East Ridge Campground - Royal Gorge

Tucked away and very nice campground close to the Royal Gorge and Canon City if you need to get camping supplies. Get water and ice at the filling station by the Goodwill store for a great price.

There are toilets but no showers. There are mule deer wandering through at dusk. The sounds of crickets and gentle breezes will help you sleep soundly. There are other campers but it is lovely, clean and beautiful.

This campground used to be free when I first found it years ago while visiting the Royal Gorge. Since the city has invested money into fixing up the campsites with fire rings, tent pads, and what seems to be pretty good county road maintenance, it’s definitely understandable why they charge a fee.

No water is available. There are vault toilets.

There are NO bear boxes.

Rules worth nothing (according to the sign upon entering camp):

1. no alcohol (that didn’t seem to stop anyone from enjoying themselves at their site)
2. You can only stay for 72 hours per visit unless otherwise noted.

There’s lots of hiking and mountain bike trails near the campground, which brought lots of mellow mtb riders in during my stay.

Because of the rules/amenities, i felt the price was a little steep as others have mentioned. However it is clean, close enough to Cañon city that you can go to town if needed, but far enough away to “unplug” from the world in a beautiful location. Overall I’d recommend visiting this campsite! I’ll happily return.