Established Camping
Horseshoe Campground
About
National Forest
PSICC
Overview
Horseshoe Campground sits along its namesake creek near a grassy meadow among aspen, Engelmann spruce and Bristlecone pines in the San Isabel National Forest. Trees provide good privacy between campsites, which are located at the base of Sheep Mountain.
Recreation
Visitors enjoy the Limber Grove Trail, a 3-mile mountainside path that winds through 1,000-year-old limber pine with gigantic twisted trunks. Fishing or wading in Horseshoe Creek are also popular pastimes.
Facilities
The campground fits RVs up to 25 feet in length. Picnic tables, vault toilets, drinking water and campfire rings are provided.
Natural Features
Hikers looking for the thrill of "fourteeners," the term for mountain peaks above 14,000 feet, will find Horseshoe Campground to be an ideal location to camp. The primitive campground is located near Mount Sherman, Lincoln, Bross and Democrat - all impressive peaks for avid hikers. At elevation 10,600 feet, it's not hard to find fantastic mountain views.
Nearby Attractions
The nearest town is Fairplay, Colorado, a historic gold mining settlement of the Pikes Peak Gold Rush. The town has an open air museum that sets that helps recreate the life and times of the 19th century gold rush era. The nearby County Route 18 marks the Horseshoe/Fourmile Historic Auto Tour.
contact_info
For facility specific information, please call (661) 702-1420.
Charges & Cancellations
Cancellations Individual Campsites: Cancellations up to 2 days before a reservation start date incur a $10.00 cancellation fee.__ A visitor who cancels a reservation the day before or on the day of arrival will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee including tax and applicable add-on for a campsite. Cancellations for a one-night reservation will forfeit the entire amount paid and will not be subject to an additional service fee. No-Shows A no-show visitor is one who does not arrive at a campground and does not cancel the reservation by check-out time on the day after the scheduled arrival date. Staff will hold a campsite until check-out time on the day following the arrival date. No-shows are assessed $20.00 service fee and forfeit the first night's rate, taxes and applicable add-on for a campsite.____ Refunds Visitors may submit a refund request through their Recreation.gov profile within 7 days of the end date of their reservation. Refunds will not be issued after the 7 days has ended. Refunds for debit or credit card payments will be issued as a credit to the original bank or credit card used to pay. For check or cash purchases, Recreation.gov will mail a Treasury check for refunds of cash, check, or money order payments to the address associated with the reservation. Treasury check refunds may take up to 6-8 weeks to arrive.__ In the event of an emergency closure, the Recreation.gov team or facility manager will refund all fees and will attempt to notify you using the contact information within the Recreation.gov visitor profile.
Location
Horseshoe Campground is located in Colorado
Directions
From Fairplay travel south on US-285 for about one mile. Turn right onto County Road 18. Continue for approximately 6 miles to the campground on the left.
Coordinates
39.2016667 N
106.0861111 W
Access
- Drive-InPark next to your site
- Walk-InPark in a lot, walk to your site.
- Hike-InBackcountry sites.
Stay Connected
- WiFiUnknown
- VerizonUnknown
- AT&TUnknown
- T-MobileUnknown
Site Types
- Tent Sites
- RV Sites
- Standard (Tent/RV)
- Group
Features
For Campers
- Trash
- Firewood Available
- Toilets
- Alcohol
- Pets
- Fires
GuideSmall but nice. Great for foliage!
I enjoyed the campground but most of the sites are pitched so finding a place for your tent can be a challenge in some of the sites. We were in a site 3 and had a great time. Also, there is great access to trails for hiking.
- (7) View All
TravelerAwesome Spots Outside Horseshoe Campground
I did not secure a spot at Horseshoe as I was trying to make it to dispersed campgrounds that were closed, but just down the road from the campground are tons of pull out spots for true dispersed camping. Beautiful views right next to water sources if you need to filter. My pup and I car camped the night before summiting Sherman and we had a blast. Just 15 or so minutes from the Sherman trailhead
- (6) View All
GuideQuiet and cozy
Vault toilets, no hookups, no garbage service.
Bear country, but no bear lockers, so... plan for that.
There was a river next to our campsite that was amazingly peaceful. I would have loved to actually plan to stay there, but our trip was unexpected. Both interstates through Colorado were closed due to flooding and the weather took a turn as we were driving Hwy 40. Rather than drive the Rockies in a storm, we took the first road we saw with Natl Forest access and drove 20 miles to Horseshoe.
It may have quite literally saved our lives.
TravelerNice Location Close to Water
Really cool spot and close to water, but not shaded. I have come out early and it was full, but luckily there are some dispersed spots close.
GuideBeautiful and secluded
8 or 9 sites. Water and toilets. Nice and secluded with several small lakes and hiking trails nearby.
GuideSuch a pretty spot near Bailey
Small campground near Bailey. Road is a little bumpy getting there, but manageable. Sites are on the smaller side, probably best for tent camping or smaller RVs. Lots of trees.
There is access to a beautiful hike within the campground. You can hike it all the way to the Fourmile campground, another beautiful spot. If I was choosing between Horseshoe and Fourmile, I would lean that towards Fourmile because of the views. You might want to check that one out as well. Bathrooms (pit toilets) were not very clean.
We saw a lot of boondocking options close by as well. Overall, just a gorgeous area.
- (7) View All
TravelerDisperse Camp between Horseshoe and Four mile
Accessible by 2-WD with standard clearance, plenty of space between 4 mile campground and horseshoe campground. On the road to Mt. Sherman trailhead (4-WD and high clearance recommended for trailhead but 2-WD will get you pretty close). Lots of space and established camp sites with fire rings
GuideGo-To
This was one of our go-to spots. If we needed a place to get outta dodge for a weekend with no fear of having a spot available, this was the spot. The creek flowing by the camp makes for a great nights sleep and to toss a line into. If, by some crazy happening, the campsite is full or you don’t want to pay...keep on truckin’ down the road and you might be able to find a free dispersed camp spot (some of which are by the water as well). Overall, it’s a great space close to Summit county that is not widely known.
GuideGreat high elevation campground
Sites were well shaded and comfortable during the day. It got quite cool in the evening. Bristle cone pine trail was great.
TravelerGood for groups!
This is for the Horseshoe Campground the the turnoff is just south of FairPlay towards the mountains to the west, near the base of Mt. Sherman.
The toilets were pit toilets that were well kept up, no complaints about those!
the campground hosts were very friendly and walked around to meet everyone which was a nice touch.
We found that sites 9-11 were good for a group or multiple groups because they had more of a parking lot for parking, and there were a lot of good spots for putting up multiple tents.
GuideLess traveled campground in the high country
Great secret close to Summit County. I knocked off a star due to the amount of ATV's on the nearby road which can get exhausting after a while if you are not on one. But if you do have ATV's there are lots and lots of roads and trail for you to ride closeby. Lots of great camp sites on the Williams Fork River in this campground. $12 a night, toilets and trash. We came here on Labor Day 2015 and we were the only people in the campground! This would be a great spot for fall colors as well. If you have high clearance or 4WD there are plenty of dispersed camping near the river up the road, you can go all the way to WInter Park! Big sites at this campground, easy access for trailers or and car.
