Colorado’s best glamping sites (including family-friendly options)

Do you love the idea of camping — getting out in nature, away from the city — but not packing gear, setting up camp, and cleaning up after you return from your daily adventures?

If so, why not try glamping, aka “glamorous camping,” which substitutes bare-bones tents and propane stoves with low-key lodging and creature comforts. Colorado has plenty of options along these lines, from deluxe canvas tents with modern conveniences to well-equipped Airstream trailers and bubble tents in stunning natural settings.

Here are 10 glamping options for your summer travels. The final five are uber family-friendly.

Camp Eddy

Opened in August 2022, this scenic destination along the bank of the Colorado River in Grand Junction offers several glamping options, including seven tiny homes with private bathrooms and eight refurbished Airstream trailers. Each site is equipped with linens, soaps, shampoo and kitchen essentials. The property also features more than 50 RV sites (but no tent camping), as well as laundry/bathroom/shower facilities, a store, and an outdoor patio. Walk or bike the paved, riverside path (the Las Colonias Amphitheater is a five-minute walk away), swim in the river, or rent SUPs, tubes or rafts on-site. eddygj.com

Camp V

A former mining camp built in 1942 by the Vanadium Corporation to house its uranium engineers and their families, this spot in Naturita has been repurposed as a glamping oasis. Located 53 miles northwest of Telluride, Camp V offers 12 renovated cabins — six studios and six two-bedroom options, all with kitchenettes. There are also three fully furnished Airstream trailers; three Lotus Belle Onion canvas tents with shade areas; six Jupes, which look like space-age canvas tents with wood flooring and featuring a queen bed, with private patios; and six RV sites with full hookups (plus a bathhouse). There are also 20 primitive campsites along the San Miguel River.

During your stay, explore the art scattered throughout the grounds, enjoy a 3-mile hike on property, or swim/SUP at the private pond. Dining options are available. campv.com

Frontier Drive-Inn

Originally a drive-in movie theater that opened in 1955 and closed in 1985, this site was reopened in 2022 as a “drive-inn,” offering overnight stays in addition to movie screenings under the stars. It is located in the San Luis Valley in Center, about 30 miles northwest of Alamosa and 40 miles west of Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. The property offers 10 yurts, each equipped with a queen bed, sitting area and pellet stove. The yurts are clustered around gas fire pits and spa-like bathhouses. There are also four glamping units called Steelmaster Rooms – prefabricated storage sheds often used in the agriculture industry that have been transformed to luxury suites featuring wood-paneled interiors, ensuite bathrooms, heated floors and a private deck.

The property doesn’t sell food or drinks — though there are chefs on-site some weekends — but guests can store and cook their own food at the Snack Bar (book a “kitchen box” with your reservation to receive utensils, dishware and cooking supplies). Movie season runs roughly June through October; guests can also observe the stunning night sky in one of eight open-air observatories called “skylos.” frontierdriveinn.com

Puma Hills

Sitting at around 9,000 feet elevation in Lake George (about 22 miles northwest of Cripple Creek), Puma Hills Mountain Retreat is surrounded by more than a half-million acres of protected wilderness, including Pike National Forest. Visitors can choose from a variety of glamping options including luxury tepees complete with either a king, a queen, or twin beds. There are also geodesic domes, Conestoga wagons and a bubble tent with queen beds and tents perched in the property’s aspens and in the forest. The most luxurious options feature electricity, luxury bedding, heated mattress pads, and furnishings like leather chairs, chest of drawers, and Native American rugs and blankets.

Guests have access to a bathhouse with restrooms and showers, as well as an on-site chef and meal plans. Property amenities include archery, hiking, pine cone golf, and board and lawn games. pumahills.com

Mestaa’Ehehe Mountain Fire Lookout Cabin