and April 30.

At Timber Creek, bears, deer, elk, raccoons, and skunks come through, so all food, pet food, cooking gear, and scented items go in your vehicle or a food storage locker. Fires go only in the metal fire grates, never left unattended, and gathering firewood is prohibited. An NPS campground record we checked on September 10, 2026, said Stage 2 fire restrictions were in effect until further notice, banning all campfires, including charcoal. Petroleum-fueled stoves and grills were still allowed in campgrounds. Check NPS current conditions before you bring firewood.

Pets are allowed in campgrounds on a leash no longer than six feet, but they aren't allowed on any trail, tundra, or meadow.

Camping and the crowd calendar.

Rocky Mountain's camping season sits inside its busiest months, and July is the peak. April averages 21% of July's visits, and only Moraine Park is open, first-come, first-served. May runs 40%, and Aspenglen, Glacier Basin, Moraine Park, and Timber Creek opened for summer camping on May 21, 2026. June climbs to 79%. July is the peak, and Longs Peak opened July 2. August runs 85% and September 75%, when the closings start: Glacier Basin and Longs Peak closed September 8, and Aspenglen closes September 28. October drops to 50%. Timber Creek closes October 5, and Moraine Park switches to winter camping on October 19. November falls to 19%. Our pick is mid- to late September: visits run below July and August, and you still have three campgrounds to choose from until Aspenglen closes. After that, Timber Creek has a week left, and Moraine Park carries on through winter.

Month-by-month tradeoffs are on the best time to visit Rocky Mountain page.

No reservation? What still works.

Longs Peak. In summer, Longs Peak Campground has the only first-come, first-served sites in the park. It typically opens in early July and closes in early September, and it closed for 2026 on September 8. Its 26 sites are tents only, each with a tent pad, picnic table, and fire ring, and there are food storage boxes, vault toilets, and a dumpster, but no water. Pay the $30 fee with Scan & Pay in the Recreation.gov app. It fills quickly each day.

Winter camping. From October 19, 2026, Moraine Park is the only campground open. It's first-come, first-served in Loop A (sites 1 to 62), Loop B, Loop C, and Loop E. Groups of 8 or more use a group site in Loop E, and electric sites are in Loops B and C. Standard sites are $30 a night and electric sites $55, paid with Scan & Pay or in person at the Beaver Meadows or Fall River Entrances. Campsites aren't plowed or shoveled, so pack a shovel. Firewood and ice aren't sold in the campground in winter, but Estes Park has supplies. Our Rocky Mountain in winter page has more.

Backcountry camping. The park's wilderness has designated sites only, with no dispersed camping. An overnight trip needs a wilderness permit ($10 per permit) and a dashtag for your vehicle, both picked up in person at a Wilderness Office. Summer permit reservations opened March 1 on Recreation.gov, and winter permits are first-come, first-served in person. You must carry a bear canister and store it 200 feet from your campsite. There's also an accessible backcountry campsite near Sprague Lake, at 8,730 feet and about half a mile from the trailhead. It holds up to 12 campers, including up to 5 wheelchairs, for up to 3 nights, May through October. Reserve it by calling the Wilderness Permit Office at 970-586-1242.

There are campgrounds outside the park too, but we don't track them.

Common questions.

Can you free camp in Rocky Mountain National Park?

No. Every campground charges a fee, from $30 to $55 a night, and the park's wilderness has designated sites only, with no dispersed camping. A backpacking trip needs a wilderness permit, which costs $10.

What is the 200 rule for camping?

The 200-foot rule Rocky Mountain National Park publishes is for backpackers. All food, scented items, and garbage go in a hard-sided, lockable bear canister, and the canister must be stored 200 feet from your wilderness campsite at all times. At the five drive-in campgrounds, food goes in your vehicle or a food storage locker instead.

How much does it cost to camp at Rocky Mountain National Park?

In summer, standard sites cost $35 a night, electric sites at Moraine Park $55, and tent sites at Longs Peak $30. Glacier Basin's group sites are $50, $60, or $70 by size. In winter, Moraine Park's standard sites drop to $30, and electric sites stay at $55. Senior and Access Pass holders get 50% off standard sites, and the entrance fee is separate.

Is Timber Creek Campground open in 2026?

Yes. A closure planned for August 10, 2026, for sewer work was called off, so Timber Creek stays open through the season. Reservations are available through October 4, and it closes at noon on October 5.

Is Moraine Park Campground open in winter?

Yes. It's the only campground open in winter, first-come, first-served, from October 19, 2026. Standard sites are $30 a night and electric sites $55. The fresh water fill and dump station stay open, but campsites aren't plowed, so bring a shovel.

Do I need a timed entry permit if I have a campground reservation?

Not at Aspenglen, Glacier Basin, or Timber Creek: the reservation includes one, starting at 1 p.m. on your first day. Longs Peak's camping fee doesn't include timed entry. NPS's campground page doesn't say either way for Moraine Park.

Where these facts come from

Seasons, fees, pass discounts, cashless payment, booking methods, timed entry for campers, gate requirements, cancellations, the Timber Creek reschedule, Longs Peak, winter camping, stay limits, RV limits, occupancy, vehicles, quiet hours, and pets come from the NPS Rocky Mountain campgrounds page, last updated June 24, 2026. Site counts, electric and group sites, dump stations, generator hours, fire rules and the September 10 fire restriction note, Longs Peak's payment method, and campground coordinates come from the NPS API campground records. Campground elevations and the Sprague Lake accessible campsite come from the NPS physical mobility page; wilderness permits, dashtags, and bear canisters from the NPS wilderness backpacking page; Trail Ridge Road's season from NPS news releases. Visit shares are five-year monthly means (2021 to 2025) of recreation visits from NPS Visitor Use Statistics, as a percentage of July, the park's busiest month. Crowd numbers are five-year monthly means (2021 to 2025) of recreation visits from the NPS Visitor Use Statistics Data Package on NPS IRMA Stats. Independent site, not affiliated with the National Park Service.