Turquoise Lake Campground — San Isabel National Forest

Turquoise Lake sits west of Leadville at around 9,900 feet, and the campgrounds strung along its northern shore are about as good as developed camping gets near a mining town. Multiple sites run the lakeshore loop — Baby Doe, Molly Brown, and May Queen among them — with mix of tent and RV sites in a dense spruce-fir forest. Fire rings, tables, vault toilets, and potable water on-site. Gets busy on summer weekends; mid-week in July and August is a different animal. The lake itself glows turquoise-blue in morning light, and the reflection of Mt. Elbert across the water is the kind of thing you don’t forget.

Access is paved from Leadville via Turquoise Lake Road. Reservations through Recreation.gov are strongly advised from late June through Labor Day — walk-in sites fill before noon on Fridays. Most campgrounds open late May and close mid-October depending on snow. Bears are active here; use hard-sided storage or bear box provided at site.

Leadville's lakeside basecamp at 9,900 ft.