## Overview

 The Buckeye Recreation Area is located adjacent to Buckeye Reservoir in Montrose County, Colorado. The area is popular for camping, OHV/ATV trails, hunting and fishing.Note: Some GPS or driving app directions are sending people on 4WD roads or to locked gates that are on private property. If you are unfamiliar with the area, please visit our \"Facility Information - Getting Here\" section for instructions on the best route to get to Buckeye Reservoir before reserving. DO NOT rely soley on Google Maps or Apple Maps for getting to this campground. 
## Recreation

 Recreation in the area centers around the reservoir which provides excellent opportunities for fishing and canoeing. Forest roads in the area provide for off-highway vehicle touring and the nearby state lands provide motorized trails for Off-highway vehicles and motorcycles. The La Sal Mountains are nearby which provide many hiking and biking trails. 
## Facilities

 The Buckeye Recreation Area is located adjacent to Buckeye Reservoir. The Recreation Area is spread out around the reservoir and consists of the Pioneer Campground (30 single family reservable campsites), a boat ramp for small fishing boats (5 HP motor limit and wakeless speed), a reservable group site, a day-use picnic area and 18 less developed dispersed campsites scattered around the reservoir. Campsites in the Pioneer Campground include graveled parking spurs, concrete picnic tables, fire rings, a utility table and access to vault toilets. There is a 14 day stay limit at this campground. 
## Natural Features

 The recreation area is located in a valley at 7,600 feet in elevation and is set amongst mature stands of Ponderosa Pines. The high peaks of the La Sal Mountains are visible from much of the area. The scenic Paradox Valley and the town of Paradox, Colorado are located approximately 10 miles to the southeast. 
## contact\_info

 For facility specific information, please call (435) 259-7155. 
## Nearby Attractions

 The scenic La Sal Mountains are very close to the area and provide numerous opportunities for recreation. Canyonlands and Arches National Parks are about 1.5 hour drive away from the area as well as numerous recreation opportunities around the towns of Monticello and Moab, Utah.

Buckeye Campground

Reserved a site for this campground out of convenience, but was more than pleasantly surprised. Located in the Manti-La Sal National Forest, this campground was more than I had anticipated. Absolutely beautiful and peaceful setting and much cleaner than I had thought. Very empty during the weekdays, so pretty much had the entire campground to ourselves. Would highly recommend to anyone willing to have no water or electric hookups.

Hidden Gem

So Buckeye has a few spots to camp. There is the reservable set of sites just after the picnic area, then the group area and if you drive past the group area you can get to an area of dispersed camping. The dispersed is free, has a fire pit and a spot to park. There are trees all around and the views are much better in the dispersed area. You get a great look at the mountains that are on the other side. The Utah boarder is with in walking distance, and is barely marked, that was kind of funny.

  

So, if you pay to camp it's $10 a night. They have picnic tables, the free sites do not have picnic tables. However, there are two vault toilets over in the dispersed area and when we got there they were incredibly clean, well stocked and had air fresheners to keep smells down. The sites aren't all very level but were still suitable for our needs and many others needs. Almost all the dispersed sites were taken by the end of the night. In fact a group of 12-15 bicycle tourists came in and set up camp. They really spread out in the two sites that were available next to us. Unfortunately they were a bit loud, walked around in towels and made the restroom disgusting.  So much so we walked to the farther restroom for the rest of our stay. That was unfortunate. 

  

It was incredibly windy while we were there the first day. So much so we walked in to the woods to get out of the wind. The sun was quite warm but the wind made it cold. The second the sun went down the temps dropped drastically! We sat by the fire for a bit and then headed to our tent for the night. It got insanely cold overnight and really made us cut our stay short. We really couldn't imagine another night in the cold. There wasn't any snow but it was cold. By morning the wind had stopped all together and the lake was just glass. Made for some great photos. 

  

This lake was almost completely empty last year with the drought. This year though, with all the snow there is plenty of water, if not too much. It looked flooded in places. We are not sure about fish but we could see something jumping so there is hope that some fish survived the drought and maybe they will stock it. It looked like it would be fun to take a canoe out and fish. The cyclists bathed in the lake when they came in and our dog loved swimming in it. It was his first experience swimming. He's just 11 months old.

  

This would be a great spot to bike. In fact I biked back out of the park. It's hilly and rocky the whole way down. About a mile and a half of incline and about 5 miles of decline. I think top speed I hit was about 31 mph. I did have to push my bike for some of the uphills. It was fun and I could see doing the ride again.

  

It's a great spot and worth a stop and we will return when it is warmer! As tent campers, it got just a little too chilly.

Dispersed Camping on the other side of the lake

This was the third and final campsite for my Rimrocker run. Amazing to find such a place out in the middle of no where. Plenty of vault toilets spread around and some of the fanciest fire rings you have ever seen. Bonus for me, beautiful snowstorm overnight. 