May Queen

This is a beautiful little campground along turquoise lake. But...the host is not keeping up. The toilets a very dirty especially the men's. The sites were neglected by the last concession and the new one advenco hasn't had a chance to fix anything? There is no water unless you filter from the lake or brought enough to put out your fire. We rolled in an an active unattended fire was across from the host site. I couldn't get an answer at his door so I took a jug of water from his cart and put it out as the wind picked up and it flamed. There were open abandoned reservations. Trash is a constant where ever we go and though not as much as some it was obvious the host does little to check the sites. He is sweet but....

We reserved site 1 and paid in advance based on the Recreation.gov photo, which was misleading. First this site is on a slope. The picnic table is level but there is no level place to put your tent, not even close to level. Secondly, surprise, you have to walk 500 steps uphill to get to site 1 from parking. We were disappointed but noticed the host advertised four vacant tent sites “first come first served.” The sites had level tent pads and were close to parking. Great! We’ll just swap our defective site for a decent one. Wrong! The host told us we had to pay for the decent site and would forfeit our defective site payment, too late to cancel. He said his boss at ExplorUS insisted on this policy. So we must pay double. Welcome to May Queen! We won’t be back.

We had an amazing time! Showed up later on a Thursday and got super lucky with and awesome site. The lake is super close and the campground is surrounded with amazing trails. It’s a short drive from Leadville as well.

A beautiful site with a great location. Easy drive into Leadville and great access to the Colorado Trail. Nice put toilet, huge sites really give everyone space at this site. Great views of the lake and mountains on the other side. Picnic table and fire pit, totally recommend!

Not a bad spot! Pretty secluded right on Turquoise Lake. There was only one space left open for us to camp on, but it was right near the stream that leads to the lake. Plenty of fishing for Brown and Rainbow trout. There are some good trails nearby including Haggermans, which was pretty moderate.

We ended up at this campground because it was the only one near the that had spaces left. We LOVED this site. The campground was well kept and the site were very spacious. We loved the little creek that ran along the campground. It was very tame and easy for the kids to play in. It was also a short walk to the lake and the hiking trail that runs along the edge of the lake.

This was the only campground on the far side of the lake, so it has far less foot traffic and people in general. We loved our stay here!

It was a little farther from the lake than we’d have liked, so we prefer baby doe campground over this one. It’s clean and quiet, but there are no showers, and it has a hassle hauling all our stuff the several hundred yards to the lake.

We stayed here in Mid September, the last day the campground was open. Note about this spot compared to the other campgrounds around Turquoise Lake is that even after the campground closes for the summer they keep the gates open so you can still camp here.

The spots are large and set back against the forest with the lake at the end of the road. Each spot has a driveway big enough for a couple cars. There are some spots that offers areas big enough for a trailer. 2 bathrooms are located in the campground, one on either end. There is a campground host located in the middle of the grounds during open season, which runs from Memorial day to September 17th. All other campgrounds around the lake close on the Tuesday after Memorial Day.

Each site has a fire ring, picnic table and a standing charcoal grill. The spots had their numbers removed when we were there but we camped in the second spot on the left and we could have easily fit 5+ tents. The campground also allows dogs! the must be leashed up though. The opposite side of the campground is Butcher boy picnic area which offers grills and tables overlooking the lake for day use.

This side of Turquoise Lake is much less trafficked and quieter, but with less spots. Great camp spot for a night or a few. Leadville is at 10000+ ft so it gets chilly, dress warm.

We like the west side of Turquoise Lake better, due to less traffic and access to trails. The Timberline Lake trail is right near the campsite, which provides access to a smaller lake with grear views. There are toilets and drinking water. The campsite’s elevation is close to 10,000 feet, so make sure you have warm clothes for the evening. We found snow in June, which the dog was happy about!