U.S. Forest Service · White River National Forest · CO

Cow Creek North (CO)

ReservableOut of season, no booking; November 20 opens May 20.
Book on recreation.govWe make nothing when you book
Right now
Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
A night
$21From, per site
Sites
125 on recreation.gov
7,970 ftElevation
349 ftWater · Green Mountain Reservoir
12 miSE of Kremmling, CO
0%Tree cover
Bortle 3Night sky · 360th darkest of 522 in CO

The place

the agency’s own description · what’s there · 10 notices

In the agency’s own words

Cow Creek North Campground is on the northeast shores of Green Mountain Reservoir in White River National Forest, offering an ideal setting for visitors seeking a multitude of recreational activities both on water and land. All motorized watercraft must be inspected for Aquatic Nuisance Species and must launch from a monitored launch ramp. The Heeney Marina below the Town of Heeney on the west shore is open during daylight hours throughout the season. Keep reading

Recreation

Encompassing a landscape of rivers, mountains, trails and forest roads, the White River National Forest is one of the top recreation forests in the nation. Located on the shores of Green Mountain reservoir, Cow Creek Campground is a popular spot for boating, canoeing, fishing, water skiing and windsurfing. Anglers will find populations of rainbow and brown trout, as well as kokanee salmon when casting their lines out into the water. Spring Creek is a popular off-roading area located at the northern end of the Gore Mountain Range. A network of roads open to off-road vehicle use meanders through lodgepole pine and spruce/fir forests. Viewpoints of surrounding mountains open up along these roads.

Facilities

Cow Creek North Campground has 5 group sites suitable for tents, trailers and RVs. Vault toilets are provided. The landscape around the lake is open with very few trees and miles of mountain views. Each group site has 2 picnic tables and a fire ring.

Natural Features

In the heart of the Rocky Mountains, the 2.3 million-acre White River National Forest is a place of serenity and adventure, boasting eight wilderness areas, four defined seasons and ten peaks surpassing 14,000 feet in elevation. The White River National Forest was established in 1891 as the White River Plateau Timber Reserve; the second such reserve to be named in the United States. In 1905, the newly formed Forest Service was given authority of the reserve. Long before this designation, the area was home to the Ute Indians who followed herds of elk and bison on their seasonal migrations. Wildlife in the area abounds. Bighorn sheep navigate rocky ridges and bull elk bugle at dusk. Scenic rivers sustain populations of cutthroat, rainbow and brown trout. Alpine regions provide habitat for pika and ptarmigan. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (801) 226-3564.

Nearby Attractions

Take some time to visit Rocky Mountain National Park to learn about the diverse landscape and history of the area through interpretive programs and exhibits. In the summer visitors may want to traverse Trail Ridge Road from one side of the park to the other, reaching alpine vistas boasting elevations of more than 12,000 feet.

Charges & Cancellations

Once your reservation start date has begun, neither the Recreation.gov Contact Center nor the campground manager will be able to modify your reservation.

What the agency tells you

Rule

No drinking water available at this campground

Rule

Groups 1, 2, 4 & 5 include two vehicles with rate, these sites will hold a max of 6 vehicles at additional charge per vehicle per night. Group 3 include 3 vehicles with rate, site will hold max of 9 vehicles at additional charge per vehicle per night.

Rule

Reserved Sites will be held until check out time (ELEVEN) the day following your arrival date. Sites must be occupied by the checkout time of that following day to hold a reservation or the site will be forfeited and released to other guests. Once your reservation start date has begun, neither the Recreation.gov Contact Center nor the campground manager will be able to modify your reservation.

Everything else this campground posts · 7
Rule

Fire Restrictions: Fire restrictions may be imposed at any time due to hot, dry weather conditions, at which time campfires and charcoal fires may not be allowed.

Rule

Don't Move Firewood: Prevent the spread of tree-killing organisms by obtaining firewood at or near your destination and burning it on-site. For more information visit dontmovefirewood.org

Rule

Any accepted senior passes must be entered for the discount at the time of booking for single sites only.

Rule

Campers must occupy the site the first night at a campsite. This prevents booking the site for Fri-Sun and showing up on Saturday.

Rule

Campers may leave the site for 24 hours and must occupy the site otherwise. This allows a camper to say go for an overnight backpack trip in the woods for one night and come back to their campsite the next day.

Rule

Check in time is 2:00pm and Check out time is 11:00am It is imperative that you are clear from the site at 11:00am on your check out day so the host can come prepare the site for the next event. Please don't be the group that makes the incoming group have to wait.

Rule

Customer Service Contact 801-226-3564 or Help.WhiteRiver.Dillon@AmericanLL.com

Read them on the agency’s own page →

Tents and rigs

Sites
12 · 5 group
Hookups
None
Accessible sites
None listed
Pets
Allowed
Campfires
Allowed, barring fire bans
Source: Recreation.gov campsite records · Aug 23, 2026

Facilities

Toilets
Vault Toilets
“…suitable for tents, trailers and RVs. Vault toilets are provided. The landscape around the lake is open…”

Around the campground

On the water
Reservoir, Lake, River, Creek
Fall color · reported 7 days ago, 32 km away
Peak color
Source: Stated in the agency description · Aug 23, 2026
Fall color: More Than Just Parks foliage tracker, joined to this campground by distance (32 km) · Oct 10, 2026

No reading yet, book on recreation.gov

recreation.gov lists 5 of the 12 campsites the agency files here. The rest aren’t on its booking system, so a reservation won’t get you one.

No availability snapshot inside the last 36 hours, so this page draws nothing rather than ageing a reading into fiction.

Booking windowOut of seasonOut of season, no booking. On November 20, 2026 at 10 AM ET, availability opens through May 20, 2027.recreation.govAdd to calendar (.ics)
A night$21plus $8 to reserve, once per bookingthe agency’s rate schedule
A weekend$50DerivedFriday and Saturday, everything includedours, from the lines above
If plans change$10 to cancel$10 to change a reservation; this campground publishes its own terms toorecreation.gov’s schedule
Runs itAmerican Land & LeisureA private concessionaire under permit from U.S. Forest Servicethe operator link
Watch for a cancellation

Full? Watch it.

One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.

We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.

Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.

Free forever, no booking kickbacks.
Tell me when the season opens

Watch for the season to open

One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.

We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.

Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.

We’ll write once, when the season that starts Thu, May 20 2027 is open for booking.

Free forever, no booking kickbacks.
Book on recreation.gov

We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.

Every line of the receipt · 13

What you actually pay

The sign priceU.S. Forest Service
A night$21
Single Nonelectric$21
Group areas, a night$39–$58
These are next season’s rates, May 20, 2027 to Oct 2, 2027. The campground is between seasons now.
The booking feerecreation.gov
Reservation fee, booked online$8
One fee per reservation, however many nights you book, and it’s non-refundable. $9 if you book by phone, $3 in person.
Pass discounts only apply to the recreation (or use) fee for the facility. Other charges such as electricity or water hookups, reservation or other fees are not eligible for a discount.
What a stay costs
One nightDerived$29
A weekend, Friday and SaturdayDerived$50

Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $21 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.

If your plans changerecreation.gov
Change fee, moving to dates outside your booking$10
Cancellation fee$10
Cancelling the day before, or the day of$10 + your first night
No-show$20 + your first night

“Once your reservation start date has begun, neither the Recreation.gov Contact Center nor the campground manager will be able to modify your reservation.” · this campground’s own terms

Who keeps the booking fee

The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →

How we know this receipt · 6

rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

The sites

12 sites

All 12 sites

SleepsUp to

The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 5 of the 12 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.

Cow Creek North006type not stated
Cow Creek North007type not stated
Cow Creek North008type not stated
Cow Creek North009type not stated
Cow Creek North010type not stated
Cow Creek North011type not stated
Cow Creek North012type not stated
Cow Creek NorthGroup 01group standard nonelectric$39–$58
Cow Creek NorthGroup 02group standard nonelectric$39–$58
Cow Creek NorthGroup 03group standard nonelectric$39–$58
Cow Creek NorthGroup 04group standard nonelectric$39–$58
Cow Creek NorthGroup 05group standard nonelectric$39–$58

Getting there

the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Coordinate39.88352, -106.28766
The phone970-468-7681
The agency’s pageOfficial page ↗

Where it is

Getting there

Directions from Silverthorne Colorado:

Take Blue River Pkwy ( CO-9 N ) for 23 miles, the Campground will be on your left

Directions from Kremmling Colorado:

Take CO-9 S for 14.9 miles, the Campground will be on your left

The weather

the next four days · the thirty-year normal

Next four days, and the thirty-year normal

Forecast

This Afternoon62°Sunny
Tonight28°Mostly Clear
Sunday63°Mostly Sunny
Sunday Night33°Partly Cloudy3% rain

NWS forecast for Heeney, CO

Typical weather

Typical October night 25°F, day 57°F.

Coldest month of the year: typical January night 0°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.

90°32°-10°

Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more

A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.

Measured at: WILLIAMS FORK DAM, CO (USC00059096), 12 miles away and 352 ft lower

The land, and who answers for it

what threatens it · who answers for it

Roadless country, and what’s coming for it

Roadless
Copper Mountain13,545 acres · 4 mi · inventoried roadless area
Roadless
Black Lake West895 acres · 4 mi · inventoried roadless area
Roadless
Black Lake East749 acres · 5 mi · inventoried roadless area

You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.

Who answers for this land

Joe Neguse, official portrait

Cow Creek North (CO) is in Colorado’s 2nd congressional district. Its representative, Joe Neguse (D), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: A+. See every public-lands vote →

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

How we know

every fact on this page, and where it came from
Right now: U.S. Forest Service publishes no season and no closure for this campground, and it takes no bookings we can read. That’s a gap in the record and not a locked gate: the number below is the only way to be sure.
Fall color: More Than Just Parks foliage tracker, joined to this campground by distance (32 km) · Oct 10, 2026
Cell signal: the Forest Service’s own campground description, read as text by CAMPANAC. None of this is a measurement. It’s what the land manager published about the place, and phones, carriers and weather all disagree with each other; treat it as a warning, not a promise.
Nearest place of any size: Heeney, CO, 0.9 mi NE (a census designated place). Straight line.