Lake Hasty - John Martin Reservoir State Park

Spent the night in early March 2023 on our way back to Colorado from picking up our new Casita travel trailer in Texas. Only four sites were occupied on the evening that we stayed there. The trees were leafless and the grass was that lovely winter brown color, but we loved the solitude and peacefulness of a nearly empty campground.

Stayed in September 2022, stopped in on the way home to KS. Unfortunately lake down to 4% at present so don’t plan on fishing swimming. They are going to be working on the dam. Campsite level & nice on Hasty lake side of Dam. Shower are pay. Probably a nice place when the lake is full.

We were traveling cross country & really just needed a place to settle in for the night . We decided on this campground based openings. There are 2 sides to this campground- 1 more on the water , with more trees between sites & the other in what’s basically an open field . We stayed on the open side. While I usually wouldn’t choose such little privacy , we were pleasantly surprised! The sites are really spread out & there was only a small handful of folks , so no one was anywhere near us. It was quiet , dry neat & there was a central water source if needed. The site did have electricity. It was very dark at night but it made for amazing star gazing ! This campground is definitely off the beaten path. It fit the bill for the night but I’m not sure what else is around it for entertainment value. It’s supposed to be a great place if you fish & we were told there many opportunities to see eagles but more on the reservoir side.

The campground was uncrowded when we stayed. It was quiet. The small Lake Hasty was a great spot for a short canoe trip. Most people waved at others in the campground but with Covid there was less interaction with others than in the past. It is possible to take a walk around Lake Hasty. The restrooms were spotless. There was good cell service.

It's hard to give this place the credit it deserves when you come off of a mountain over 10,000 feet!!! Sites 1-20 something are up next to the dam and levee. Site 9 is the farthest from the road that separates this section from the bigger portion of the campground. There is only electricity at these sites with community water. There are restrooms (that we didn't use) and garbage containers scattered throughout. This park's saving grace is the lake and the abundant wildlife... mostly birds, but beaver and skunks were seen! Roads are paved, sites are rock with little cabana-type shelters, a picnic table and fire ring. Sites 1-20 something have scattered small trees... site 9 probably had the largest... a young cottonwood. The largest section of Hasty campsites are well treed, some at water's edge. If you're going to stay longer than 1 night, especially during the summer, try to reserve in the big section with trees! It's a popular, year-round park with fishing on Hasty Lake and boating on the reservoir side!

Very nice campground, well-maintained. The grass was cut very short, sandy soil. Some sites are right on the water most sites have a cover on the picnic table. Spacious and spread out for the most part. Friendly park ranger in the visitors center. The visitor center also has a few interesting displays. In very late November there are only a few other campers here. I was here on a Saturday and Sunday and saw only a very few day users. Weather was nice with freezing temps at night and 60s during the day. I finally got away from all those flies in Kansas. I would rank this campground with five stars if it just were not so darn expensive. Even at these prices they have removed almost all of the dumpsters. The only dumpster I saw in the park was overflowing. There were hundreds if not thousands of geese on the smaller house the lake below the dam.  There is a huge reservoir on the other side if the dam, I did not explore that this trip.

We stayed at this campground on a weekend sightseeing trip. It is an hour away from Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site (and another 2 hours east one would arrive at the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site).

This is your basic State Park Reservoir camping site. You will need a reservation and either an annual park pass or daily parking fee for your vehicles. There is large reservoir for boating and fishing. Swimming is allowed seasonally, but not during our stay. There was a few playgrounds for young kids near Hasty campground and a geocache nearby (watch out for cacti for the small children). Lots of space for the kids to run, play and ride bikes.

A lot of turkey vultures and a skunk were spotted from our campground. Very windy in a tent during our late April stay.  We had lunch at a picnic spot, but we were glad it was 70 degree April day because there was no shade at there.

Lake Hasty Campground is well maintained and offers those subtle necessities without the hassle of a huge expense.

We loved staying here, but there were certainly much better camp sites with trees and views. We booked an electric site on the east side of the dam and it was one with a lake view but had zero trees around. We had never been there prior so we know better now which spot we would book. The spots closest to the damn have zero trees and you're out in the open. My only complaint is we called the park to ensure that our friend with a roof top tent could share our spot, and we were told no since the tent is "attached" to the truck it is considered a "camper". So our friend had to cancel his trip since the park was sold out. Come the weekend, and we saw countless violations to this said park rule. One campsite had 5 vehicles, 8 tents and we counted at least 18 plus campers! The park rangers just drove on by. The other issue was we paid the reservation fee and pulled our travel trailer in. They still charged us an additional $9/day fee for our truck...that pulled the trailer. I have not heard of that before so it was a bit of a surprise. Cell phone service is a bit spotty, so prepare to be off-grid. The views are gorgeous and it is very peaceful there at night. The closest town to get anything you might have forgotten is about a 30 minute round trip drive.

Be sure to check the map and terrain to pick your site. Point has no shade, but Lake Hasty has shade and trees. Nice easy walk to the dam. Dumpsters, toilets, water pumps present. Campsite was $18 and park fee was $9.

Initially made reservations at the point campground. There is NO shade. Cancelled and remade for Lake Hasty campground. Had a good time. Visited in spring, but it was HOT!! Very glad to have had the shade. Lots of owls. Lots of birds to watch. Bathrooms were a bit of a walk, but we were right next to the playground. Did some fishing, had a muskrat steal our fish. Lots of rattlesnakes. Also learned that rattlesnakes can swim. Easy drive to Bent's Old Fort which was great. Overall, nice but factor in weather when making reservations.

We stayed here twice last Summer on our cross country adventure. Nice shady spots and great bike riding opportunities.

Beautiful and great fishing too! bird watching is also awesome!

Great lakeside site... large site with partial shade.

Swim beach

Clean restrooms, laundry and showers

very quiet

This place offers a swim beach, fishing on the lake and boating and fishing at John Martin Resivour. There are also bathrooms and showers on site for a small cost. I love this place.

we got a site right on the lake and it was beautiful! It was a windy day so despIte the heat It was pleasant. swam in the beach area which was small but clean with cold water.

bathrooms were clean and new with nice pay showers. I would recommend driving up into the dam and walking on it. very cool!

when the sun went down the stargazing was incredible! saw at least 40 satellites and several shooting stars. saw a calm gray rat snake looking for food and had nests of baby birds in the trees overhead. loved this place!

This is the place you want to be! Campsites are nicely spaced and mostly level! I’d estimate that 80% have really nice shade trees. Electric provided with water nearby but I understand it’s not worth drinking but suitable for showering etc. I always carry drinking water anyway!

Nice campground. Nice equipment for kids to play