Best Equestrian Camping near Blanca, CO

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!

The campground won't accommodate fifth wheels only horse and rv up to 30 or so. Many of the sites in the 30,s up are useless other than a van. Tent sites are not good. Very uneven pads. The 40,s are much better and all mostly tents. The sites below 30 to 1 are pretty nice. Must say the hosts for the new concession explorUS were doing a bang up job.

I absolutely love this area of Colorado. It's breathtaking no matter which direction you look. Decent campground that was a bit too big for my taste. I agree with another reviewer: choose your site wisely! Dirty vault toilets. Water spigots that were almost all dripping (some almost running). I believe it should be posted at time of reservation if there are STEPS involved to set up camp. This site had maybe 10 steps, some in desperate need of repair. As a senior solo camper, this was challenging.  This site was not my choice but the only one available for my time-frame (right next door to the camp host and on the main/incoming road). When we were there, no availability of firewood from camp host, but a load did arrive while we were there. Really noisy campground (plenty of barking dogs), PLUS,a helicopter was doing a training mission two of the days we were there and flew directly over the campground, low-level, 3-5 times each day. 

No bear boxes. (there was a hiker/bear interaction on the Venable trail on June 17th.)

Positives were wildlife, scenery, wildflowers, awesome hiking both directions out of the campground, nice fellow campers (those we met).

In hindsight, I would have been really upset if I'd paid full price.

The website listed for this campground is correct Ponderosa campground Antonito, CO.

Phone 719.376.5857

This is a very relaxing place to stay and it seems like most of the people there have been there many times before. The drive in is easy on Route 17 and does not require a vehicle with high ground clearance. They do allow campfires, they have clean bathrooms and a shower house. I stayed in a backpacking tent after driving all day arriving on a Friday at about 4:00 PM. The campground is set-up for small campers and has some cabins for rent too. The bathrooms with showers are clean and comfortable. The sites have fire rings with grates and picnic tables. The owner manager is great, providing quality fishing advice, conversation and even a free cup of coffee in the morning. Hiking on the CDT is near the campground and fishing is right in the campground. The steam train is right up the pass and I happened to be there the night before opening day catching a photo when I drove over the pass to Chama New Mexico. The Cumbres and Toltec Train traveling between Antonito, Colorado and Chama, New Mexico. This is a very nice drive and Chama is a cool place to visit, it is a trail town on the CDT.

I will visit this campground again for sure.

Liked the camp spots (ours was 14). Mark (the camp host) kept everything clean. Beautiful star viewing. 4 mile dirt road was a bit rough bringing my camper. Verizon coverage had 1 bar at the south end.

This was a beautiful peaceful camp ground. Very quiet. It has a pit toilet which was decent - better than having to use or portable. No cell phone service.

Easily navigable fire road leads to great creekside campground. Nice facilities. Incredible mountain and creek views. Only complaint is we couldn’t stay longer.

Camp site is basic. Simple sites, some with a better set up for tents than others. It was late in the season but the outhouse was still open. There is water from the stream, I didn't see a fresh water spigot.

No access to electric or water. Road to camp is rough. Beautiful scenery. Short drive to Chucara and Stonewall.

The area surrounding Purgatory is GORGEOUS. It’s straight out of a movie or picture book. The roads to get to the campsite were pretty rough and many of the lower campsites had standing water on or near them. Our site was steep to get to, but level and felt separated from the other sites.

The nearby towns are VERY small and don’t have much to offer for activities, restaurants or supplies if you forget something. Several beautiful small lakes nearby though!

Didn’t stay here but visited it while in the area to review and also scout for next trip to the area. Not sure how the listing can state fresh water when there isn’t any. This is a very basic and primitive campground so don’t expect too much.

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.

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

Rio Costilla is an awesome place to camp. It’s a mountainous terrain with small lakes and streams running through the camgrounds. It’s beautiful! you can go fishing in all the lakes and is regularly stocked but also has native fish in the lakes too. This campground does get a little chilly in the night, even in summer, so bring a good sleeping bag. It will drizzle regularly and sometimes pours so prepare for that. There is no running water at this campground, so bring plenty. They have port-o-potties by every camping site and they keep them clean. They also have cattle that roam around the campground so keep your pups on a leash. The hikes they have at this place are great!! It’s really neat. If you’re lucky, you’ll see some deer on one of your hikes. The views you get as you hike farther up the mountain are breathtaking! But it is a hard hike and you can get lost so I’d recommend taking a seasoned hiker with you if you’re new. This place is awesome and my favorite camping grounds. There are no trash cans at the sights or while hiking so please pack out what you brought. There is a big dumpster on your way out that you can throw your trash there.

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

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!

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.

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.

The Rio Costilla Park is definitely a hidden gem. Awesome hiking trails for avid fishermen and hikers alike. From the 9 Lakes or Latier lakes however you prefer to call them to the hidden Little Blue Lake. A must visit for nature enthusiasts!

It is very well kept and managed. The care takers are nice. It's a little more expensive to stay per night than a state park but the views are well worth it.