Zapata Falls Campground
Mary S.
Reviewed Jun. 23, 2018

It's worth it if the road doesn't scare you away

Zapata Falls Campground is a Bureau of Land Management no reservations campground with 23 single sites and 1 group site. Each site has a fire ring, picnic table and bear-proof storage box. There are vault toilets but no hookups and no potable water. There are 6 overflow sites; it looks like the day use area near the hike to the falls is used for overflow even though there is a no camping sign. There were several campers there on a Friday night.

This review is 4 stars instead of 5 because of the road to the campground. The road to the campground is 3.5 miles off the road to Great Sand Dunes NP and is advertised as a bumpy dirt road. No kidding! There are lots of rather large rocks and dips as you make a 1,000 foot climb to get to 9,000 feet. We towed a teardrop trailer with a Honda Pilot and hated every minute of it, but people were bringing in larger campers.

If you make it up the road and get a site, it's totally worth the effort. Why? 1) Zapata Falls: the hike is very short but you have to walk through water to get to the falls. It's a very picturesque waterfall. There is also a 6 mile hike to South Zapata Lake. 2) The views of the dunes and Sangre de Cristo Mountains are spectacular...sunrise, all day and sunset. You can get a decent view from the campground, but it's better at the falls trailhead. And it's even better if you start up the South Zapata Lake trail.

This is a good location if you don't mind the trip up and back down the terrible road. I think the trip to the falls and the views almost offset the road experience.

Tip: get there early. We arrived at 10:30 am on a Thursday. There were lots of sites available even though the "full" sign was up. By late afternoon, almost all sites were full. All sites were occupied before 7 pm. If you come in on a Friday, be there before noon. Always check the permit clipped to the site signpost. People often leave their permit on the post when they leave.

Site13
Month of VisitJuly