Best Glamping near City of Creede, CO

We had an amazing stay at Basecamp 550. The campground’s location is perfect, with easy access to Ouray, Montrose, Telluride, and other nearby areas. The amenities were excellent, including quarter-operated hot showers and laundry, restrooms, Wi-Fi, full hookups, and a clubhouse with coffee + tea, kitchen access, and a great workspace. Our site had a beautiful view and was right next to a ranch where cows would come right up to the fence. The communal fire pit was a nice touch, and the private, fenced-in setting made us feel safe and comfortable. They also offer glamping tents and casitas on the property. Highly recommend!

Nestled next to the Rio Grande River hand its gorgeous. This is the Rio Grande in Colorado so there's plenty of running water for tubing, rafting and fishing.

This campground will always have a special place in my memories as my first camping trip in Colorado. Unfortunately being new to the state I was woefully unprepared for how cold and wet Memorial Day weekend camp trips in Colorado can be. However, the proximity to Durango meant that after a cold first night I could run into town and buy all the gear I should have thought to bring with me in the first place. The campground was relaxing and enjoyable and the lake was beautiful with the post rain fog rolling in off the surrounding hills. May was still too cold to go into the water but I am looking forward to going back this July.

Vallecito Resort, situated near Durango, Colorado, caters to both full-time RV enthusiasts and vacationers seeking a mountain retreat. Nestled in the San Juan National Forest, it provides a serene natural setting with comprehensive amenities. Upon arrival, guests can enjoy spacious sites, immerse themselves in the forest ambiance, and plan their outdoor activities. 

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This privately owned campground feels like Colorado-at peace-to me.  Campgrounds, especially in the times of Covid are filled to the brim these days and that means a different type of experience complete with sometimes noisy neighbors, lots of vehicles and generators running at all hours.  

This. Place. Is. Peaceful.  

Your first look at the view on the way in to the camoground office should make you want to take a big breath of fresh CO air and leave the worries of the world behind.  

The owners/workers were all as friendly as can be and seemed extremely genuine in providing everyone an enjoyable experience. There are 3 ponds on property for fishing and there are some whoppers in there!  Do keep in mind, you need to get a permit at the office to partake in being an angler for the day.  

The campsites themselves are well spaced, shady, pretty level and have full hookups.  What more could you want?  They have even separated the RV area from the tent camping area which I find to be the most enjoyable for all parties involved.

As for the general area-you can't go wrong no matter which direction you go.  Pagosa Springs is a lovely town with everything you could need.  There are too many fishing opportunities to name in the area, and a MUST see-Treasure Falls-it's quite literally .5 miles from the campground entrance.

Last time I saw Vallecito Lake was in April of 2019. It was virtually empty of any water and that is not an exaggeration. Every bit had been drawn down and it being April the Spring melt had not yet started. However, the area around the lake had captured my soul and I had been hankering to return in early summer to it witness the lovely lady in all her glory. She did not disappoint.

I kayak and this trip was the second of 3 consecutive two day stays in search of the perfect padding spot. I recreational kayak and my area has one body of water close to me but it’s 65 miles away. I was seeking a place water play vacation.

There are two sides to Vallecito Lake. The public side and the private side. The public side is USFS managed the other is a free for all of vacation rentals, RV Parks and homes ranging from little woodsy to magnificent “cabins”. With a sprinkling of homes on the public side with outstanding water access and views for miles obviously been there for quite some time. All around is old forest with huge stands of ponderosa pine and Colorado blue spruce, wild roses and raspberry’s. Along with huge stands of burn scars from more than one, must have been terrifying, forest fires. The place is SPECTACULAR, not too “resorty” but busy. Even during the week while I was there.

There are several USFS campgrounds on Road 501A North Canyon, Graham, Pine Point and Middle Mountain. All of them offer the same shady, wooded campsites some of which are lakeside. Which would be great when the lake is at capacity. There are plenty of vault toilets and drinking water. No showers. There are picnic tables and fire pits at every site. We were able to have fires at the time of my visit but the fire restrictions were just going into affect the day after I left. In fact there was a wild land fire just a few miles away but was quickly dispatched. The camp hosts were very responsive and they take very good care of the property.

Not all sites are reserved at these campgrounds. About half are first come first served and many were vacant at my visit. But it was Monday - Thursday. I noticed it begin to fill up the night before my departure day and things got a bit more active but once darkness fell it was silent.

Now about the water. The lake was at 67% capacity and was not expected to exceed that this 2021 season. There was no snow on the surrounding peaks which should still have had observable snow pack on them in early June. McPhee Reservoir on the other side of Durango was at 47%. El Vado in New Mexico was at 17%!!! All of the bodies of water in the west are severely challenged. Lake Mead/Hoover Dam is being repeated all over the western states. It’s a real shame to see the changes that are occurring at all of our favorite spots. While water was accessible it was a good hike with a 48lb kayak and most of it was very rocky. But the water was magnificent and well worth the hike.

Did I mention it was in the high 90’s while I was there. Which is unheard of. It was brutally hot and chasing ice was a challenge. Most places close by ran out requiring a trip to Bayfield. Also, amazingly, while my cell phone was worthless my iPad rocked and I could send and receive texts and even water my lawn via the b-hyve app.

Be sure to check out Lemon Lake and the campgrounds above. The Lake looked to be at about 50% which was very sad. The campgrounds were not as heavily used and were offering all of the same as other USFS campgrounds.

I will be back again but I will make my stay much longer. I give it five stars just for the pure ambience.

Dale and Anne are the kindest and most hospitable folks I’ve met in all my years of camping. They even have farm fresh eggs for sale if you want. Trails, fishing, and other adventures await you in the area. The creek running by our camp sings you to sleep as it ripples by

The host were amazing and the views can not be beaten! We will be back very soon.

The facilities are ran down and poorly maintained, the camp manager has made several campers relocate their rigs to accommodate large groups that wanted to be next to each other.

The campground appears to be abandoned. Downed beetle killed trees, tables broken, pit toilets closed.

toilets, no trash no signal, forest cut down, all picnic tables wrecked, looks like it had been part of a forest fire at some point, toilets far away, no information, one picnic table complete, sadly looks abandoned. Water available but looks a bit rusty dirty. It’s being heavily reforested at the moment.

This place was magical. It was the perfect way to celebrate our anniversary! Only an hour from the Sand Dunes, 45 min from Creede, and close to Three Barrel Brewing Co!

The cabin was perfect, full bathroom, half kitchen, and plenty of sweetness that makes you feel cozy!

Great place for full hook up spots in South Fork. They also have great trails close that you can drive to via atv or ohv's. Wonderful views all around from our campsites! Great mom and pop business that is reasonably priced.

We love it here so much we came back another year. Great RV park everything works as it should. You're spaced out so you're not on top of your neighbors. Everything is well maintained. The owners are wonderful people as well.

For the past 4 years now my two 8 year old boys and I meet up with my brother from Oregon to go whitewater rafting.  My kids can play in the water and I can watch them from the table while they fish or play.

it's beautiful hearing the water sound while you sleep or just why you sit or why you eat.

We've always had a campground available for us. We've never seen it full.

I would rate it a five-star if it had showers

Great 12 day stay July 2021. Camp host is pleasant & does a great job. He makes rounds often, grounds & campsites are well maintained, restrooms are clean. Tho the road to Beaver Reservoir is close by, it is a quiet campground even during the day and pretty much dead silence at night. Bear boxes, fire pits & picnic tables are provided at each campsite.

We stayed 3 nights. 2022 rate is $24 per night. Gravel road and gravel sites. Campground was kept clean. Well water with 2 hand pumps. I wouldn’t bring a trailer over 23 ft and expect to fit.

Spots right on the river are pure bliss.  Full hookups and the sound of the Rio Grande to lull you to sleep.  How great is that? 

Full hookups were great.  Owners were fantastic and friendly. 

The town of South Fork is very small but you can get groceries and gas.  South Fork is on the East side of Wolf Creek Pass, which is a beautiful, steep, drive.  The best part about the area is the ample amount of fishing.  This area is an anglers dream, reservoirs in every corner of the map with the Rio Grande at your fingertips.  Fishing dreams made!

Campground spots were well positioned but a tiny bit close.  I would highly recommend any of the ones on the river, you have plenty of space to spread out between the picnic table, fire ring and grassy area by the river's edge.

This campground is in a secluded lovely valley on the south fork of the white river. Good fishing opportunities and trails for hiking and horseback riding. Spring cave is open seasonally April 15-aug15 with permit required to protect the bats from White nose syndrome. The cave is beautiful, and also wet and cold. Helmet and lights and good warm clothes are essential!

Campsites are close together, some smaller and some better or groups. Site#5 can fit 4-5 tents. Pit toilets which are kept very clean by camp host. Equestrian trailer parking available.

It was really nice there. Kinda pricey. The people who were watching the campsite took really good care of the toilets that were close by. Camping quarters were kinda close to each other and the reservoir was really rocky so best to take some water shoes if you want to go swimming.

Great small campground,  beautiful lake, clean,  good fishing, ATVing, biking.

Getting a site with a view is key to this campground. There are a few great spots but there is no tree cover for these sites and the late morning through early evening can be hot if you do not have a canopy. The lake is not swimmable but you can kayak/canoe etc. Bathrooms are clean. There is drinking water but looked yellowish. The camp host was great (Derek)and kept the place clean. At $22 a night, a close by dispersed campsite might be better choice if you cannot get a site with a view

To be clear, there is no dump site for RVs, no market, no water hookup (water dispensing). It’s the view and yes, there are probably 5 primo spots and we did not get one but I still have a view of the incredible mountains. But after 1 night, someone cleared out of best spot and we reserved it right away (first come first serve ) A walk to the lake from any of the 16 sites is perhaps 3 minutes. Great site and Derek is best host ever. He runs it right.