America’s Camping Report Card
Colorado
#5 of 43 for camping
Better than 91% of graded states · overall grade B+ — campers like it.
Graded on 37,496 written reviews from Colorado - no star ratings, just what people wrote.
The breakdown
Letter grades reflect how campers actually felt about each topic - A means they loved it, not that it beat other states.
What campers praised
- beautiful campground441
- beautiful area397
- beautiful views394
- beautiful scenery319
- beautiful location314
What campers warned about
- no shade14
- windy conditions13
- little shade10
- not much shade7
- low water level6
- Praised by
- 54.1%
- Warned by
- 2.0%
- Rank
- Better than 95% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.521 (±0.005, 95% CI) from 37,496 written reviews, 65% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- clean bathrooms714
- well maintained478
- clean454
- very clean454
- very clean bathrooms341
What campers warned about
- bathrooms not cleaned11
- dirty bathrooms9
- trash everywhere8
- bathroom odor7
- bathrooms need cleaning7
- Praised by
- 38.4%
- Warned by
- 5.4%
- Rank
- Better than 91% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.330 (±0.006, 95% CI) from 37,496 written reviews, 65% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- friendly hosts183
- great hosts177
- friendly host167
- friendly and helpful hosts141
- friendly staff141
What campers warned about
- no camp host present25
- no camp host23
- no campground host17
- no host present13
- rude camp host13
- Praised by
- 33.4%
- Warned by
- 4.8%
- Rank
- Better than 88% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.286 (±0.005, 95% CI) from 37,496 written reviews, 65% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- fishing92
- good fishing76
- great fishing61
- nearby hiking trails47
- hiking trails nearby41
What campers warned about
- fishing was slow5
- fishing quality4
- not much to do4
- fishing not so good3
- fishing poor3
- Praised by
- 27.8%
- Warned by
- 1.2%
- Rank
- Better than 48% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.266 (±0.005, 95% CI) from 37,496 written reviews, 65% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- spacious sites198
- great campsite131
- beautiful campsite113
- well spaced sites88
- nice sites73
What campers warned about
- sites close together66
- sites very close together56
- sites too close together51
- no shade32
- small sites18
- Praised by
- 36.8%
- Warned by
- 11.4%
- Rank
- Better than 26% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.254 (±0.006, 95% CI) from 37,496 written reviews, 65% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- bathrooms190
- clean bathrooms141
- restrooms96
- vault toilets89
- clean restrooms66
What campers warned about
- no water available162
- no showers58
- no water51
- no running water43
- no potable water39
- Praised by
- 21.3%
- Warned by
- 11.4%
- Rank
- Better than 45% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.099 (±0.005, 95% CI) from 37,496 written reviews, 65% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- quiet686
- quiet campground388
- very quiet294
- quiet atmosphere156
- quiet and peaceful104
What campers warned about
- road noise64
- highway noise58
- sites close together57
- highway traffic noise34
- sites very close together33
- Praised by
- 15.7%
- Warned by
- 10.9%
- Rank
- Better than 26% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.048 (±0.005, 95% CI) from 37,496 written reviews, 65% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- close to town98
- easy to get to62
- easy access59
- easy to find53
- convenient location38
What campers warned about
- no cell service35
- rough road in14
- rough road11
- rough road to campground10
- rough road access9
- Praised by
- 11.1%
- Warned by
- 8.5%
- Rank
- Better than 76% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.026 (±0.004, 95% CI) from 37,496 written reviews, 65% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- family friendly22
- friendly campers22
- friendly people22
- dog friendly13
- friendly neighbors9
What campers warned about
- felt unwelcome2
- accessible to low income people1
- ada site limitations1
- black family singled out1
- campers stuck up1
- Praised by
- 2.0%
- Warned by
- 0.4%
- Rank
- Better than 14% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment +0.016 (±0.002, 95% CI) from 37,496 written reviews, 65% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- free camping38
- free campground20
- great price20
- free14
- great value14
What campers warned about
- a little expensive7
- $20 per night6
- not worth it6
- expensive5
- extra parking fee5
- Praised by
- 2.9%
- Warned by
- 3.5%
- Rank
- Better than 5% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment -0.006 (±0.003, 95% CI) from 37,496 written reviews, 65% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- felt safe21
- felt very safe12
- safe12
- bear boxes provided8
- bear box at each site6
What campers warned about
- no cell service8
- no bear box5
- no bear boxes4
- no bear lockers4
- did not feel safe3
- Praised by
- 1.5%
- Warned by
- 2.5%
- Rank
- Better than 50% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment -0.011 (±0.002, 95% CI) from 37,496 written reviews, 65% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- easy to book9
- easy check-in8
- no reservations needed6
- will book again5
- easy reservation4
What campers warned about
- hard to get reservations20
- hard to get a reservation16
- hard to get a site12
- hard to get reservation11
- hard to get a spot7
- Praised by
- 2.1%
- Warned by
- 4.9%
- Rank
- Better than 10% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment -0.028 (±0.003, 95% CI) from 37,496 written reviews, 65% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- pet friendly14
- dog friendly11
- quiet hours enforced5
- quiet hours respected5
- dog-friendliness4
What campers warned about
- quiet hours not enforced22
- dogs off leash18
- quiet hours ignored9
- fire ban8
- rules not enforced7
- Praised by
- 0.9%
- Warned by
- 4.1%
- Rank
- Better than 50% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment -0.032 (±0.002, 95% CI) from 37,496 written reviews, 65% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
What campers praised
- no bugs18
- wildlife sightings13
- no mosquitoes9
- minimal bugs5
- moose nearby4
What campers warned about
- lots of mosquitoes50
- mosquitoes46
- windy conditions24
- lots of bugs20
- lots of mosquitos17
- Praised by
- 0.9%
- Warned by
- 6.0%
- Rank
- Better than 48% of graded states
- Confidence
- High confidence
Net sentiment -0.051 (±0.003, 95% CI) from 37,496 written reviews, 65% from federal campgrounds. Graded vs. every other graded state.
We read every written review of a campground in Colorado and used AI to label what each camper praised or complained about, across 14 topics. A topic’s score is the share who praised it minus the share who complained, and the letter is absolute: A means campers loved it, F means they were frustrated — on a fixed scale, not a curve. So a topic isn’t marked down just because another state scored higher. Switch to Raw numbers to see the share who praised vs. warned behind every grade.
The rank (Colorado vs. other states) is shown separately, because most states are genuinely good overall — the ranking is what tells them apart. The overall grade is the average of the topic grades, weighted by how often campers raise each one.
Only states with at least 2,000 reviews are graded, and every topic carries a 95% confidence interval from its sample size.
Topic weights
- Scenery15%
- Campsites15%
- Cleanliness13%
- Facilities12%
- Staff & hosts10%
- Things to do9%
- Crowds & noise8%
- Getting there6%
- Bugs & weather3%
- Booking2%
- Value2%
- Rules & policies2%
- Safety2%
- Welcoming1%
Methodology v3-absolute-grade-plus-rank | 43 states graded | updated June 2026.