Pa-Co-Chu-Puk Campground, near Ridgway, Colorado, is a fantastic place for campers looking to enjoy the great outdoors with a touch of comfort. This campground offers spacious sites that are perfect for larger RVs, and visitors rave about the cleanliness of the facilities, including restrooms and laundry options.

You’ll find a friendly atmosphere here, with campground hosts who go out of their way to help you settle in. Many campers appreciate the availability of firewood and ice for sale, making it easy to kick back and enjoy a cozy evening by the fire. As one visitor noted, “Great place to stay. Spacious spot for larger RVs. Quiet and clean.”

Outdoor activities abound, with fishing, hiking, and biking opportunities right at your doorstep. The nearby river is a popular spot for fly fishing, and the stunning scenery makes it a great backdrop for a relaxing day. Campers have mentioned the beautiful views and the convenience of being close to towns like Montrose and Ouray for any supplies you might need.

While some sites can feel a bit close together, the overall vibe is welcoming and peaceful. Whether you’re here for a quick stop or a longer stay, Pa-Co-Chu-Puk Campground has everything you need for a memorable camping experience.

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Handicap sites #44HD, 46HD, 105HD, 107HD, 211HD, 230HD, 280HD and 281HD are only reservable through the call center. These sites require a handicap sticker, plate or placard. Reservations: 1-800-244-5613.
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Yurt reservations accepted year round within established reservation windows. For reservation information about all other campsites visit the Ridgway State Park website at www.parks.state.co.us/ridgway/. Fabulous boating, fishing, and camping in gorgeous southwest Colorado are just the beginning of your visit to Ridgway State Park. One of the state's true destination parks, Ridgway offers Colorado's great outdoors in view of the towering Sneffels Range. Located 12 miles north of Ouray, Ridgway State Park's sandy swim beach and beach house make it a top choice for water-sports enthusiasts. Boating, water skiing, windsurfing and swimming are some of the offerings at the park. There are 283 campsites and three Yurts spread among three picturesque campgrounds accommodating trailers, campers, motor homes and tents.
For current conditions and more information, please visit the Ridgway website: http://cpw.state.co.us/placestogo/Parks/ridgway

**NO-SHOW Policy**  
If you do not arrive to the park within 24 hours of your scheduled check in time and do not notify the park that you will be arriving late, your site may be resold and may not be available when you arrive. The fees for any nights passed are non-refundable.  
  
**Changes and Cancellations**
- Cancellations or changes may be made online 24 hours a day 7 days a week, or through the Aspira Call Center at 1-800-244-5613.
- Reservations where one or more dates fall outside of the 6-month booking window are frozen for 14 days.
- Cancellations:
  - If the cancellation is made 28 days or more prior to the arrival date, 25% of the fee for 1 night or day-use permit will be retained
  - If the cancellation is made 8-27 days prior to the arrival date, 50% of the fee for 1 night or day-use permit will be retained.
  - If the cancellation is made 7 days or less prior to the arrival date, 100% of the fee for 1 night or day-use permit will be retained.
  - If a reservation is cancelled at any time after the arrival date, any nights prior to the cancellation are NON-REFUNDABLE 
- Changes:
  - If a change in the reservation is made 28 days or more prior to the arrival date, 10% of the fee for one night or day-use permit will be retained.
  - If a change in the reservation is made 8-27 days prior to the arrival date, 15% of the fee for one night or day-use permit will be retained.
  - If a change in the reservation is made 7 days or less prior to arrival, 20% of the fee for one night or day-use permit will be retained.
  - If the change in the reservation dates is made between the day after the arrival date and the departure date, the fees for any nights or days passed are NON-REFUNDABLE.
  - There is no additional fee to add days to a reservation.
  - The reservation holder is responsible for any difference in use fees.
- Customers who wish to receive a refund outside of these rules will need to contact the park at which they have the reservation directly.
- No exceptions to the refund policy will be given for bugs, bad weather, campfire bans, water conditions (including water levels, boat ramp or swim beach closures, and algae)! 
- If the original reservation was made directly with the park, any refunds resulting from changes/cancellations will be issued via personal check and may take up to 90 days from the date of the change/cancellation to be processed.

Pa-Co-Chu-Puk Campground — Ridgway State Park

Searching for the best camping near Ridgway, CO? Camping, hiking, biking: however you want to spend your days near Ridgway, you'll find great campgrounds with The Dyrt. Ready to plan your adventure? Check out our campgrounds near Ridgway and user-submitted reviews.

Ridgway

The Best Camping Near Ridgway, Colorado

We did a hike in camp site. We crossed the river and hiked up. They have little wheel barrels that you can take your stuff up with. The site was spacious. Plenty big for having some fun. They don't allow anything on the trees, no hammocks, no hanging trash bags, no pets tied to trees, nothing. They do provide a solid bear cabinet to keep food in. The views are astounding! We ended up biking what we thought was a bike trail, turned out it was not so we tackled stairs on our bikes but the views were well worth it. There was a playground and several fishing ponds in addition to the river. There was a bear when we were there. It crossed the river but we didn't see it we were told by the ranger. Definitely use the bear cabinet. Interestingly, the ranger told us (which we weren't very bear savvy) that even the clothes you cook in should go in the bear cabinet. Don't take any of that in to your tent. They can smell it and may greet you during the night. Great place to be.

Pretty amazing place

The Paco Campground at Ridgeway SP is probably my favorite in the SP system. It’s down river from the lake and is tucked in rolling canyon of the Uncompahgre River. The river is a tailwater and has been restored by Trout Unlimited as a Catch &amp; Release section. That bears repeating, especially for our Texas friends- Catch &amp; Release... Sadly on 4 different occasions I’ve assisted Rangers in citing folks from there for keep trout.

The Campground is spacious and beautiful. There’s everything from tent sites to full hook ups. Facilities are spotless and the hosts are outgoing.

Bonus tip- Killer Thai food in Ridgeway. And daytrip for a soak in Ouray.

Fly Fishing Paradise

We stayed at the Pa-Co-Chu-Puk Campground IN Ridgway SP in Late April as a spot to stop for the night on our way to Mesa Verde NP. The campground during this time was very empty, we saw a few other people there and they were all in RV's or Trailers. This made sense as the temperature got down to 6 degrees that night. I would say our time there was short, we showed up in the afternoon and left by 7 am.

The spot we stayed in was fairly large, as you can see by the picture, we had plenty of room for 3 tents. Picnic tables, fire rings and stand up charcoal grills were available at every spot as well. I would like to go back down that way and visit in the summer as the lake and surrounding area look like they could be a lot of fun and Black Canyon Np is only 40 minutes away. Maybe next summer i will be able to add to this review.

Quick Overnight Stay

The walk to the river was short and there even is a parking area for those who are not camping but want to fish.

Sites were well maintained, restroom and showers were as well.

Picnic tables, fire ring and grill at all sites. Deer wandered around freely and was an extremely restful night.

They offer pull in sites or walk in tent sites. I chose a pull in even though I was tent camping. Had to check out a few sites to be sure there was level/cactus free spot to pitch the tent.

Great campground if you flyfish

All of these campgrounds are walk in, tent only, and well treed.  They are a bit of an uphill hike from the river so a very basic mountain bike can make getting to and from camp as well as around the rest of the park is a good luxury.  Each campsite has a fire pit, a groomed tent pad, though many can fit multiple tents as long as they aren't multiple 100 sq footers.  There are bear cabinets at every site and they easily fit all of our cooking, cleaning, bathroom and other odorous gear, plus a 36 qt cooler.  Reserving a site reserves you a parking spot as well.  There is competition for parking because this part of the river is a prime fly fishing spot.  There are a couple ponds nearby that are heavily stocked with hungry rainbow trout.  We saw quite a few kids leave with their limit of 9-11" stockers.  There is also a fish cleaning station at the bathrooms that is VERY well equipped making this an ideal place to teach kids to love fishing and the cooking/cleaning/conservation responsibilities that go with it.  If the bugs are hatching, bring a deterrent/repellant!

Great for campers that want a tent, bag and fire.

River sites are absolutely fantastic. The entire facility is very well and beautiful setting. We’ll stay here again!


Beautiful facilty

Loop H is part of Pa-Co-Chu-Puk site at Ridgeway State Park. 
This loop deserves a special review since it is a totally different place than the other camp sites at the park. This is a Walk-in camp site for tents only and offers one handicap accessible site. Some sites provide shade shelter and all offers elevated tent pads (14’ x 16’).
Services are excellent with very clean showers and bathrooms including washer and dryers at the camper services area which is shared with Loop G and F. The loop offers a vault bathroom within the campsite and women/men bathrooms at the parking lot which is reserved by camp site. At the parking, there are carry on carts which can be used to unload all your camping gear. 
We really enjoyed our time here because it was secluded from the rest of the park with very private sites full of nature. The lake is bright with turquoise waters where you can do canoeing, Kayaking and Paddle boarding. It Is also open for powerboats,sailboats and jet skis. We did not find a very good variety of boats for rent at the marina. Fishing is great with catch and release on the river and the usual quota for the lake (See CPW website).
Ridgeway is about 10 minutes away and you can find restaurants, supermarkets, anglers shops.  Ouray, the Switzerland of the U.S. is 25 minutes and Telluride is one hour from the park where you can find beautiful sceneries with breathtaking views. I highly recommend Loop H if you are in a tent and enjoy a very private camp. 


Great Tent Camp Site

Stayed here for 3 nights, October 3, 2020. Very clean campground. Hosts were friendly.  Great fishing in the tailwaters below the dam, 5 minute walk from campground to the river or two stocked ponds. River is catch and release. 

Beautiful Views

I absolutely love the Ridgway area, and this is a convenient place to stay.  Great views, easy access to trails near the reservoir, and well maintained.  We staid in the RV lot which didn’t offer a ton of privacy.  But the tent/rv camping on the hill above does and has even more stunning views.

Clean, beautiful location

We love visiting here when we visit the western slope. The campsite has great hiking and a beautiful creek that is so nice to sit by. The bathrooms are also close and super clean. 

Relaxing Getaway

We stayed in site 290 in the H-loop, part of the walk in sites. There is a steep hill to this site that you have to wheelbarrow your gear up to, not featured in many pictures of the site. Overall, campsites were fairly close together and didn't feel very secluded. There is only one short trail to access from this campsite - we picked the site thinking there would be many hiking trails from the campsite. Our cooler also didn't fit in the bear box provided, it's a 52 quart cooler and a picture is included for reference. 

Stayed in H-loop Walk In Site

We were just passing through for a night but this place was great!  Well-kept state park on the river with lots of facilities, and town nearby for groceries.  Lotsss of people fly fishing the river.  Had a nice pull-through site 217 with full hookups.

Good Stop on highway 50

What a great place to stay! The Staff(including the Camp Hosts) are very friendly and helpful. Thank You All for what you do! It is greatly appreciated. Anyway, there is much to do here and in the surrounding area. Fishing, hiking, biking or just sitting and enjoying the campground is wonderful. Or you can venture out and find all kinds of hikes, bikes, drives to see lots of beautiful scenery!! It was spectacular this time of year!

Nice quiet place to stay!

Love this campground and Ridgway SP. Facilities with showers, laundry and power and water at site. Campground hosts are top notch along with the volunteers working there. Close to Montrose Ridgway and Ouray CO. 

SW CO state park camping

Great place to stay. Spacious spot for larger RVs. Quiet and clean. Restrooms and laundry facilities were great and clean. Campground hosts were very friendly and helpful. Firewood and ice available for sale. 

Photos of Pa-Co-Chu-Puk Campground — Ridgway State Park

Real photos from real campers