Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Antonito, CO

WE LOVED OUR TRIP TO THIS RV PARK.  NESTLED ON THE RIO GRANDE RIVER AND PLENTY OF LARGE COTTONWOOD TREES PROVIDING SHADE AND A REPRIEVE FROM THE WARM AFTERNOON SUN.  LESS THAN ONE MILE FROM DEL NORTE WITH SHOPS AND DELICIOUS MICRO BREWERY AND MICRO BAKERY (WHICH OPENED THE DAY WE ARRIVED).  HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS FOR FAMILIES AND PETS.

PLAYGROUND FOR KIDS HAS A FUN ZIPLINE AND LOTS OF TRAILS TO WALK THE DOGS.

This is my type of park. Located in a beautiful valley giving away to peaceful nights. At an altitude of 8100 feet I enjoyed pleasant days 76° and cool night 56°. Pet friendly park with WiFi and good Verizon cell service. Restrooms are still closed due to Covid 19. Took a day trip to Great Sand Dunes. Pass Port American card got me 50% off one night.

We really like this RV Park! The spaces are wide and angled enough to allow for great views! There are no trees, so you will be using your AC and awning when it’s hot out. Sites were quite level and hookups are easy access. There are both full hookup sites and water and electric only sites; there is an RV dump. Laundry, restrooms and convenience store are still closed due to Covid - much of New Mexico is still this way. It is right off Highway 64 which has a minimal amount of road noise, but provides easy access.There’s a Pet Resort across the road where you hear dogs barking in the distance in the mornings. They do need to start working on weed control before the weeds get out of hand. Each of those negatives are so minimal, I still rate this as a five! Wide spaces and good views are always strong points in my reviews!

Our family of four (two adults and two kids + a dog) were lucky enough to tent camp at the Ramble Test Site location as early testers back in late September 2022. The campsite is modeled after the Signature Plus category and it is massive: three spread out and level tent pads with tie down hooks and each had its own electrical outlet that we used for tent lights and iphone charging. The campsite was well equipped with everything you'd need for an awesome camping trip. It had its own outdoor kitchen with a foot pump powered sink, drinkable water, a really nice Camp Chef stove, a solar powered outlet for small devices(plugged up the bluetooth speaker), a large shade structure, a picnic table, a fancy Solo Stove fire pit, six comfy but well built chairs, horseshoe pits and cornhole. The campsite was pet friendly and even had a dog leash connection hook. We used a trailer bathroom at this location but the location down near the Great Sand Dunes National Park will have its own bath house with flushing toilets, sinks, hot showers and baby changing areas. It also will include a mini shop that is QR code accessible for easy purchases of firewood and toiletries. I would highly recommend this campground for those looking for a genuine and upscale camping experience!

We loved this camp site! It was our first time to tent camp in Colorado and it was great. Several sites to choose from. Some have views of the dunes, some are more secluded. Bathrooms were clean. Very spacious tent site with a fire pit. Our tent sleeps 6 and we had no trouble fitting in the spot.

Campground Review

What a cool place to cool off near the Sand Dunes. There are plots for RVs as well as tents. The campground hasn't been open more than a year and a half, and some areas are still taking shape and overall the campsite is still figuring itself out. While some sites are well established, there's a decent amount of open flat land people were camping on as well. This place used to be a tilapia farm and there's still some pools around the place with large fish. There are a few ponds with frogs too, which is cool, but also means pack the earplugs as these guys are an alarm clock you can't snooze in the AM.

The main attraction of this place for families has to be the pool, which also has a basic restaurant with grill food that's reasonably priced. There's also a separate adult only area within the pool rec center called "The Green Room" which has a bar and various temperature level hot tubs, a wading pool, and a sauna.

There is also a basketball court, coin operated showers and laundry, water hook ups, and electric hookups.

What's a little awkward about this place (as of May 2017) is the showers are a combo shower/toilet room, and there are two of them to service this whole camp when the pool rec area is closed (10pm-10am). There was another single service bathroom around the back of the rec building, but not well marked. While there are 2 port-o-potties (well maintained, to their credit), they would do well to add more facilities for the growing campground space, especially since checkout is 11am so most people want to use the bathrooms before they hit the road.

Gear Review

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products from time to time - today I am testing the Outdoor Travel Pack from Green Goo. Inside the plastic carry case (probably a good airport toiletry bag when these things get used up) it comes with two lip balms, some bug spray repellent, and two different salves - a pain relief and a first aid. Green Goo is a company based out of Lyons, CO and they definitely know how to cater to the drier air climate out here. Keeping yourself from getting cracked hands, feet, and lips is a constant struggle and so I'm always looking for good products to help me win the war. When your lips are begging for moisture, these balms are awesome because almost on contact does it start to feel like my lips are getting hydrated. The taste/flavors are good choices too, and not overpowering. I also am not a fan of lip balms that flake when you apply or leave a glossy finish, and this did neither.

The bug spray was nice for the flies, and it felt good knowing when I was spraying the stuff around my dog or campsite that if residue was getting anywhere, it wasn't a big deal since their products are made with all natural ingredients. Odor was also fine.

The First Aid salve was a savior, as we were camping in South Colorado in a town near Great Sand Dunes National Park and the basically desert climate dried out my feet pretty bad. I applied some salve when I woke up in the morning and before long my foot was already looking better. It felt better and when I put my sock on over the salve it didnt feel greasy or slippery. I continue to use it 3 days later and my feet are looking and feeling better.

My recommendation is to hit the sand dunes NOT at midday like me when it's hottest from the sun, but this and the pain relief salve were great for my dog. Yep, the products are safe around pets and what I decided to do after taking the dog out on the dunes (we turned around once it was super hot) was apply some to hit paws to help with the heat. Cracked paw pad protection for the win!

Overall this is a great line of products. They're easy to pack, do their job, and are all natural and safe around pets. What's not to like?

The best part about this area, aside from the views & the sunsets, is the access to the sand dunes natl park. We completely stumbled upon this area and it turned out to be one of the coolest day trips we’ve ever had. Highly highly recommend checking out the sand dunes. If you go early enough they tend to waive the entrance fee. I recommend driving up into the bushes at the camping site for more privacy, but the road is very rocky. Try and do any bathroom stuff prior to staying because digging cat holes out here is tough. It even hailed on us briefly so watch out for crazy weather! Very cool BLM land!!

My wife and I camped here in July 2021. The lower campground sits right on the Conejos River. Tons of shade under giant pine trees. Great fishing access to public waters.

One negative:

• Barking (more like yelping) dogs all 3 days of our visit. Owners left the dogs for hours during the day and the camp host seemingly did nothing to stop it.

In the end, this is an awesome spot with well-maintained spaces, clean-ish bathrooms, fresh water supply, and great privacy. If not for the dogs, I would give Aspen Glade a 5.

We found this place as a last resort after being unable to find good free spots near the dunes. Ended up being private and beautiful! After doing some research, I found an article saying a state fishing or hunting license was interchangeable for a Swa permit. Still not confirmed, but we didn’t have any problems. It was fairly windy at night but the wind was better during the day. There is a bit of trash throughout the area surrounding the reservoir and our dog got into something that made her sick, so I recommend keeping a close eye on your dogs here, especially dogs that like to get into things they shouldn’t.

Some camp sites are very large and only for 18 and over, super nice, and next to big trails. Some camp sites are incredible tight and congested. There are lots of trails, fishing, and side-by-side action.

Dog friendly, but lots of dogs.

Staff is accommodating and you can trail walk, street walk, and free shuttle into town.

I liked it a lot! It was my dogs first ever camping experience and he loved it. There was an insane amount of dogs there at the time which kinda sucked but it was cool! The roads a little rough but nothing super crazy! The falls are gorgeous. I tried to take my dog here who’s kind of old and is just getting into camping since we moved here but he slipped into the creek and had enough of it lol. Some of the people are incredibly rude too seeing as how it’s a one way to the falls and they might as well push you out of the way to see it. Other than that it was great though!

It is a small quiet Campground.  Large level sites.  Owners dogs Ron free.