Cascade (colorado)

Loved our first time experience here! Probably one of the best campgrounds we've stayed at. Spacious and private sites, super clean restrooms, and a friendly but not intrusive campground host. We stayed in #15 which where we could hear the roar of Chalk Creek and hardly noticed any car noise. There is a trail from the east end of the campground that almost connects to the Narrow Gauge trail , but be careful, we almost lost our dog who got out of her harness and into the road when descending down the short but steep part of the trail - then it's a short walk to the Narrow Gauge (along the road).  Lots of forest to walk the dogs as well. Some sites had circular "forts" made of the many rocks in the area -  amazing fun for kids. Would absolutely stay again if we can get in!

We really needed to find a campsite. We drove through. All the sites seem to be full. We were sitting near the entrance and the Bob the camp host walked up and said he had two sites available! There were people picnicking in the site we eventually took. Bob asked them to move. We stayed there four nights. Great place. Great host. No cell service or internet though.

Check out: 12 pm Quiet hours: 10 pm to 6 am

$22.00 per night and $7.00 day use fee if not camping. Pay by cash, check or money order by way of a self-servicing tube. 

Season: mid May to mid Oct Prior to Memorial Day weekend, and after Labor Day, sites may be FCFS and host and water may not be available. 

Reservations: During peak season dates, some sites can be reserved by calling 877-444-6777 or on line at recreation.gov. 

Accessible tent, trailer, or small RV camping with a picnic table, toilets, drinking water, fire ring/grill 

The drive up the Chalk Creek Canyon toward St Elmo, a mining ghost town established in the 1800's is a beautiful drive and well worth the trip even if you are not going camping but the campground is rather nice and check out the hiking. We had snow on our trip up the mountain. 

Directions: from Highway 285, turn west on County Road 162, past the Mt. Princeton Hot Springs resort, for about 9.5 miles. Cascade campground is located on the left side of the road just after the Cascade falls

LNT

Better than when you found it

Stay safe happy travels

I am relatively new to camping, but my wife said this was the nicest campground she has ever been to. Tucked right in between Mt Princeton and Mt Antero, the walls around you climb straight up. There is a long cascading waterfall that creates a constant (but subtle) white noise that made it hard to hear any of your well spaced neighbors. Just up the road is St Elmo, a cute little ghost town with a historic district. One note: we stayed in site 13 with a pop up trailer. Since we had to back in, our front door didn’t face our pad, so we had to walk around. The driveway was a bit short too. Lots of great other sites in the campground.

This place is beautifully positioned in the trees.  Clean facilities, a wonderful camp host and fellow campers were great.  15 minutes from Buena Vista and 30 to Salida.  Easy access to hiking trails and OHV. I'm headed back the end of the month.

Blue skies, snow-capped mountains, Chalk Creek, trails along creek, hiking mountain biking, space between sites... amazing views!!

After three weeks on the road, we extended our trip for one last hurrah before heading East. And so glad we did! This site was amazing! Nestled around some rocks and trees for our kids to be able to wander, this was what we were looking for. Host was great, sites were spaced and had trees to provide some privacy. Good mix of sun and shade. Chipmunks were aplenty which was maybe the only downside- ha! Aspens were changing, chilly nights, did a little 4x4 down the road. It was a great time!

This campsite has it all. Views, shade, and spaciousness. River (across the road), lake, hiking, hot springs, St. Elmo all near by. The campsite host was great.

I was able to get a reservation for spot 18. Got in late and set up and tanked out. Woke up to views of peaks overhead and dense woods around. While this spot is along the road, there’s little traffic and it was nice and quiet. It’s a very large camp spot with plenty of room for trailers and easy flat pads for tents. I would recommend this spot for exploring up the valley to St Elmo or a nearby hot springs.

Stayed in a pop up camper with no hookups. Great place to stay, nice host and and clean campground, not for the huge campers. I would recommend this campground.

This is probably my family's favorite area to camp in Colorado. Off the beaten path enough that traffic is minimal. But nice and close to some great four wheel and off roading areas.

This campground lies across the road from Chalk Creek. It has pit toilets and a few ants, but otherwise is quite nice. There are still plenty of trees, nice fire rings, etc. Outdoor activities do not abut the campground, so you'll get back in your car to visit trailheads, fishing locations, the local ghost town, or the hot springs.

The area is spectacular. The Colorado trail passes nearby, fun in all seasons. St. Elmo offers tame chipmunks to feed and a look at our mining history. Sunrise turns the Chalk Cliffs a beautiful rose hue. Civilization and pampering (or just a shower) are available down the road at the hot springs resort and spa, complete with restaurant and general store. Four-by-fours tackle Tin Cup pass above the campground. Bikers can head over to nearby Cottonwood canyon for a classic Colorado road ride.

I wasn't familiar with the hot springs which jut up all though the mountains in this area and for that I am sad!! Turns out at the bottom of the mountain just a short hike you can find a pretty nice spring to soak the time away, but since I didn't know about it at the time I took in the other parts of the natural beauty around me (guess that just means I will have to return).

I was there late in the year and technically a lot of the camps along the road to St Elmo were "closed" however there were some rogue camps using the sites which welcomed me to come and join the mix. One was a photographer who actually had some great insight to the area and made me feel right at home. Apparently closed doesn't mean you can't use the pads, you just can't use facilities and park inside so they come to places like this in droves to snow camp, and while I wasn't wanting to snow camp I now know that there is a group of brave nature photographers out there who do just that all winter in the Colorado Mountains.

Because it was post season there were NO amenities so basically it was a free site to just have an even space for a tent. During the regular season sites are $22 and peak season ends September 28th. Following the end of peak season the closures are based on discretion of rangers.

Campfires are banned in much of the area unless in an approved campsite, this is on of those sites so they have adequate preparation with camp rings. They do recommend sourcing wood locally as this is a part of the National Forest and they do not want foreign tree diseases to take over.

The site is cozy with placement so during the more busy season I could see it feeling like a community. There is room for smaller RVs at this camp and there are toilets available as well.

During my stay it was a stay like no other and it encouraged me to come back perhaps during the warmer weather.

TIPS:

• Bring your supplies there are no stores at this facility.
• Be careful on roads which begin to narrow the closer you get to the ghost town of St Elmo. Snowfall and ice appears throughout the year due to elevation and roads quickly can become slick.
• Try ATV trails which will take you to an additional ghost town on the Tin Cup pass not accessible without a 4 wheel drive.

Spent 3 nights in June at this cozy camoground. Ghost town at the top of the valley. Hot springs at the bottom. Fishing all along.

This is a lovely little campground not too far from Mt Princeton (hot springs and peak). There are a lot of trees at the campground, providing nice privacy between the sites. We had a sure on the inside of the loop. I'd recommend a site on the outside of the loop to get a little more space from your neighbors. Good spot to camp before hiking Mt Princeton or Antero. Bathrooms we're clean and stocked. It was a lively stay.

this campground is very nice, nice pool, basketball, nicely stocked store, restaurant, friendly staff

Great place for a night or two away

The campground was nice and the creek was nice to look at. But go up to the north pole its really rad if you have kids but don't let then lick the ice pole because its super unsanitary.