Platte River Campground

Platte River Campground is the small, deliberately primitive Forest Service site about four miles north of Deckers on the South Platte. Ten sites, all walk-in, all tent-only. No RVs or trailers, no reservation system, no on-site host, and no potable water. You arrive, you find a site, you self-pay at the on-site kiosk. Site 10 is the accessible one. The nightly fee runs around $24 for the first two vehicles with a charge for additional vehicles, and there is a 14-night stay limit.

This is the campground for people who specifically do not want the RV-and-generator version of riverside camping. Because it is tent-only and walk-in, the crowd self-selects: anglers, paddlers, and people who would rather carry their gear thirty yards than camp next to a motorhome. The sites sit at about 6,400 feet right on the river, which means the fishing is the draw and the nights are cold even in summer. There is a single vault toilet and that is the extent of the infrastructure.

Because there are no reservations, the only strategy is timing. Summer weekends and holiday weekends fill by Friday afternoon, sometimes Thursday for a holiday. Midweek is reliably open. If you are driving a long way, have a backup plan, because Lone Rock (reservable) is the nearby fallback and Ouzel is the other first-come tent option a few miles further along the river road.

Bring everything, especially water. The river is right there but it is not treated, so either pack potable water in or bring a filter rated for backcountry use. The approach is the same long unpaved county road as the rest of this corridor, and the lack of a host means you are genuinely on your own out here. That is the appeal for the people who choose it, and the warning for the people who should pick Lone Rock instead.