## Overview

 Mountain Park Campground is located on the Cache la Poudre River, 40 miles northwest of Fort Collins, Colo., along Highway 14. Visitors enjoy the area for its great rafting, fishing and hiking opportunities.
## Recreation

 The Cache La Poudre River offers whitewater rafting and fishing. Anglers cast for brown, cutthroat and rainbow trout. Hiking, biking and horseback riding trails are in the surrounding area, including the Mt. McConnel Trail, William R. Kreutzer National Recreation Trail and Young Gulch Trail. Volleyball and basketball courts, a playground and horseshoe pits are located in the campground. Other popular activities include birding and wildlife viewing.
## Facilities

 The campground offers accessible single- and double-family sites, and a group site that can accommodate up to 75 people. Sites 1 through 32 have electric hookups. Sites 33 through 54 do not have hookups. Picnic tables, 12x15\' tent pads, campfire rings and grills are provided, as are vault toilets and drinking water. Coin showers are located on-site. Dead and downed firewood may be gathered in the forest or purchased from the host.
## Natural Features

 The canyon\'s vegetation varies from dense forests to open meadows, surrounded by steep mountains. A forest of ponderosa pine trees covers the campground, which is situated on the banks of the Cache la Poudre River, Colorado\'s first National Wild and Scenic River. 
## contact\_info

 For facility specific information, please call (530) 529-0578.

Mountain Park

This campground is in a beautiful setting right along the Poudre River and steep mountain slopes. It is well maintained by the friendly staff and the hosts Bill and Donna do an excellent job and even came on the evening of our last night to thank us for staying and shared some gems about other opportunities in the area in hopes we'll return.

There are multiple water spigots, trash dumpsters, and restrooms located throughout the campground's various loops.

We stayed at site 34 at the entrance of Crown Loop with restrooms, water, and trash dumpster just across the road from us and the hosts' site is just beyond that where firewood can be purchased.  The river is about 20 feet or so from the back of the site. It is $24/night for a single non-electric site.

The restrooms were in all seriousness the cleanest vault restrooms I have ever seen as they were cleaned multiple times each day.

I spoke to the gentleman that tests the water for all the campgrounds in the canyon and reports to the state for the concessionaire, and he said that this campground has the best water quality of any throughout the canyon.

The sites are equipped with fire rings, picnic tables, and tent pads.  Our site's pad accommodated our 6-person tent perfectly.  None of the sites in that section of the campground have bear bins, but I did notice pallets of bear bins sitting in the parking lot at the campground entrance that I assume are to be installed this season.  There is no cell service in the campground, but I drove west on Hwy 14 about 10-15 minutes to the small town of Rustic and I was able to get 2-3 bars on 4G LTE.

Hwy 14 runs just on the opposite of the river from the campground, but at least early in the season with the spring melt, the river drowned out nearly all traffic noise and was nice to fall asleep to.

While in the campground, we saw a variety of birds (including hummingbirds), chipmunks, ground squirrels, and a mule deer.  I scanned the steep mountainsides looking for Bighorn sheep several times, but failed to see any.

Great location and well-managed!

It was a GREAT stay.  The sites are well spaced and the tent spots are maintained to be even - no lumps under you!   Toilets are a reasonable distance.  There is  lots of shade and a great hiking trail up the ridge line.  Staff is very friendly and it is very well maintained.  It s a short drive to other spots such as Red Feather Lakes.  I would definitely stay here again.

Beautiful campground

**Campground Review **

  

I have parked next to this campsite a few times to hike the Mt. McConnel Trailhead, so this spot came to mind when I was looking for a quick escape up the Poudre Canyon. We arrived on a beautiful Saturday afternoon and did not have reservations, so we were pleased to find that there were still quite a few great sites available. This campground is really gorgeous and bigger than it looks at first glance. There are quite a few loops that offer a variety of sites, you can be right next to the river or surrounded by trees up along the hill. Each site offers nice picnic tables, fire pits with a grill, plenty of parking space and spots for a tent. The campground is located in a forest of Ponderosa Pines, which provide great shade and a natural barrier between sites. The sound of the river is lovely and there are tons of spots that allow you to camp right next to the water. We were sad to have forgotten our fishing poles but enjoyed watching the fly fisherman wading in the river. 

  

The location of this campground is also fantastic, it is about halfway up the Cache la Poudre canyon, making it an epicenter for outdoor recreation. I live at the bottom of the canyon so I have been fortunate enough to enjoy many of the great things it has to offer, white water rafting, hiking, rock climbing, fishing, and so much more. As I mentioned before, this campground shares a parking lot with the Mt. McConnel trailhead. This is one of my favorite trails along the Poudre, mostly because it is rarely crowded and offers beautiful views. If you are camping here and have a few hours to spare, I would highly recommend making the trek up to the top of Mt. McConnel, or checking out one of the many nearby trails. 

  

**Product Review** 

  

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I occasionally get the chance to review products that I use while camping! On this particular trip, I was excited to be testing out the [Zulu 65 Backpack](https://www.gregorypacks.com/packs-bags/backpacking-packs/zulu-65-1115ZUL65.html?dwvar_1115ZUL65_color=Empire%20Blue&amp;cgidmaster=packs-backpacking#start=1) from Gregory Packs. 

  

Before I even packed this bag with all of my gear, I had to try it on and was immediately impressed by the ergonomic design. The back panel is super breathable and the straps are well padded, providing serious relief for my shoulders, neck and back. I have always struggled with back pain but love overnight backpacking trips, so I am really excited for the comfort that this bag’s design provides. I was also pleasantly surprised to find that this bag includes a raincover. My last backpack required me to spend a bunch of money to buy one separately, so this was a great deal to be included in my opinion! I can’t wait to take this pack out on some serious multi-day adventures this year, rain or shine! 

  

We decided to go ahead and pack this bag a few different ways at our campsite and take it on a day hike with a bunch of gear to put it to the test. This pack is quite large and fits everything a backpacker could need for a multi-day trip without a problem. The adjustable torso length and straps made it easy to fit both myself and my taller hiking partner. The large zippered compartment also allowed easy packing and access of my gear, compared to simple top loading packs that I have tried in the past. 

  

One of my favorite parts of this pack is the separate compartment accessed from the bottom, I suppose you could use this compartment for anything, but I think it is ideal for storing and accessing my sleeping bag. Sleeping bags often annoy me when packing for trips, because they take up so much space and make it difficult to access things in the main compartment of my pack. Having a designated spot for my sleeping bag makes it much more simple to pack and organize my bag. This was especially helpful as I recently lost my compression sack for my sleeping bag, but this compartment essentially replaced my need for the compression sack. 

  

The hip belt pockets are another one of my favorite features. I love having pockets like these for day and overnight hiking trips to easily access things like chapstick and my camera without needing to stop and take off my backpack. The only downfall I found on this pack is the lack of other small pockets, I’m a bit of an obsessive organizer, so I would prefer if there were additional small pockets on the exterior and interior of the pack to organize my smaller pieces of gear. 

  

Overall I would highly recommend this pack for any adventurer looking for a high quality backpack.

Ranger Review: Zulu 65 Gregory Backpack at Mountain Park Campground

Heading home from Wyoming we decided to take a detour and stay a few nights in Colorado and we lucked out with this place. Super clean and well cared for. Host do an amazing job. We didn’t have a reservation but the host helped us find a great spot.

Awesome Place To Stay

I stayed here 3 nights and it was great. They had lots of fun activities like a sand volleyball court, basketball court, and a playground. The reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because vault toilets and you have to pay for the showers. However the price was not bad even considering those things.

Mountain Park 

This spot is not for people who are looking to be isolated from other campers, it's a huge site. There are many places for multiple groups to be near each other, and reservations usually fill up. I went here after realizing I forgot vital fear for the dispersed camping where I was originally planning to go. It took driving around the various sections for a bit but I did find a last minute spot. It was the second weekend of June, so peak camping season. I was able to find a great hammock spot near the river within view of my site, there are is a trail next to the river and the start to several trails. Firewood available. Hiking, biking and horseback riding trails are in the surrounding area, including the Mt. McConnel Trail, William R. Kreutzer National Recreation Trail and Young Gulch Trail. Volleyball and basketball courts, a playground and horseshoe pits are located in the campground. overall worth the price, showers take quarters and seem well maintained.

Great for group/family camping

Had a bit of rain, but didn’t stop us from enjoying a amazing weekend. Caught some trout in the cache la poudre, saw a concert at the Mishawaka up the road. All in all an amazing camp site! 

Awesome place to camp!

This was the only campground we found in Poudre canyon on the river with electricity. Lots of tree coverage and non river sites are beautiful as well. River sites have access. You DO sit right on the road tho so there is noise. Showers and clean bathrooms. 