Little Maud Campground

I wish I had taken more photos but I had so much to take in and enjoy. 7 of us stayed in a site and had plenty of room for 2 large tents, 2 small tents. 3 pop ups of varying sizes, plus several hammocks. Everything I well maintained. Several sites did not have very much tree coverage so bring your own shade if you cannot reserve a spot on the north side near the creek where trees are more plentiful. The website promised flushing toilets on the campground so we were slightly disappointed that port-a-potties had been erected in front of their restroom doors. Only half of the non‐potable water spigots worked but they weren't too far a walk. Also when I purchased the reservation in January for May, the site said that you could park 2 vehicles at your site and any extra vehicles would be 6$ per car, per night. The host came by and only let us have one car on site for free with purchase of the reservation and then charged us 7$ per vehicle, per night. Not sure if they updated that on recreation.gov. those being the only slight complaints, the place is just wonderful. The walk to the lake shore is easy and worth it for fishing and paddle boarding. Or you can drive over with your gear in 2 minutes and pay 8$ to park on that side. The proximity to the town of Basalt, CO was super convenient as we needed more ice and fish bait. The drive along the Frying Pan River is so spectacular that I told my partner I wanted to move there. The evening time was especially beautiful with the sun setting on the mountains and the lake and the stars shining so bright we stared at them more than our own fire. Absolutely will be returning!

We loved tent camping here with our dog. We saw plenty of trailers and smaller RVs as well. The road around the loop is paved but the sites themselves are not. You tent peg into the dirt. It’s a 5, 10-minute walk to the reservoir but you feel a world away from it’s busy day visitors. All the spots are a little different, a few in the inner campsites have less shade, but most make the use of trees, tall grasses, and positioning of each site and where you’d park your car, for privacy. The flush toilets at Little Maud are immaculate and well-spaced at the top and bottom of the loop. Be bear aware: there are great bear-proof storage lockers on each site to use. Keep your toiletries in your car or bear locker too - your toothpaste, sunscreen, all of that, smells like food. The local black bears are shy but they do come around. One came quite close to us at site #4. We think it wanted the cool shade of the stream. It was a little hard to hear it’s rustling/approach with the white noise of the stream. The hosts said to make a lot of noise and they will leave. Our banging of the fire grate wasn’t noisy enough but the host had an air horn that worked. No cell service here or on most of the road up after you leave nearby Basalt. We loved it and will definitely be back.

The campground is located on the Ruedi Reservoir just a few miles east of Basalt Colorado. It also sits in the White River National Forest on the Fryingpan River at an elevation of 7,800 ft. Costs are $24 per night for car camping, restrooms and water are provided. We stayed in one of the sites closest to the water which was about 100 yards away, it had a few trees but was mostly an open grass field with great views of the surrounding. Boating, fishing, camping, and hiking are definitely the things to do here but especially fishing. The Fryingpan River is a tributary of the Roaring Fork River, both of which are part of Colorado's Gold Medal Waters. We camped on May 19th and 20th of 2018 to great weather of highs in the 50's and a low around 30. Two cool places in town we would recommend if your making the trip would be Capitol Creek Brewing and The Brick Pony Pub. Also this is the best time to go camping to avoid the crowds, the reservoir can be pretty crowded during the summer. Highlight: Seeing mother moose and calf tracks on our morning hike around the lake.

We came to this campground right after wildfires in 2018 decimated the surrounding area. Despite this tragedy the campground was lush and green, full of adult pine, aspen and spruce trees. With views over the lake it serene and a great spot for a quiet trip. While we were there it was still smoky with a very strict fire ban, but those barriers are temporary. I will say that the commode facilities while clean, flush toilets, had an unpleasant smell when the wind picked up. Normally we try to find a spot close to the bathrooms and this time that backfired. There was no cell service at or near this campground, nor any stores, so if you are needing communication or to pick up ice, supplies, etc, make sure to do it before leaving Basalt. We found this out the hard way when we discovered once setting up camp that we could not coordinate with the other people in our party and had to drive back into town to get a text out. The positive side was that we stumbled across a Lobster Shack cooking live Maine Lobster in Basalt, so we had an unexpected lobster dinner while camping in the mountains of Colorado. The weather was superb for late summer as well. It was cooler than the other camp spots we had been all summer and the brief rain showers kept the temps down and bugs away. If not for the recent wildfires it would have been a perfect camping spot.

Things to know: extra vehicles are $6/car/night; campers will need to use the provided bear boxes for storing food and cooking supplies; no cell service;

The drive from Basalt was stunning as only Colorado can do. The whole area was so scenic and beautiful and the water is a two minute walk away. The campground is covered in beautiful shade trees and grass and the ring round through it is paved. The campground hosts, Bob and his wife, keep the area immaculate. The restrooms are strategically dotted around the campground circle and and a quick walk from any camp site. They are well maintained several times a day and don't have showers. You can take your dogs as long as they're kept on leashes and you can take them on your little hikes, they'll love it. We were totally thrilled that there was a mule eared deer doe who was not shy and casually grazed under the trees at the edge of our campsite, totally ignoring us and allowing our 7 year old grandson to sneak up to get a closer look, within 20 feet of her. It made his day! I wish they would update their website photos to portray the beautiful scenery, trees and grass. The website photos show few trees which almost made us choose somewhere else. We will be back, maybe next year!