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

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

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

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

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

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. 