Angel Of Shavano Group, near Salida, Colorado, is a unique camping spot that offers a blend of natural beauty and outdoor adventure. With its proximity to the Colorado Trail and stunning views of the surrounding mountains, it’s a solid choice for those looking to immerse themselves in nature.

The campground features a variety of sites, including options for both tents and RVs, and is known for its peaceful atmosphere. Campers have enjoyed the clean facilities and the friendly camp host, who is always ready to share local knowledge. One visitor noted, “The camp host was awesome and approachable with good knowledge of that natural area.” 

For those who love hiking and fishing, the nearby creek and beaver ponds provide excellent opportunities to explore the local wildlife. The area is also great for enjoying a campfire, with fire pits available at each site. Just be prepared for some bugs, especially during the warmer months, and consider bringing some lemongrass to keep them at bay.

While the campground can get busy during peak times, many campers appreciate the privacy offered by the sites, especially those located near the creek. Whether you’re stopping by for a quick overnight stay or planning a longer adventure, Angel Of Shavano Group is a great spot to unwind and enjoy the great outdoors.

## Overview

 Angel of Shavano Group Campground is considered one of the area's best kept camping secrets. It is situated next to the North Fork South Arkansas River and offers a variety of recreational activities, including hiking, biking, and fishing. Reservations are REQUIRED at this facility. Reservations can be made up to 1 year in advance. 
## Recreation

 The Colorado Trail begins within the campground and provides excellent hiking, horseback riding and biking opportunities. The trail stretches 487 miles across Colorado from Denver to Durango, with segments ranging in elevation from 5,500 to 13,300 feet. The North Fork South Arkansas River flows next to the campground and it\_\_offers rainbow and brook trout fishing. Fun facilities like a volleyball court, baseball field and horseshoe pits are available within the campground. Visitors must bring their own equipment.
## Facilities

 Angel of Shavano offers one group campsite best suited for tent camping. It can accommodate up to 100 people and 12-14 vehicles. Parking is not available for large RVs. The site is equipped with a picnic shelter, tables, six pedestal grills and a campfire circle with benches. Vault toilets and trash collection are provided. No drinking water is available within the group site, but it is available at the nearby family campground.
## Natural Features

 The campground is named after an image of an angel that appears as winter snow fall on Shavano Mountain. The site lies at an elevation of 9,200 feet along the North Fork South Arkansas River. A forest of aspen and pine covers the area. Beaver ponds dot the landscape at the base of nearby Shavano Mountain. 
## Nearby Attractions

 From the Angel of Shavano Group Campground the road continues west for 6 miles to the North Fork reservoir and campground. The road\_\_is extremely rocky and rough and high clearance vehicles are recommend. The reservoir is regularly stocked with rainbow trout and it offers anglers a chance to fish one of the area's most popular high elevation lakes. It is situated at 11,000 feet so anglers should be prepared for all types of weather. The Monarch Crest Scenic Tramway is located on the top of Monarch Pass at 11,312 feet (3.45 km), which is on the Continental Divide at the southern end of the Sawatch Mountain Range. The Monarch Crest is along the border between Gunnison and Chaffee counties, approximately 25 miles (40 km) west of the town of Salida. 
## Contact Info

 For facility specific information, please call (661) 702-1420.
## Charges & Cancellations

 Group Sites Group Facility (including Cabins and Lookouts): A visitor who cancels a group overnight facility reservation less than 14 days before the arrival date will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use 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.

Angel Of Shavano Group — Psicc

Looking for the best campgrounds near Monarch, CO? Monarch is a great camping destination for everyone. There are tons of nearby hikes, adventurous activities, and sights to see. Ready to plan your adventure? Check out our campgrounds near Monarch and user-submitted reviews.

Monarch

The Best Camping Near Monarch, Colorado

We stayed in the non group side. About 20 spots, first come first serve. Beautiful spots right by the creek. Great shade and privacy. Non electric. The Colorado trail runs right next to campground and offered amazing hiking. Tons of Aspen trees!

Small with good privacy

This was a nice spot to stop while either section hiking or through hiking the Colorado Trail. I especially appreciated the very clean outhouses! I camped with a woman who was hiking with a couple of llamas and the campground host was very gracious in where was a good spot to keep the llamas. Nice picnic table to organize all my stuff. Very refreshing. $18 a site.

A good stop on The Colorado Trail

We visited the Lower Shavano Campground in May and were met with cool temperatures overnight (20-30°f) and highs in the 70's. Them camp sites were large and well thought out with easy access to cut your own firewood and clean restrooms. Live water ran behind our campsite and was easily accessible to collect for filtering. There is a large trail head with access to summit Mt Shavano or stay in the lowlands. A relatively easy Jeep trail will get you up to the higher Shavano campground which was still closed in May due to snow.

Outstanding campground with access to a major trail system and jeep trails.

I will give prospective campers the information I wish I had before I arrived.  

  

First off, the Good--the campground is in a beautiful valley at the foot of Mt. Shavano.  Another positive is that the current campground hosts are very conscientious and go out of their way to make the campground homey.

  

But the Bad--the campground is tiny and it is busy!  Summer weekends are packed and non-reservable.  We arrived at 11AM on Friday morning and all the sites except one were already taken for the entire weekend.  With the exception of a half dozen sites around the outside edge of the campground, the sites are way too close together.  In the center, there are about eight sites that occupy a space that should not hold more than three.  Tent pads are no more than 15 feet apart in this center area, and you can clearly hear every sound your neighbors make. There is also very little visual screening between many of the sites.  The table for one of the riverside sites was nearly in the road due to the narrow depth of that site.  If you are not lucky enough to get one of the more spacious outside edge sites, you are better off camping elsewhere.

Sites Way Too Close Together

Stayed at the Angel of Shavano Group site in 2015. It was nestled right up to the wild that you want to soak in but still provided some creature comforts like tables, fire, pit and restroom with sink! 
Because of the quiet seclusion, Dahl sheep not only wonder through camp but they stuck around for about 3 hours! Also had a cow moose munch her way through. 
Beautiful spot near a creek and amazing hiking trails! 

Creature Comforts

My first trip to Angel of Shavano CG (from Colo Spgs) was in 1989, and it became the mainstay for my kids &amp; me. The kids are grown, but the CG is still one of my faves. Quiet, fairly secluded, has its own fishing pond and nearby beaver ponds, N. Fk. S. Arkansas flows past, and it is right on the Colorado Trail. Very shady, 30 min. from Salida, many 4x4 roads in the area. Great place to jump off of US 50 overnight if not full, or to spend a few days.

Not just a Group site -- 20 great single sites, too!

Bad smell from the public bathroom you pay for all day long. Flies, flies, and more flies.  Grass and weeds not maintained bringing more flies and bugs.  Covered parvilion had bugs, wasp, more flies, and smelled.  There was a horse show pit but not maintained as grass and weeds were to tall.  No water at site. Had to walk to get water from a very slow hand pump.  NOT a good site.  Host was a nice guy and not sure if the poor shape of the site is responsibility or someone else.  My advise..save your money and stay away

poor at best

Flies, no defined tent sites, some had tent areas but rain water ran right through them. Entire area smells very bad. Area was not maintained .weeds, grass etc no managed.

No defined or maintained tent sites

I hate to give negative reviews, but I have to. This campground is truly one of the worst I have ever been to. No one is maintaining the area (tall grass, piss-like smell), and there are pesky flies everywhere (I'm afraid it has to do with the smell.) I love this area - I have been going here with my parents since I was a child - but not this campground. There are no [positive words s](https://chi-nese.com/list-positive-words-that-start-with-s/) to describe this place. Better save your money and stay somewhere else.

Better save your money and stay somewhere else

Camp host was awesome and approachable with good knowledge of that natural area. Didn’t want to go to campground but needed to, and appreciated the clean bathrooms and lack of busy-ness at the camp—only 3 or 4 of at least 17 spots were taken, so still had complete privacy at site 16. There were quite a few bugs from standing water due to snow melt, but burning a fire (firepits at all sites) and using a little lemongrass minimized peskiness. The sites are mostly pretty close together or really close to the facilities so if you’re finicky about your spot, reserve online before turning off 50 because you won’t have a signal on the county road to the falls; although, you might get lucky just showing up and choosing your spot.

Photos of Angel Of Shavano Group — Psicc

Real photos from real campers