Best Equestrian Camping near Antonito, CO

Recent Equestrian Reviews in Antonito

39 Reviews of 9 Antonito Campgrounds

• 

  Jennifer H.

  Guide

  

  Oct. 12, 2023

  Carson NF - Forest Service Road 578 - Dispersed Camping

  Cold and quiet with good views

  There are a bunch of different roads you can turn off to camp on if you’re driving from Taos to Durango. We mapped Forest Road 578 and it took us to a dirt road with a lot of flat spots you can camp on. We spent the night there and it was very quiet and peaceful. If you keep going to Durango you’ll get to Carson National Forest, which is not too far from the coordinates on The Dyrt. That’s where more people are camping, you can pull off right before the 64H road marker. You’ll keep passing camping spots as you drive to Durango so you can really go almost anywhere!

• a

  anthony Z.

  Scout

  

  Sep. 4, 2023

  Rio Costilla Park

  Labor Day

  Stayed two nights and loved every minute. Took inner tubes and rode them down the stream!

• M

  MARC C.

  Guide

  

  Jul. 21, 2023

  Ponderosa Campground

  Would be 5 stars, except....Deer flies!!!

  Stunning spot, lots of tent sites, room for maybe 12 campers of modest length, mine is 26' spot #9 is prime for a camper with a driver side slide/kitchen table. unknown if it's seasonal but the biting flies, primarily deer flies are beyond bearable, I survived 4 days, most other campers left after one night. The camp host is very friendly, and knows the best fishing holes.

• 

  Amanda S.

  Traveler

  

  Jun. 28, 2023

  Sacred White Shell Mountain Campground

  Great for a night

  My husband and I stayed here for a night just passing through. This is only about 12 miles from the Great Sand Dunes National Park and also on the way the Crater Lake. There are several dispersed campsites. We had a UHaul trailer we were pulling and it was easy to get to a campsite. All campsites seems you would be able to get to with a RV or a 2 wheel car. We did not do any exploring but I'm sure hiking is great.

• 

  Ron G.

  Scout

  

  Jun. 9, 2023

  Carson NF - Forest Service Road 578 - Dispersed Camping

  Tres Piedras area

  The location on Dyrt maps is wrong, forest service is NW of 285 & 64. Beautiful dispersed camping spots plentiful. Park ranger Melissa was the top notch. Couldn’t have been more helpful and friendly. Definitely stay there again.

• d

  drew

  Traveler

  

  Jun. 9, 2023

  Cimarron Campground

  Great remote time

  Took my boys camping and had a great time. We went June 2 and the water was not on yet. The facilities were very clean and the staff agent was present and available. We had no issues. It is a long way down a dirt road but well worth the drive to be remote. No cell service at the camp site but a short 5 min drive back to the first cattle guard allowed for service to multiple cell providers. A short beautiful hike to the ponds allowed for some fishing for the kids. All artificial lures and barbless hooks. It’s not glamping but is some great camping!

• K

  Kala J.

  Traveler

  

  Apr. 26, 2023

  Carson NF - Forest Service Road 578 - Dispersed Camping

  Private and beautiful

  A nice secluded little forest road. RVs will not make it, so it's nice and quiet.

  AWD/4WD needed on the rutted rocky road.

  Stayed one night and saw no one else.

  Multiple pulloffs for unmarked campsites, but the one I picked was right off the road.

  Cell service drops completely pretty soon after leaving the highway. I sporadically received some messages at my camp site but not reliably.

• T

  Terry

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 23, 2022

  Rio Costilla Park

  Dispersed............ but not. Worth the trip!

  My wife and I spent 3 days and 2 nights at Rio Costillo and really enjoyed our time.  We are typically dispersed campers, so paying to camp is a bit of a departure.  The fee to camp has increased to $30 per night, but we decided to give it try.  It was probably more about what we didn't experience that we enjoyed the most.  There is NO FIREWORKS permitted and NO ATV's permitted.  Thus, a pleasant and quiet camp trip.  There have been no recent fires in the area, so the views were beautiful!.  Not sure how many head of cattle roam the park, but they could care less about you and do not pose any threat.  The sites are spread apart so much that it feels like dispersed camping.  Portable toilets are close to all sites, but no running water.  The lakes were closed at the time of our visit (clearing the road of fallen trees we were told).  Most of the sites were close to running streams of water, though we only fished in the Rio Costilla outside the park entrance.  The fees are $30 per vehicle/night and $10 to fish per person per day.  No fee to fish in the river outside of the park, only a NM license or out of state permit.

• 

  Jade T.

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 11, 2022

  Cimarron Campground

  Beautiful!

  We stayed July 1st-5th, 2021. Beautiful location in a place I wasn’t expecting it to be sooo green! Very relaxing and remote as there is zero service. It was perfect & exactly what we were looking for. Vault toilets are well kept and within good proximity to most sites. The grass was about knee high, so yard games/ activities weren’t possible. The hiking trail to the lake was reasonable and not too inclined/strenuous. It rained only in the afternoons but everyday.

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  liberty M.

  Traveler

  

  May. 14, 2022

  The Chicken Ranch

  Great camping experience!

  They were super responsive to all our questions! It was a beautiful property along the river. Definitely recommend camping here!

• 

  Ian O.

  Scout

  

  Apr. 30, 2022

  Carson NF - Forest Service Road 578 - Dispersed Camping

  Secluded Camp Area

  Many open areas to camp right off the highway. The views of the mountains across the valley are best after the fork in the road. Please pick up extra trash if you use

• 

  Jacob W.

  Ranger

  

  Apr. 21, 2022

  Carson NF - Forest Service Road 578 - Dispersed Camping

  Primitive dispersed camping

  I tent-camped off of Carson NF Forest Service Road 578 in mid April 2022. FS 578 is south of Tres Piedras about 5 miles on the west side of Hwy 285. There are several dirt road turn offs but FS 578 is clearly marked with a brown NFS sign (see photo) and has no gate but there is a cattle guard/grate. Here is a NFS road use map that shows dispersed camping along FS 578 and many other NFS roads: https://www.fs.fed.us/r3/gis/mvum/Carson/CarsonTresPiedrasCanjilonElRito.pdf (see also screenshot). My Tacoma had no problem on the dirt road, which has ruts and might be tough for an RV. There were few clearings suitable for dispersed camping but I found a nice spot with a small fire circle in a small clearing on the south side of the road just past a fork in the road. I carried two black boulders over to serve as a table and chair. I didn’t see anyone else camping or driving by. The forest is a nice mix of sage, juniper, and pine trees. I saw two elk across a swath of sage. I could see the snow capped peaks of the Sangre de Cristo range on the eastern horizon when I walked farther up the road. It got cold at night, like 27 F. It was a nice waypoint on my trip between Gunnison CO and El Paso TX but it didn’t look like many people camped there. I had intended to drive to Taos the next day on Hwy 64, but didn’t.

• 

  Jennifer T.

  Guide

  

  Mar. 29, 2022

  The Chicken Ranch

  Private, peaceful, VIEWS!

  Views are amazing! Very quiet and the star gazing is some of the best. Stayed right on the water. Host was knowledgeable of area and things to do. Red Lake hike was awesome and easy.

• 

  sara S.

  Traveler

  

  Feb. 19, 2022

  Hopewell Lake Campground

  Our favorite for family camping trips

  This is our favorite spot for our annual big family camping trip. It is gorgeous! The views are spectacular. It's nice and cool even in summer. The trout fishing is fun and always a success at the lake. We've only stayed at the developed camp ground once, and it was nice especially with the toilets. We prefer to stay in one of the dispersed areas now, though, because we have such a large group.

• 

  Megan E.

  Ranger

  

  Jul. 21, 2021

  Hopewell Lake Campground

  Day or Overnight Trip

  Tent and RV sites are large and spread out. Some sites have livestock pens, but I’m not sure on the campground policies. Hopewell Lake has tables for day picnics and is a popular fishing location. Be prepared for summer monsoon rains.

• 

  Abigail R.

  Guide

  

  Jul. 10, 2021

  Ponderosa Campground

  Secluded and beautiful

  I actually deleted my other review because I thought I had the wrong campsite but I checked and it’s all good. The only amenity we had was a vault toilet with a nearby water pump, a fire pit, picnic table and bear boxes. The vault toilets were probably the nicest I’ve been too. They were clean and didn’t smell at all.

  The view was beautiful and it’s a short hike down to wade in the cool water. I really enjoyed the quiet here. There were only a few other campers and it mostly felt like we had the place to ourselves.

• 

  Stephen K.

  Guide

  

  Jul. 8, 2021

  Cimarron Campground

  lovely hidden gem

  We stayed here over July 4, 2021.  The campground was mostly full until Sunday (July, 4) and then cleared out. It stayed quiet even when full, though.  I wondered how rough the roads were, but driving from Castillo to the campground and then on to Hwy 64 east of Cimarron on 1950 was all very doable in a Subaru Ascent towing a trailer despite some heavy rains.

  There were pit toilets which were clean, but flies at them got thick as the day warmed up.  Flies and mosquitoes were rare at the campsite, though. The campsites were large and surrounded by trees.  A few of the outer loop had nice, partial  views of the meadow.

  There's a nice easy/moderate half mile hike down to the Shuree Ponds which were stocked with trout. it seemed a fair amount of people would drive to the larger of those two ponds for day use fishing.  The smaller was reserved for kids's fishing.  Both are classied as "Green Chile" waters so only flies or artificial lures with a single, barbless hook are allowed. 2 fish limit.

  The area looked like a mecca for wildlife, but we only saw 3 deer in our hikes to and from the ponds and then a muskrat at the pond.

• 

  Karen N.

  Guide

  

  Jun. 7, 2021

  Hopewell Lake Campground

  Campfires 🔥 allowed

  Very nice campground. Camp host, Dawn, was very pleasant. No luck fishing but several people around us were catching very nice sized trout.

  Vault toilets were well stocked and clean. Trails near b for hiking and biking

  Extra dispersed campsites up dirt road from campground entrance

• 

  Teresa T.

  Traveler

  

  Sep. 23, 2020

  Hopewell Lake Campground

  Lots of space!

  Very secluded! Even when full I imagine the spots are far enough apart. If the spots are full keep going down the road! Plenty of dispersed camping! We’ll be back! Beautiful scenery!

• J

  Joel H.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 29, 2020

  Rio Costilla Park

  Great spot

  Camped here the last 2 nights and it was fantastic. For $25/night it’s a good deal. There’s not clearly marked camping areas, which is both kinda cool and a little disorienting. Some of the camping areas have small, perfectly sized covered picnic table areas which are absolutely wonderful. The campsites are nearly all along a babbling brook, stream, or river. The roads to the entrance, to the campsites, and definitely up to the lakes are best suited if not exclusively suited for trucks and 4WD vehicles. Currently there’s no restroom facilities unless you personally rent a porta-potty to be brought to your campsite. We’ll be coming back. A word for tent campers, at least during my stay the volume of RV’s virtually dominated the park.

• J

  Jen M.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 18, 2020

  Cimarron Campground

  Good homebase for exploring the Valle Vidal

  This is 1 of 2 options for campgrounds in the Valle Vidal area. It is on the West side of the preserve and is equine friendly. This is a large campground, with 36 camping sites. We stayed at #24 which had a nice partial overlook to the opposing valley, mountainside. 

  This campground is well loved, but clean and my only gripe is the pit toilets are old and in need of replacement. The host did keep them  as clean as possible with odor control devices in the stalls. 

  Our campsite had a very worn and splintering wooden picnic table that really needed replacing.  We brought a table and sat at that with our 2 small children. 

  Overall it is quiet and peaceful with amazing stargazing at night. 

  There is a walking trail at the back of the campground to get to Surree Ponds. I would say it is of medium difficulty as there is a precarious creek crossing, and it is uphill the whole way back to camp. The view you can get from the meadows and the ponds are gorgeous at sunset. 

  Word of warning, the road to get here from Amalia becomes very wash boarded. It is a long road to get here and is wash boarded the whole way. The drive through Rio Costilla Canyon is gorgeous and if you only can go that far it is well worth it.

• 

  Christa A.

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 20, 2020

  Rio Costilla Park

  So spacious!

  This is the first campground I’ve found in New Mexico where I felt like I was camping in Colorado, it was so green and beautiful! The camp sites were nicely spaced, so we felt like we were primitive camping, but it was nice to have a picnic table, especially because we have a small child. Family friendly. We wish we would have brought our 4x4 vehicle because we had initially planned to camp at little blue lake, but my Subaru Impreza was not powerful enough/didn’t have high enough clearance to make it up the road that lead to the lake! We are definitely planning on camping back to check out the lakes. The only negative thing was that we found some trash at our site from the previous campers. Also, some cows woke us up early in the morning, which was cool, but also scared the shit out of us!

• 

  Maggie H.

  Scout

  

  Jul. 7, 2020

  Hopewell Lake Campground

  Pretty nice little campground.

  Very small campground but sites are not right on top of each other. Being that you are at 9500 ft voice's do carry so that is one drawback. I will continue to come here as it is so very pretty!!

• 

  Lila L.

  Guide

  

  May. 18, 2020

  Rio Costilla Park

  Unbelievable beauty

  The park is HUGE and just so beautiful. 10,000 acres of aspens and ponderosa pines only one hour away from the town of Taos. All sites offer a fire pits and some come with nice picnic tables under roofs by the clear river. Only $25 a day you can get to enjoy the nature. We didn’t take our TRD pro Taco coz we thought our All wheel super handling SUV would be good enough but definitely there are some off-roading you can enjoy. Be sure to bring your truck or Jeep to enjoy more. No cell phone reception. There are no water available and porta potties were not ready yet. The lake was closed but we still had so much fun hiking and exploring the acres of wonderland. Will definitely go back there!

• 

  Michelle B.

  Traveler

  

  Oct. 21, 2019

  Hopewell Lake Campground

  Sweet camping spot

  It’s a great place to camp. The scenery beautiful. Great place to hike, bike and ride atv’s. Bring water cause sometimes their isn’t any. Fishing is great but usually is a little windy only at lake.

• 

  Michelle B.

  Traveler

  

  Oct. 21, 2019

  Rio Costilla Park

  Best camping by the river

  Fishing is great and quality waters. It is fisherman’s fly fishing dream. Camping is great too as you can park next to the river. It’s pricey at 20.00 a night but worth it.

• 

  Angelica B.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 24, 2019

  Ponderosa Campground

  Lots of amenities

  Nice, clean privately owned campground with lots of amenities. Hot showers, bath house, ice and few supplies sold in the office. Campsites right along the river. Very friendly staff. Campsites are a little too close for our liking but worked out well for our stay. Close to lots of fishing and hiking in the area. Beautiful place to watch the sunset and the stars at night. Nice and quiet at night.