By:
Submission
The Gore Creek campground is located along Gore Creek in a forested setting near the boundary of the Eagle's Nest Wilderness.This is the closest campground to the town of Vail, CO and there are several trailheads nearby into the Eagles Nest Wilderness; all wilderness regulations must be observed when traveling in the wilderness (foot and horse travel only). The campground is also located at the west end of the Vail Pass/Tenmile Canyon National Recreation Trail open to foot traffic and bicycles.
Natural Features:
In the heart of the Rocky Mountains, the 2.3 million acre White River National Forest is a place of serenity and adventure, boasting eight wilderness areas, four defined seasons, and 10 peaks surpassing 14,000 feet in elevation.
Wildlife in the area abounds. Bighorn sheep navigate rocky ridges and bull elk bugle at dusk. Black bear and mule deer are common. Scenic rivers sustain populations of cutthroat, rainbow, and brown trout. Alpine regions provide habitat for pika and ptarmigan. These species, along with many others, depend on surrounding undeveloped wilderness, clean streams, and diverse forests to live.
Recreation:
The Gore Creek campground is located along Gore Creek in a forested setting near the boundary of the Eagles Nest Wilderness. This is the closest campground to the town of Vail and there are several trailheads nearby into the Eagles Nest Wilderness; all wilderness regulations must be observed when traveling in the wilderness (foot and horse travel only). The campground is also located at the west end of the paved Vail Pass/Tenmile Canyon recreation trail open to foot traffic and bicycles.
Facilities:
The campground offers 16 back-in sites, eight walk-in tent sites; number 18 is a fully accessible tent site, four handicapped accessible bathrooms and bear-resistant food lockers. Parking spurs for campsites are up to 35 feet long. RVs longer than this would not fit in this campground. 7 walk-in tent sites, 1 handicapped accessible site, 4 handicapped accessible bathrooms, and bear-proof food lockers.
Travel east on I-70 to Exit 180 for East Vail. Turn right and follow the south frontage road (Bighorn Road) east to the road closure gate at about 2 miles. The campground is on the left just before the gate.
For more White River National Forest on the Eagle-Holy Cross Ranger District information visit www.fs.usda.gov/whiteriveror call 970-827-5715.
For current fire conditions or weather closures contact Eagle/Holy Cross Ranger District, (970) 328-6388 or (970) 827-5715.
Rather large campground and pretty busy. We’d normally go to a more secluded campground for quiet. But this is really the only one in the area we were going through. More expensive than other campgrounds we’ve stayed at and noisy. Lots of kids screaming. There were bathrooms everywhere and the ones I used were clean so that was nice. Wouldn’t come back though.
We got a FF spot for two nights (site 23). We woke up to a black bear at our camping table, then he moved to the bear lockers side we had no food out, and had a 10 min stop at a different camp site. Definitely use the bear boxes! A beautiful campsite, clean bathrooms.
Just wanted to mention the lovely, helpful and accommodating hosts Jerrod and Kacey ( forgive if I spelled the names wrong). They made sure the site was clean before we pulled in and they were very attentive to our needs. We Stopped here in September 10 for one night. Location is unbeatable if you want to stay close to Vail.
The campground was nice had good food storage and nice fire pits to keep the forest safe. It had some road noise since it was close to I 70. Didn't hike the trail that was there but appeared to be a busy trail. Getting in and out was easy and it had bathrooms. The camp areas were spaced decently you could still see some campgrounds around you. Overall was a good campground.
