Glacier Basin Campground — Rocky Mountain National Park

Awesome spot, great views and not too far from Estes which is nice. Plenty to explore around the campsite as well.

First of all, it’s completely wrong when the Dyrt says this campground is closed through Aug 2023. Maybe they have it confused with Moraine Park, which is definitely closed this season. 

Anyway, this campground is in a perfect location in Rocky Mountain National Park. The mountains in the distance were beautiful. Due to the weather we didn’t get to see the alpenglow, but it was still gorgeous. 

The campground is right across from the park and ride so you can grab the shuttle very easily. With a campground reservation you do not need a timed entry into Bear Lake Road. 

The sites were nice and spacious and while we didn’t use the tent pad, it seemed large. The rangers were friendly and helpful and the other campers were great. 

Got decent T-Mobile 5G service.  Not at all necessary, obviously, but it was nice to have to check the radar when we had storms roll through.

We would definitely stay here again.

This campground is hard to book given how popular it is. The day that reservations are available most of them are usually booked up by the end of the day. If you can get a reservation you'll be rewarded though. Beautiful views of Hallett peak and Flattop Mountain. Surrounded by ponderosas and the sound of running water. Some of the tourists are dumb and don't abide by the campground rules but you'll get that anywhere in Rocky Mountain

We were on loop D, where like in lopp C and the Group Loop trees had been removed due to a pine beetle epidemic. This provided beautiful views of the mountains but no shade. Site are specious but because of the lack of trees did not provice much privacy. There were no hookups and no cell service(Verizon/XFinity) Bathrooms were clean with flush toilets, sinks, and outdoor sink. They also have well organized installations where you can use your own portable shower. This is a great base camp for exploring the park and even do hikes from the campground.

I have a 22’ travel trailer I pull behind an F150. Since this campground is inside Rocky Mountain National Park, the roads are all paved.

The campground sites are situated around one-way driving loops, which are quite narrow. Best to pay attention to which side of the loop your site is on so your trailer door doesn’t open up onto the road. I think they error on the side of caution when it comes to the size of trailer fitting into each spot. At least for mine. They said max 26’ (trailer + tow vehicle), but I’m closer to 32’ and I fit fine. That may not be true of all campsites though. There is parking very close by if your tow vehicle can’t squeeze into the site.

My site didn’t have a whole lot of trees, but they planted a bunch of small ones to try and fix this years from now. Sites were level and had lots of space. Each had a fire pit and picnic table.

There were no hookups and no cell service (Verizon). They did have trash drop offs, water for cleaning pans and dishes, and bathrooms. It was very quiet at night. Generators are allowed but only for a couple times a day during short windows.

Glacier Basin campground is just a few miles from the Bear Lake trailhead. It was very nice to stay inside the park. Vehicle passes to get into National Parks were still required when I stayed and the lines to get in were very long and slow.

This is a great base camp for exploring the park. With your reservation, you don’t need a timed entry ticket into the park or Bear Lake Road. It’s close to Bear Lake parking area which allowed us to beat the crowds (we did get to the trailhead by 5:30 still.) Sites are pretty spacious although there is next to no privacy from neighbors. Our site had some trees for shade/hammocks and a nice large tent pad. Bathrooms were clean with flush toilets, sinks, and outdoor sink but no showers. Our only small complaint was sharing Bear boxes between sites - I’m not sure how many are supposed to share but we had someone a few sites over come and stick something in the one basically in our site so we didn’t really have room. Oh well, there’s always the car.

We had a campsite under the trees and it made for some nice shade. Park staff is great!

This is a very good campground on the east side of the Rockies! No showers, but there’s decent bathrooms and beautiful views.

This campground has a nice view of the mountains and good bathrooms (but no showers). Having a reservation lets you avoid the whole timed entry thing for Rocky Mountain, so that’s really nice.

Campsite is a bit exposed as they have cut down all the trees around the campgrounds, it can get very windy. You are required to share your bear box with several other campers. The tree stumps do make for quite the tripping hazard, especially for those late night toilet runs. Watch for stubbed toes! Restrooms and trash bins are close. Be sure to check in with the Ranger or you will get charged as a ‘no show’. Campsite is very conveniently located along the eastern part of the park.

First experience with a national park campground. We were there at a time they were implementing reduced capacity, but that had nothing to do with social distancing. We had two tents and it was a chore to make sure they fit into the assigned area. It had lots of bathrooms and never had to wait to use it. Our first night, we unfortunately were two campsites away from a loud and boisterous camper. Since I had young kids, after they left we probably became the loudest campers in the area. One early morning I saw some Elk moving through the campground at sunrise, and one night there was an Elk just lounging in the nearby open field. Plenty of bear boxes for food was also provided.

There is a private company that comes 5:30-8pm to sell firewood and ice. The old lady we had was crotchety if you tried to pay in anything other than small bills.

While we saw/heard other people talking on their phones we did not have Wi-Fi or cell service (T-Mobile)

Beautiful views of the mountains but not much privacy. It’s all open so you can hear everyone and their annoying kids. Wouldn’t recommend for tent campers. Showers in town but no pop up showers allowed.

Loved being in the park and having easy access to all the park has to offer. Especially with the new timed entry requirements. However, Loop C in which we stayed was very tight between sites and the old growth pines have been removed and replaced with younger/shorter trees. Still enjoyed some elk wandering through the campground.

Best views in the park. Make sure to watch sunset over the mountains. Camp hosts were extremely helpful when our car battery died during a snowstorm! Very close to other hikes in the park.

This campground has four loops consisting of 150 sites.  We camped near the entrance of C Loop.  Our site had a mixture of Lodgepole and Ponderosa pines that provided ample shade and hammocking options.  Due to pine beetle kill, the majority of the sites in C loop (#73 and up) have little or no shade at all.  Across from our site were restrooms, trash/recycling, and a water spigot.  This site has a large tent pad that accommodated our six person tent perfectly.  We did have a bear bin for storage, but had to share it with the site next to us as few sites have their own designated bear bin.  At the campground entrance, firewood, kindling, ice, and ice cream are available for purchase.

Across from the campground entrance is located the Park & Ride where all shuttle routes transfer for access to trailheads without the hassle of finding parking.  We utilized this daily for our various hikes and only had one wait in excess of ten minutes.  There are also trails that can be accessed right from the campground.

Apart from the occasional RV generator, the campground was relatively peaceful and we had nice mountain views to the south.  The various campground hosts and rangers that we encountered were engaging and helpful.

We were nearly always able to receive two bars on Verizon LTE (while sitting on top of the picnic table) that allowed us to at least complete calls; otherwise reception was very inconsistent.

Overall a great campground to stay at. The spaces are large, but quite close to one another with few trees for privacy. Each site here is variable, with some open with no trees and others nestled in some mature trees. Flush toilets and running water in the bathrooms. I’d avoid a site right next to the bathroom as the lights and hand dryers are running at night which are bright and loud, respectively. Dishwashing sink and drinking water sink available throughout campsites. Make sure you have a strong tent as some days may have 35+ mph winds rolling thru the campground (several tents collapsed/broke on a windy day here). About a 10 minute walk to the shuttle that takes you to Bear Lake and Glacier Gorge trailheads. Direct walking access to a couple easy lake trails, including Sprague Lake that is good for seeing wildlife at dusk. Firewood and ice sold most nights at the campground.

Great campground!  There are trailheads on both sides and behind all the loops to connect to the RMNP trail system.  What makes this CG most convenient is the RMNP Shuttle lot is a short walk across the road from the campground so you can hike where you want and shuttle back or vice-versa.  Half of the loops suffered beetle kill so they are treeless but offer great views.  Some of the sites are close together, but all in a ll its a great National park campground with daily Firewood, ice, ice cream and candy sales and weekly educational programs in the amphitheater.  The community restrooms are also flush toilets instead of vault and they have dish cleaning facilities for the tent campers.

Great campground! Wonderful view of the surrounding mountains, quiet, clean, staff was friendly. They had wood and ice for sale. Conveniently located across the road from Rocky Mountain National Park shuttle that takes you to the major trailheads as well as Estes Park.

Campground might not provide the complete feel of an “escape into nature”, we visited when the campground was 99% full.. was a bit cramped with other campers surrounding our plot on all sides within in a couple feet. Since bears are frequent visitors here, it’s absolutely necessary to lock all food in a bear box; these were also a bit scarce for room as we had to share one with 2 other families. So plan ahead and definitely make a reservation in advance! I would recommend this campground to anyone needing a quick and accesible spot for the night to visit bear lake in the morning or for families looking to spend a great night together in the outdoors around the fire roasting marshmallows; fire pits are cleaned out after each occupant which was nice, they sell firewood on the site as well but were sold out which caused us minor inconvenience as firewood collecting is not allowed. But town is not that far, about 15-20 min away. Bathrooms were very clean, community sink as well. Park rangers were friendly and accesible through out the campground. If pitching a tent, I would say each plot could fit about 2 small four person tents.

Glacier basin is one of our favorite campgrounds in RMNP. Our June 2019 site was in loop b. The site didn’t have any shade but it had spectacular views all around. The site was level and had a picnic table, fire ring and a bear box. The campground is close to sprague lake and an easy walk to the park and ride to bear lake. The bathrooms were clean but had no showers.

Beautiful campground with great amenities. Nice flush toilets with running water, sinks, very clean. Water available throughout the campground and solar showers and a dishwashing station. We had spotty cell service which is fine. A short hike takes you to sprague lake or the park and ride shuttle to bear lake area. The shuttle does come into the camp, but due to construction it was easier to walk over to the park and ride. If possible take the drive up through the park to grand lakes via the alpine visitor center!

Glacier Basin Campground is located in RMNP. The spots fill up quickly and it is a good idea to make reservations online ahead of time. We've stayed here in loop B where it is open for the most part but the tent sites are spread further apart. In loop C the campsites are closer together but there are more trees providing some privacy for those who want it. Glacier Basin campground is a short walk from park and ride which is a free shuttle that will take you to many different spots throughout the park so you don't have to drive each day.

We stayed at site C97 for 5 nights. This site had a bearbox. Was close enough to the bathrooms and drinking water. We had amazing views all around due to the lack of trees. There was a vendor on site almost every evening from 530pm to 8pm selling firewood and ice. There were ranger programs every evening at 9pm. We also had the pleasure of seeing double rainbows three times during our stay! And if the moon hadn't been so bright every evening the star gazing would have been second to none. I would highly recommend staying at this campground again. I was unsure going in, because I knew there wouldn't be much shade or privacy...but we were out exploring all day and only really at our campsite for dinner through breakfast. If you plan to spend midday at your campsite, maybe consider a different option.

Glacier Basin campground is one of three in RMNP.  There are 150 standard and 12 group campsites.  The sites are distributed in 4 loops with each site having a picnic table, tent pads, and fire grates.  There is a limit of 35 feet for RV/Trailer length.  Due to pine beetle infestation in the area, many of the trees have been removed.  Glacier is open from late May to September with a maximum stay of 7 nights.  Campsites are quite close together, but there are quiet hours and limits to generator use. 

There are trails the leave right from the campground, the free shuttle bus makes a stop near the check in station, and the Park & Ride is a short walk away.  The location is very convenient to the most popular hikes in RMNP.

Loved it

Lots of people

Make reservations early. Glacier Basin campground was a awesome place to camp. I suggest camping near the southern portion of the area where you can have a little more privacy while being close to the bathhouse. Beautiful views and quick trail access while having just a short drive to glacier gorge trail head.

Loved this campground. The tent areas were pretty open, but plenty of options if you book super early.

Make reservations early. Fills up fast because it is such a great place to camp. Nice pads. Firing rings.Accessible bathrooms. No showers. Firewood sold next to the entrance by the same husband and wife that have been selling firewood there for 35 years. There is a shed full of firewood. The wife was selling firewood from the back of their truck when we visited. They only sell firewood at certain times so check for times so look to your left on the way into the campground. Bear Lake is accessible and the view are stunning. Lots of trails of varying lengths and the difficulty: from easy to more challenging. You can hike fro Glacier Basin to Sprague Lake. It is popular fly fishing spot and there are hiking trails that branch off from the trails around the lake. You can bike from the campground to Bear Lake. Bear Meadows Visitor's Center is close by. It's worth a visit. "The Beaver Meadows Visitor Center is open daily, except Christmas. Located just outside of Estes Park on US 36, it features a bookstore and movie theater with regular free showings of park films. A few minutes’ walk down a paved sidewalk behind the center is the backcountry desk, the only place on the east side where you can reserve and purchase permits for backcountry campsites in person. Shuttle bus pickup is in the parking lot next to the bathrooms." MyRockyMountain.com

The campground is quite nice. It has well made tent pads, dishwashing station and a bathroom with full plumbing. Sites are kinda close together but it’s not to bad because it is fairly well covered by trees.

Can’t beat the views of the mountains either!