Buckeye Reservoir

We went to Buckeye with six families and somewhere between 10 and 12 kids(The oldest being Nine years old) to celebrate one of the kiddo's 7th birthday. We camped at the group site, which was a big enough place for all of us. We had a mix of camp setups- including a Class B RV, a pop, a hybrid travel trailer, and three or four tents. There was a large common area with plenty of built-in picnic tables and a very large fire pit. All for only$50 a night! The lake was beautiful, and we fished, Sup’d, and swam in the refreshingly cold water. 

There are some monster Rainbow Trout in the lake, and we had fun catching a few with the kids on fly rods, but there were a lot of other campers having good luck with spinner rods. The area also has a good mountain bike trail that us adults enjoyed. The Mtn bike ride starts and ends from the campground, taking you across the border into Utah and then swings back towards CO on a ridge that offers an incredible panorama of the lake and red rock cliffs. The trail is primarily double-track, and we bumped into a few ATVs along the way. 

Overall, if you’re going with a large group, you 100% should book the group site, which is also separated from all the other single campsites. 

We’ll be back! Buckeye is about a 2.5-hour drive from Telluride, where our group lives, and a 1.5-hour drive from Moab, UT.

Lastly, if you're looking to stay connected, there is no cell service or wifi(I have Verizon), although when we rode our bikes to the top of the ridge, I got two bars. You can also drive to the top of the hill in an offroad-capable vehicle if you need to make a call.

I was a little disappointed by how low the reservoir was, compared to the photos when I made the reservation, but considering how dry things have been, I can't really get mad. The campground itself is huge, and absolutely gorgeous. I rented a group site and was happy to see how clean it was, and the double bathrooms were very clean. Fire pits were available for each individual spot, but there was also a huge communal fire pit, plus two flat fire platforms so you good get your grill on, as well as several long picnic benches. We managed to get into the water and have fun. It was a fair bit mucky by the waters edge but that's to be expected when it's so low. It never really good too deep. One of our party managed to walk across to the other side and the water level only got to maybe chest high. This is absolutely a place I would visit again. The tall trees, the fresh air, wonderful scenery, is worth it.