Gates of Lodore Campground
- Right now
- OpenThe agency lists it open
- A night
- $12–$14Across the site types the agency prices
- Sites
- 2119 on recreation.gov
- Season
- Year-roundOpen year-round
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 6 notices
In the agency’s own words
Gates of Lodore Campground is located on the Green River, near the boat ramp at the head of Lodore Canyon. It is at the north end of the monument, 137 miles (220 km) from the Quarry Visitor Center and 106 miles (170 km) from the Canyon Visitor Center. It is a long drive to the area and the wild, remote country adds to its sense of isolation. The campground is popular with river rafters who often stay here before launching on the Green River. There are 19 sites, some with shade. The sites have tables and some sites have grills while others have fire pits. During the summer, there is running water and vault toilets, but no showers. The campsites can accommodate tents and RVs (no hook-ups). Access in winter may be difficult due to snow and road conditions. Keep reading
Recreation
Dinosaur National Monument covers over 210,000 acres (84984 ha). Visitor Centers. The monument features two visitor centers - one in Colorado and one in Utah. Quarry Exhibit Hall. You can see over 1,500 dinosaur fossils still in the rock inside the Quarry Exhibit Hall (Jensen, Utah). History & Culture. Numerous cultural sites reveal stories of the people who lived here before and include Fremont petroglyphs, homestead cabins and former ranches. Hiking trails allow in-depth exploration. Hiking. There are miles of trails for hiking and cross-country travel. River Rafting & Boating. Whitewater rafting, both commercial and private, is popular on the Green and Yampa Rivers. The Yampa River multi-day rafting trips begin at Deerlodge Park. The Yampa rushes downstream 44-miles (71 km) to join the Green River at Echo Park. Boaters continue downstream on the Green River to the take-out at the Split Mountain boat ramp. The Yampa is the largest free-flowing tributary within the Colorado River system. As such, it has a shorter season marked by fluctuations in water level resulting from snow received in the winter. It is characterized by famous rapids such as Teepee, Big Joe and Warm Springs. Raft trips must be arranged in advance. For more information, visit Dinosaur's Commercial Guided River Trips page . Private River Trips require a permit. Scenic Drives. Several roads provide access to key destinations and scenic sites. Scenic drives allow the windshield visitor to see spectacular geology.
Facilities
Gates of Lodore campground has vault toilets and drinking water spigots (seasonal). All campsites have picnic tables, some have a grill and others a campfire ring.
Natural Features
Just south of the campground, the Green River slices into the mountains and enters the steep-walled Canyon of Lodore. A short trail provides a scenic view of the river.
Nearby Attractions
Browns Park National Wildlife Refuge John Jarvie Historic Ranch Charges & Cancellations This is a Scan & Pay campground. No refunds, changes, cancellations, or other fee changes are allowed with Scan & Pay payments.
What the agency tells you
All campers must pay Dinosaur National Monument's entrance fee in addition to the fees for camping. You may pay the entrance fees upon arrival at the monument's entrance station or visitor center or purchase in advance . The park also honors valid Federal interagency passes (e.g., annual, senior, access, 4th grade, military, Golden Age, etc.).
Each site is limited to 8 people and 2 vehicles. Vehicles & trailers must stay on gravel roads and parking areas. Digging, leveling, clearing plants, and other site modifications are prohibited. UTVs, OHVs, and ATVs are prohibited. Stays are limited to 14 consecutive days.
CAUTION: Dinosaur National Monument is home to black bears along with many other animals. Proper food storage is required in campgrounds. Don’t feed or approach wildlife.
Everything else this campground posts · 3
Don't Move Firewood: Help protect our forests! Prevent the spread of tree-killing pests by obtaining firewood near your destination and burning it on-site. Build campfires only in fire grates provided. Never leave fires unattended. Ensure fire is completely out and cold before leaving. Collecting wood from the ground or breaking it off trees/plants is prohibited. Use local firewood. Only burn wood, nothing else.
Pets must be kept on a leash (6 feet maximum). Pets are allowed at campsites and within 100 feet of roads and parking lots. Don’t leave pets unattended and/or tied to an object. Pets aren’t allowed on nearby hiking trails, on the river, or in the backcountry.
Fireworks of any kind are prohibited.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 21
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- 6 of 21 sites
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…the summer, there is running water and vault toilets, but no showers. The campsites can accommodate…”
- Showers
- None at this campground
- “During the summer, there is running water and vault toilets, but no showers.”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…Lodore campground has vault toilets and drinking water spigots (seasonal). All campsites have picnic…”
- Boat ramp
- Yes
Around the campground
- On the water
- River
- Hiking
- Wildlife viewing
Nothing on the booking system for the next 30 nightsread 15:46 UTC
recreation.gov lists 19 of the 21 campsites the agency files here. The rest aren’t on its booking system, so a reservation won’t get you one.
Every one of the next thirty nights is in recreation.gov’s record and not one site is being offered on any of them. That’s a campground closed or not yet released for booking, not a sold-out one.
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.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 13
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rates for this season, $12–$14 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.
“This is a Scan & Pay campground. No refunds, changes, cancellations, or other fee changes are allowed with Scan & Pay payments.” · 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
recreation.gov availability, read 15:46 UTC · rules read Oct 1, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
21 sites
All 21 sites
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 19 of the 21 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| Scan and Pay | Gates of Lodore Scan and Pay | type not stated | |
| 1 | standard nonelectric | $12–$14 | |
| 10 | type not stated | ||
| 11 | standard nonelectric | $12–$14 | |
| 12 | standard nonelectric | $12–$14 | |
| 13 | standard nonelectric | $12–$14 | |
| 14 | standard nonelectric | $12–$14 | |
| 15 | standard nonelectric | $12–$14 | |
| 16 | standard nonelectric | $12–$14 | |
| 17 | standard nonelectric | $12–$14 | |
| 18 | standard nonelectric | $12–$14 | |
| 19 | standard nonelectric | $12–$14 | |
| 2 | standard nonelectric | $12–$14 | |
| 20 | standard nonelectric | $12–$14 | |
| 3 | standard nonelectric | $12–$14 | |
| 4 | standard nonelectric | $12–$14 | |
| 5 | standard nonelectric | $12–$14 | |
| 6 | standard nonelectric | $12–$14 | |
| 7 | standard nonelectric | $12–$14 | |
| 8 | standard nonelectric | $12–$14 | |
| 9 | standard nonelectric | $12–$14 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Echo Park CampgroundDinosaur National Monument · 15 miRocky Reservoir CampingLittle Snake Field Office · 16 mi
Bridge Hollow CampgroundVernal Field Office · 19 mi
Big Pine I River Camp19 mi
Indian Crossing CampgroundVernal Field Office · 20 miFrom Maybell, Colorado, follow US Highway 40 west for approximately 0.4 miles (0.6 km) west. Turn right onto CO 318. Follow 318 west for 46.2 miles (74 km). Turn left onto Moffat County Road 34N. Follow 34N for 1.7 miles (2.7 km). Turn right onto Moffat County Road 34. Follow 34 for 4.5 miles (7.2 km) until you arrive at the ranger station and campground.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Dutch John, UT
Typical weather
Typical October night 35°F, day 65°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 8°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.
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.
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it
What threatens this place
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Gates of Lodore Campground is in Colorado’s 3rd congressional district. Its representative, Jeff Hurd (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →