If you’ve found it increasingly difficult to snag camping reservations on Colorado’s public lands because so many people have beaten you to it, there is an alternative with a growing following.
An online site called Hipcamp.com operates like an Airbnb for campsites — as well as huts, cabins, A-frames, glamping and other overnights — on private lands around the country, often on farms and ranches. Founded in 2013, Hipcamp currently has 770 listings in 47 Colorado counties and has seen demand double since 2019.
Recently it collaborated with Chaffee County, a recreation mecca in the high country of central Colorado, to develop regulations and pass an ordinance allowing camping on private land there.
Campsite reservations in national parks and national forests are made through recreation.gov. Hipcamp.com performs the same service for reservations on private land.
“It’s a really interesting way to think about opening up private properties to outdoor rec and taking pressure off some of our public lands that have been completely overrun, especially since 2020,” said Michal Rosenoer, government and community relations manager for Hipcamp and a Chaffee County resident who lives in Buena Vista. “I hate to be the person who is looking for a campsite at 10 o’clock on a Friday night. I’d much rather have the security of booking a cheap campsite where the money goes to supporting a local farmer or rancher — folks who are in transition communities that feel like they’re losing out as the economy in these places changes.”
Rosenoer said other counties have reached out to her since Hipcamp started working with Chaffee County officials.
“Hipcamping, or private lands camping in general, is a use that wasn’t really planned for in most land-use codes,” Rosenoer said in an interview. “There are regulations for short-term rentals in most counties now, but those require a single-family house to be applicable. Then there are regulations for commercial campgrounds, like high-density RV parks, but there’s not really any land use in the country that addresses incidental outdoor space — people camping on your property (when) camping is not the primary use of the property. The property is a farm or a family home or a ranch.”
Listings are not accepted from residential or suburban areas.
“That doesn’t really set campers up for the outdoor experience they are looking for through Hipcamp,” Rosenoer said, “and it can be frustrating for neighbors.”
Chaffee County, often nicknamed “Heart of the Rockies,” is a major recreation destination with a dozen fourteeners, including Mt. Harvard, Mt. Princeton, Mr. Belford and Mt. Antero, and whitewater rafting on the Arkansas River. Still, challenges exist for local farmers and ranchers.
“It’s never been harder to make a living off the land,” Chaffee County Commissioner Keith Baker said in a news release announcing the ordinance. “If we want to protect our agricultural and rural heritage in Chaffee, we must be creative. Expanding economic opportunities for rural landowners in Chaffee by allowing for well-regulated, small-scale private land camping is a huge win for our community. This first-of-its-kind land use will reduce pressure on public lands, create new revenue streams for the ag community, and support our outdoor recreation economy.”
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