Best Cabin Camping near Gateway, CO

Lone Duck Campground was a good home base for us during our visit to Colorado Springs. The campground is several miles down from Woodland Park and about the same down to Manitou and the Springs. We were out and about during the days, but Lone Duck was nice to return to each afternoon.

Reservations were easy to do online. They had the site ready for us when we arrived.

Site 45 was great for our pop up. If we had our 30’ trailer, we wouldn’t have had room for our truck. The site is right next to a lovely stream that really drowned out any road noise. We slept great with the white noise the stream produced. Our site had a picnic table and fire pit (with grill grate). We had water and 30/20 amp electric.

The bathrooms/showers were in the main office. The men’s restroom had a couple of stalls and three showers. They were sufficient for me. The women’s restroom was small and cramped according to my wife. It appears the floors and walls had been coated with a garage floor or bed-liner material. It wasn’t the most appealing but again was sufficient. We did use the laundry room and all machines worked fine.

There is a store, small dining area, and arcade in the main office along with the restrooms and laundry room. Wifi was hit or miss from the campsites. It was better inside the office. The check in staff was aware of the wifi and mentioned they were working on it. (We weren’t here for the internet so again, not an issue for us).

The kids did swim in the pool. The water was warm and they seemed to enjoy playing with other kiddos there. There is a small playground next to the pool and fishing pond. Kids played there frequently until quiet hours.

There are a few small cabins on the grounds and separate sections of the park for tents. There are houses just across the stream from our site but we never heard from or noticed any of the neighbors.

There is quite a bit of greenery throughout the campground. I thought the place could use a mowing or weed eating, but maybe it’s normal to have local grasses/plants left alone to grow.

As others have mentioned it is a bit tricky getting in and out. If you leave toward Woodland Park, you’ll have to cross a couple of lanes and make u-turn. Same thing of your coming to the campground from Manitou. You’ll make a u-turn.

Overall, we liked the place and would stay again.

We love this CG!  It is in a beautiful part of Colorado, centrally located to many attractions.  The CG itself is large, but spread out well.  All sites are paved and fairly level, all have electricity and there are even a few cabins for rental.  What makes this park great is the huge trail system, trails are all around and all at various levels of difficulties and lengths.  Wildlife is abundant and the sites themself are well maintained.  Each site has a fire ring, electrical hook up and picnic table.  Water spigots are nearby, RV dump is included with stay (and you can fill up with fresh water too).  They have a laundromat and shower house as well as several bathrooms located throughout the campground with flush toilets.  They have nightly educational programs and the rangers have always been polite to us.  Firewood is available for sale at the CG entrance.

I typically rate campgrounds as they fit into 1 of 5 categories. This campground will be rated as a Basecamp — grounds that offer a comfortable home base that you’re happy to return to after a day of exploring the surrounding area. Ratings for this category are based on: Value to cost: 4 Overall grounds: 4 Utility of sites (hookups, layout, accessibility): 4 Local Attraction Proximity: 5 Reservation Process/Ease of Getting a Site: 5 Amenities: 4 Customer Service: 5 Cleanliness: 4

In the mountains of Manitou Springs/Colorado Springs, just off the 24 highway, Loneduck Campground is tucked away down a driveway you will surely miss if you’re not paying close attention (look for the empty sign post sticking up from the highway, see my video). The grounds are quite nice... not luxury but rustic mountain vibe. Large trees and greenery with sites surrounding a small pond.

This is clearly a favorite destination for locals... lots of groups of friends with kids gathering and spending time together. If you dislike kids, you may want to reconsider. Kids laughing and enjoying fishing, the pool and playground up until quiet hours. We don’t have kids but enjoyed the sounds. Nights were quiet, even with the highway overhead. We slept every night with the windows open and the car noise was not an issue. It only got louder in the mornings. Barking dogs were much louder, but still not an issue.

The utilities were good enough, though water pressure was pretty low, especially once our neighbor arrived and fed off the same pipe.

While we didn’t use any, the amenities looked nice. Pool looked lovely and the playground was... beloved by the kids. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the pond with fishing. Fire pits were out of use due to the ban and there was a large dishwashing station for tent campers. There is an arcade which looked perfectly retro. We did use laundry, the machines were fine (takes quarters) but the room itself was a bit dingy. Can’t speak for showers or restrooms. The picnic table at our site had seen better days. Our biggest point of confusion was the placement of the dump station, right at the exit, so in some cases, people that don’t have to dump still have to wait for people to dump in order to leave. There was a long line on a Sunday morning but we managed to squeeze thru after about 10 minutes.

Staff was quite nice but if you’re very worried about COVID, be warned that virtually nobody wears a mask and high touch surfaces don’t seem to be cleaned frequently.

For everything they offer at the grounds, I think the price is very reasonable. They’re right next to the Pikes Peak by way and so close to so many other attractions/adventures. Also, there’s a running/walking path that brings you to Green Mountain Falls town just 1/2 mile away but you have to walk on Rt 24 for about 100 yards to get to the next street, so be careful.

The reservation process was a breeze and they were very responsive and accommodating when we wanted to add a day. A great spot to spend time.

Beautiful lakeside camping just outside of Denver. Campsites are a bit close together, but great for groups! No hookups here but you have bathroom facilities and a visitor center where you can buy firewood. Campfires allowed in the fire pits. If you have an RV beware quiet hours from 10pm to 8am, no generators allowed. Lake is perfect for paddleboarding, kayaking and fishing and you will most likely have phone service if you are with AT&T or Verizon. Many day use areas, however vehicles and individuals are charged. For campers, if you bring more than one vehicle you will be charged daily for any additional ones. No drinking water is available, you must bring your own. Dirt roads to the lake are rough and narrow. Close to Deckers for incidentals. Intersects with the Colorado trail for hiking and biking and close to the Colorado River for tubing!

We stayed at the Lone Duck campground for two nights in September 2017, with the intention of hiking Pike’s Peak. We were in the middle of a road trip from Southern California to Denver, CO, for a pole dance competition that I competed in. After the road trip out, the mental exhaustion of competing in an international competition, and the HEAT, we decided that we would hike Pike’s Peak some other time and just spend our day relaxing before heading to RMNP to camp and hike. Lone Duck Campground is the perfect place to relax!

We are tent campers, and prefer to be in more “traditional” outdoor campgrounds in parks or forests, etc, but for an urban campground, Lone Duck was great! While the layout of the Lone Duck Campground certainly accommodates for RV campers, the campground also has nice little tent sites with grassy areas to pitch a tent. Our site had grass, shade, a picnic table, and a fire ring - everything you need for a basic campsite.

The tent sites are fairly small and open to the neighboring sites, but that is to be expected in these more urban campgrounds. However, we had site T-25, and due to the surrounding shrubbery, it was more secluded than most sites. The campground is right off the highway, so there is some noise pollution from the nearby traffic. Overall the campground was peaceful and everyone seemed to respect the set quiet hours. It is $36 for two people to stay in a standard tent site WITHOUT hookups…the nightly fee increases with added equipment hookups and additional people.

The benefit to camping in an urban campground like Lone Duck is all the extras you don’t find in all traditional, basic campgrounds! Lone duck had a pool, free wifi, and CLEAN, HOT, COIN-FREE showers! After sweating in the summer sun all day, returning to camp and showering is the best feeling in the world.

The camp hosts were very friendly, and provided nice home-cooked breakfast in the morning for only $5! As much as we enjoy cooking when we camp, it was soooo nice not having to dirty up then clean our camp kitchen. The breakfast was very well worth $5!

Lone Duck also had a small pond/lake to fish in, a jungle gym, a game room and a basketball court. We did not partake in any of those amenities, but they make Lone Duck a very family friendly campground where kids can stay entertained!

Since we decided to be lazy and forego hiking Pike’s Peak, we slept in, enjoyed the Lone Duck breakfast, and researched what we could do to beat the heat. We knew we wanted to go to the Garden of the Gods later that afternoon after it cooled off and to see the sunset, but needed something to do before then to escape the heat. We ended up backtracking back up towards our previous stop in Denver, and went to the Coors Plant in Golden, CO. I’m not much of a beer drinker, let alone Coors, but my boyfriend likes beer and enjoys going on different brewery tours. The Coors tour was free and air conditioned, so why not?! The brewery tour was actually very interesting, and at the end of the tour you could choose three glasses of beer in their tap room. Cold, free beer on a hot day? Even I couldn’t say no to that!

After the tour we drove back down to Colorado Springs and went to the Garden of the Gods (which is probably only 15-20 minutes away from the Lone Duck). The park is FREE to enter, and has some spectacular red rock formations that glow like fire in the setting sun. The park is pretty accessible with wide, flat paths around the perimeter of the park and around the popular rock formations. There are smaller, more rugged trails leading up to various rock climbing areas, and hiking trails that extend out away from the park into the foothills. We climbed on rocks and hiked around for a few hours until sunset. The Garden of the Gods is a must-see - the rock formations are incredible, and you do not even have to be a hiker to be able to see and enjoy them!

We decided not to cook back at camp, and stopped at Rudy’s Country Store BBQ in Colorado Springs. We are from Southern California and had never been to a Rudy’s before, and we loved it! I have to admit that I was skeptical of a gas-station restaurant, but I’m so glad we ate at Rudy’s! It was cheap, it was tasty, and it was fun! And I’m always a fan of unlimited condiment bars, so that was a plus!

Overall, I would highly recommend Lone Duck Campground, especially if you like urban campgrounds with extra amenities. We had been debating over staying at a cheap hotel for the night, but I’m glad we stayed at Lone Duck, it was a much better experience than a hotel would have been.

CAMPSITE SPECS

Fees: $36/night

Plumbed Toilets: Yes

Drinking Water: Yes

Showers: Yes (No coins needed)

Picnic Table: Yes

Firepit: Yes

Cooking Grates: Yes

Shade: Yes

Cell Service: Yes + Wifi

Animal Bins/Food Lockers: NO

This is less than thirty minutes from my house, but feels like a world away. Spots are close but private and paved pads make leveling easy. Most sites are pull through along the road and include electric. Back in sites are also available. The campground was full even with the snow and cold in early September. There are very few undesirable spots within the grounds, and the group sites are exceptional.

Vault and flush toilets are available at various locations through the campground, and there is a self-service dump station available at the front of the campground. We did run into the issue of people dumping buckets of waste in the dump station and not washing everything down, so look before you step.

Tent pads are large platforms filled with pea gravel, and include well maintained picnic tables and fire rings. The grounds and campsites are beautifully maintained and wonderful views of the surrounding mountains are plentiful.

Watch out for wildlife and be sure to read restrictions and rules on the maps provided at the gate - use and closures change seasonally.