Thompson Creek Campground
1Heads up1 fire 27 mi away
This is how it should work.
- Right now
- Nobody has saidNo season, no closure, no bookings to read
- A night
- FreeNo camping fee
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there
In the agency’s own words
The Thompson Creek Recreation Management Area is located just a few miles southwest of Carbondale and provides beautiful, remote recreational opportunities. On the North end of the RMA is the Lorax trail, which is a popular non motorized route. In the southwest corner of the area is the Thompson Creek campground and trail, which winds along Thompson Creek to views of the rare geologic “fin” formations. There are 4 shaded campsites along the creek with metal fire rings. There are not picnic tables or restrooms. Must pack out all human waste to eliminate contamination of creek. There are not waste collections. Access is not recommended during wet or snowy conditions. For more information, please contact the Colorado River Valley Field Office.
Around the campground
- On the water
- River, Creek
- Biking
- Hiking
- Fall color · reported 12 days ago, 34 km away
- Past peak
Nothing to book, just show up
One of 1,623 federal campgrounds where the site still goes to whoever pulls in first, and it costs nothing at all. Get there before noon on a summer weekend.
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 · 5
What you actually pay
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s own record says there’s no camping fee, and no booking fee, because this campground takes no reservations. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.
How we know this receipt · 5
rules read Sep 7, 2026 · record Aug 23, 2026 · How we know all this
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the phone number
Where it is
RedstoneWhite River National Forest · 9.3 miMcClure Campground - Paonia RDGunnison National Forest · 14 mi
Bogan Flats Campground and GroupWhite River National Forest · 16 miThe weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Carbondale, CO
Typical weather
Typical October night 29°F, day 60°F.
Coldest month of the year: typical January night 9°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
Thompson Creek 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 →