Sweetwater Lake Campground
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there
In the agency’s own words
Seeking comments on Sweetwater Lake Recreation Management On May 6, the White River National Forest began the 90-day public scoping period for Sweetwater Lake Recreation Management and Development Project Environmental Impact Statement. Provide comments here . Sweetwater Lake The Forest Service recently acquired the 488-acre Sweetwater Ranch, which greatly expands the public access in this area. More Information Sweetwater Lake Campground, elevation 7,740 feet, is on the south end of 72 acre, Sweetwater Lake. The vegetation surrounding the campground and the sites is scrub oak, serviceberry, wild rose and willow. Keep reading
High limestone cliffs tower above the area on two sides. FACILITIES: Sweetwater Campground has 9 partially shaded campsites with picnic tables, food lockers and fire rings. This campground has small sites. Six of the sites can accommodate vehicles up to 30 feet long. There is one vault toilet. ATTRACTIONS: TRAILS - There are three popular hiking and horseback riding trails beginning at the end of the campground. The Ute Trail, #2031, (9.4 miles) travels toward Deep Lake on the Flattops. The Cross Creek Trail, #1855, (6.5 miles) travels through sagebrush flats full of wildflowers and aspen forests to the Sweetwater Trail. Sweetwater Nature Trail, #2031.1A. This short scenic trail (500 yards) has nice views of the lake and a waterfall. FISHING - Sweetwater Lake offers good fishing from the lake surface with non-motorized water craft allowed (5 h.p. electric motors only) and very limited access from the shoreline due to the geography of the area. LAKE ACCESS/BOATING - Canoes and rowboats are popular on this lake and offered for rental at the site. Only electric motors 5 h.p. or less are allowed on the lake. No gas powered motors are allowed. There is a new floating boat dock along the north shore of the lake. Please ensure your boat/watercraft is cleaned, drained, and dry before you launch at Sweetwater Lake to prevent introduction of aquatic nuisance species. PARKING : Please park in the hardened, graveled areas available above the dock or at the day-use parking area at the campground. Please leave the boat dock area clear to allow loading/unloading access. DOGS: Please keep your dog on a leash due to the high number of horseback riders who use this area. View Dates and Fees
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…up to 30 feet long. There is one vault toilet. ATTRACTIONS: TRAILS - There are three popular…”
Around the campground
- On the water
- Waterfall, Lake, River, Creek, Beach
Phone before you drive
recreation.gov publishes no availability for a campground you can’t reserve, so there’s no thirty-night reading to draw here. The season bar above is what the agency does publish.
Every line of the receipt · 3
What you actually pay
How we know this receipt · 4
record Aug 24, 2026 · How we know all this
Getting there
the map and the coordinate
Where it is
Gypsum CampgroundColorado River Valley Field Office · 14 miGypsum Rec. SiteColorado River Valley Field Office · 14 miTrappers Lake / Cutthroat CampgroundWhite River National Forest · 14 miThe weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Carbonate, CO
Typical weather
Typical October night 27°F, day 57°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 7°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
Roadless country, and what’s coming for it
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land

Sweetwater Lake 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 →