Best Equestrian Camping near Cotopaxi, CO

My grandson and I stayed there in June for 4 days in a 34ft travel trailer in a pull thru long enough not to have to unhook. The sites were large and plenty of room for my slideout and not too close to next site. About 30 min from Pueblo and 30 from Canon City on Hwy 50 just east of Hwy 115 Full hookup and good WiFi Also had 30 OTA channels. Beautiful sunsets of the mountains Hwy 50 close by but traffic was not loud enough to disturb us Horses on the property as well as a swimming pool and very friendly staff Very nice experience and only 40 min from Colorado Springs or Royal Gorge.

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.

Dispersed camping up at the lake. I say anything next to water is a bonus!

For Night 1 we hiked in stayed somewhere off the trail, at what seemed like a horse camp stop. Night 2 we stayed up at the lake campground. Got there early afternoon and was able to claim a prime spot. There is not much access to the water, so those spots get taken up rather quickly.

Great views, awesome sunrise.

Kinda busy with good access to Browns creek and the Colorado trail, but otherwise quiet if you can squeeze in. Easy for trailers too.

Close to hiking at browns which is really pretty hike and lots of options. We found a place on Memorial Day without a reservation which never happens in Colorado. It is near the co trail too! Quiet enough for our 1 year old

One of the nicest camp spots I’ve been to. Very accommodating and clean! Only downfall is that it was a bit of a drive to many main attractions in Colorado, but it was worth the drive.

Great place for dispersed camping in San Isabel. We chose a tent site up 274 at the end of the road late Friday evening. Still plenty of spots available! Recommend the hike to browns lake nearby. Vault toilets at the trailhead if needed.

Our spot was right off the Colorado trail, lots of thru hikers going by. Originally we had wanted to stay at iron city campground (first come first serve) but all spots were taken. It was a happy mistake because we liked dispersed camping here better 🙂

It's a quick drive from Colorado Springs and tons of trails! Usually pretty quiet except for holiday weekends. We actually drive past the campground into national forest for free dispersed camping and to ride our atv. We've never stayed at the actual campground so I can't provide any information there. But, if you camp in national forest make sure not to park more than one car length off of the trail. Did not know this and was educated by a passing ranger.

It is gorgeous and so easy to access. From the 285 going north turn left on County road 270 until it becomes the 272 we went straight to the 274. At the cross of 2 National Forests, San Isabel and pike . We arrived around 5 pm on a Wednesday and most of the spots were taken but we were able to find one to fit our 40 feet toy hauler. We went for a hike, there were multiple hiking trails including access to the Colorado Trail. We also rode our mountain bikes on 272, 274A and the 273. It was very quiet and the sky was amazing at night. I highly recommend it if you are traveling on the 285.

There are extensive sites in the area for all sizes of rigs.  There is plenty of room and easy access for large rigs or tent camping.  FR 272 is the main road in but there are several spur roads, 273 and 274 that have plenty of options also.  One problem is that this area is well known and is becoming very popular.  On weekends, there may be more than 50 campers in the area.

Because of the overuse some sites are getting, the forest service is starting to fence some sites in so they don't grow in size.  The are working towards camping in designated sites only because so many campers are just trashing the area.

The hiking is good with several trailheads and easy access to the Colorado Trail.

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.

On my last trip to Colorado I had crossed paths with this campground and vowed that this time I would make it a stop on my journey. I love the location and though it is in a decently traveled area it is not close enough to the road to hear any traffic. The location is great for having that Colorado forest feeling for sure with towering pines and great spacing around the campground itself. 

While this campground does have a formal campground host on site there is a fee station and no money changes hands in person. The host also mentioned that the location is patrolled by forest service rangers to add a bit of additional accountability and safety. As a solo traveler who many times travels during off season or off days for travel this brought me a very settling feeling to know.

 The campground itself does not have connections of any kind, however there are a few water spigots(non drinking) throughout the camp for usage and also vault toilets for usage. Price point is fair at$17 and during the early portion of the camping season this location was pretty quiet. A few scattered campers were present but even if this was a full site it would still allow for plenty of spacing between campers with large parking for each and sites which are both deep and wide. 

All the locations included a picnic table which looked shaded, I did not see many spaces of full sun around camp at all in fact. There were also fire rings and marker poles for each site where you can hang your receipt for camping. 

Unlike many campgrounds I visited in this region where pine needles or leaves were everywhere, this one was very clear. Even downed limbs had been collected by rangers and host to keep the sites open for usage which was very nice. Though I didn’t see any marked pad sites at this location the ground was nice and even in most of the sites for a tent or many had large enough area for RVs of various sizes. I did not see any pull through sites however. 

This location they do recommend you reserving online before coming to camp, however they did have envelops for payment as well. I can see how online reservation would be very important during busy season and I truly believe they are trying to move to an exclusive online pay system for sites like this and others. I think this will prevent some of the box theft which has occurred around some of the more remote or unattended sites. 

I loved how quiet this camp was, how open it was and that it provided great access to the wildlife area which was only a short drive up the road. 

TIPS: 

• Prepare for your stay ahead of time by bringing everything you could need to camp this includes firewood and water. 
• Bring your own toilet paper. Though the site is maintained and has a host the paper is not guaranteed to be stocked so remember to come prepared.
•  If you have solar you are wanting to use pull up a map in advance to find the best location because of the shade.

There are at least ten dispersed spots off the road, CC64. They are large spots with fire rings. Three of them are on the creek. Once the wind settled, there were more stars than I've ever seen in my life. Endless views and endless stars - can't beat it!

Also - it's only 5 miles from Valley View if you can't get a reservation there but can get a day pass.

The sky is GORGEOUS. The road is very rocky & very rough, so you'll want to have decent clearance and be prepared to take it slow. I've never seen so many stars!

Your vehicle will prob need new brakes after this trip. Super beautiful but the road never eases up.

Pleasantly surprised. Top notch campground.

We arrived after the rain, and the sites had gravel streams pouring through them. The wi-fi was TERRIBLE. Showers clean.

Camped at Royal Gorge KOA for 1 night, June 23rd. Very easy to find and check in. Staff was very friendly. Fire ban, so no fire-pizza delivery to our campsite was a plus! Showers and toilets were functional, but not the best. Our site, 1K, was not marked and at the top of the loop which allowed for a quieter camping experience than other sites. Free pancake breakfast on Sunday was a plus as well!

Very clean and plenty of spaces. A bit understaffed, but they do their best to prioritize tasks and keep the facility well maintained.

Large KOA. Always great bathrooms and showers. 1st campsite was full of fire ants but we were able to move to 109 with electric for our tent. Lots of great stuff for kids. Slide, playground, mini golf. Just a few miles from RG Bridge. The camp store is fully stocked!

We’ll accommodated