The best BOAT IN camping near
Cathedral , COLORADO

We stayed here for a few nights on the weekend when we visited Ouray and Teluride. The campsite was nice and spread out, plenty of room between you and your neighbors. We were in site 123 which didn't have a great view, but plenty of space around and behind us to stretch out. 

The sites don't have water hookups at each site, but some sites have the water hookup right next to them. I highly recommend googling the map of the campsite to see which sites have the water supply next to them (noted by a * in the version we had)… makes for easy filling if you can just hookup your hose to fill your tanks without moving. I didn't realize this before booking, but conveniently 123 had one right near by.

Most of the pull through sites weren't long, were only about a "lane" wide, and curved pretty sharply. Normally not a problem, but trees on both sides created a problem to pull through our 40ft 5th wheel. We ended up backing it in instead. Just something to keep in mind.

Definitely recommend Elk Ridge over the Dakota Terrace Campground. Didn't look like much tree cover and you would be much closer to the highway.

This campground is right off the highway so its a little noisy at night. There are NO full hookups or camper site water. You have to get water from the boat inspection station. Not much to see except the small marina but theres a decent hike about 5 miles down the highway at Dillon Pinnacle. The rv camp is sparse with vegetation, no trees. Each rv site is nicely distanced from the others and there is both 30 and 50 amp available on loop D. Cost is $16 a night without electric, $22 with electric.

We had site #41, possibly the best in the campground, reserved for 3 nights. Due to the constant and all night long road noise from Hwy 550 we left after only one night…and I do use ear plugs. 5 stars for scenery and 1 star for lack of peace and quiet.

This is the most beautiful park I’ve ever camped at. We got a premium lake site and while it doesn’t have electricity or water at the sites, the views more than make up for any of the amenities you may get at other parks. Do yourself a favor and see it for yourself.

This campground has a great location and if you are lucky enough to get a lakefront site, the view is wonderful! The pit toilets were very far from some camp sites, so be sure your flashlight batteries are working in case you need to take a hike to the pit toilet in the middle of the night.

We were passing through town, and and all campgrounds in the area were packed out…on a Thursday. The actual lakes dispersed camping were full too, so we ended up parking on the side of the road going up to the lakes. It was a bit freaky just because it felt so isolating. I’m sure it would be fun if you’re fully prepared for bear prevention and enjoy that kind of isolation.

So we headed up to Alta Lakes later than planned and it was pretty dark - the winding and seriously bumpy road felt like it went on for ages. We finally stopped in the parking lot by the ghost town and it was stunning. We didn’t make it up to the top so I can’t speak to that but I imagine it was amazing. It had just snowed and it got pretty cold but our van stayed warm enough. Made for an incredible sunrise too.

This campsite fills up quite quickly. We arrived relatively early, but were unable to find a site and it was just as well because we would have been hard pressed to find level ground for our overland tents without putting blocks on the ground. It’s a beautiful place with amazing spots for ground tents. I will say this, a LOT of different sources state that you need high clearance to get up here…not the case as we passed a few Prius’ making the climb up the road to this site. Get there early and you may get lucky!!

Beautiful location on the Rio Grande River. 12 spots, 26$ per night. Flat parking lots for fishing and overflow parking.

We were a group of 3 campers. The spacing of the sites is ample and most of the sites have covered picnic tables. Inside the park there are some nice hikes around the Reservoir. The fishing from the shore and a boat was better than most of the places we have camped. The campground is super clean and well patrolled. We will absolutely go back.