Best Glamping near Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forests

Favorite spot to go glamping. Pay showers (4 mins for 4 quarters) and there is power at the campsite. The hosts are always nice and other campers have been polite about quiet time etc...it's only a 22 min drive to the newly renovated hot springs pool. It's very hot during the day, but cools off at night. The beach is great if you can get a grassy area to put towels down. Love going here for a clean camping experience.

In addition to plenty of tent and RV sites, Ridgeway SP also has three heated and furnished yurts for those seeking an enhanced comfort level. Each unit includes a fridge, futon type beds, dinner table and chairs. Bring your fishing poles, hiking shoes, water craft and dogs, cause they're all allowed.

Beautiful views of the mountains and a 5-mile long reservoir make this campground pretty spectacular. You can even rent one of the 3 yurts if you like. You are also only about 10 minutes from the Orvis Hot Springs and a great BBQ place called Welded Elephant BBQ Shack.

Ridgway State Park was a convenient location for my trip through Colorado to Utah. After a stop at Black Canyon of the Gunnison Ridgway was a great spot to stop for an overnight out of any city. At the Dakota Terraces there are only a handful of spots for tents so if you know you are going to camp here make a reservation. This was a last minute stop on our trip and I snagged the last tent spot in the campground. They have full facilities and even a few Yurts you can rent for larger parties that looked like fun. Didn't stay long because we were only looking for a spot for the night. The only downfall is that the site were very close together and this is more of an RV Campground.

One of the most beautiful camping experiences we've had. Camped one night on our road trip throughout southwestern Colorado. Campsites over look the canyon.

Nice campground with spacious sites. Concrete pads under the picnic table and fire pits. Water access nearby. Bathrooms were super clean and the showers were nice and hot. Laundry facilities available. We stayed on D-183 and had a nice view of the mountains and the lake. Definitely one of the best state park campgrounds in Colorado.

We tent camped here on an amazing tent deck.  Our first experience with this!  We love this part of Colorado.  So many beautiful sites to see and things to do.  We have family to visit here, as well.

Stayed here in the month of August when you have to watch for those pesky but awesome thunderstorms.  

Well maintained campground with clean facilities.  We'll definitely be back!

I've. been visiting this area of Colorado since childhood so it has special meaning for me. We remember the area BEFORE there was a reservoir!  This campground doesn't disappoint!  Our site had a view of Courthouse Peak.  The area feels natural and sites are spaced out. We had water and electric.  There's a dump station on site.

We only had one night here, it was the last night of the season for our area and the next nights were full.

Popular campground likely requires advance reservations for peak season.

My wife and I stayed here in March of 2022. The campground was awesome and there didn’t seem to be a bad spot in the entire loop. Good views of the San Juan Mountains to the south! Power hook-ups were nice, but no water hook-ups during “winter” months. With that said, there was community spigots located near the campsites that were still on if you need to top off your fresh water tanks. The dump station was also nice, but no running water there during the winter either.

The location of this place was perfect for us as we were there for skiing; One hour from Telluride, one hour from Silverton, and only 30 minutes from the Red Mountain backcountry skiing area.

Ridgway Colorado is only a few miles down the road if you need gas or supplies, and Ouray is just past that if you’re looking for great restaurants and breweries.

Driving through Colorado in the fall there is nothing which can compare. Mild days and cool nights equate to perfect camping for those who are a bit adventurous and that is a term which suits me to a T!

I found myself in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison area in early October.  As I happened to be driving I noticed signs for the National Park, which otherwise I didn’t know was even there.  I took a turn and drove up the winding paved path, used my park pass and loved what I found.  It was like a dark canyon of steep embankments.  I could see for what seemed like forever downward to the waters which cut through the canyon.

I went on the short distance to the visitor center before deciding I wanted to check out the camping at this facility and when I did so I was so excited.  The campgrounds just were a continuation of the amazing views and because it was fall, the site was not full.

Sites were average size and offered great views.  It looked like mostly a tent zone which was nice, although it did look like perhaps it could accommodate an RV, though there were not any present when I was there.  

The campground had several bear boxes around, which kind of made it all seem so real about the wildlife presence in the area.  There were also a few water spouts available and vault toilets nearby.  Picnic tables were scattered and in good condition.

Something that makes this site unlike many in Colorado area was that I didn’t see any scheduled closures posted. Many sites in the state close with weather and do not offer services, this one might do the same but I saw no obvious postings to indicate such.

My site was $16, which was not bad considering the views and access to trails.  You could easily follow the roads and find something of interest is you were not wanting to hike and had a lot of information available just a short distance ahead at the visitor center.

TIPS:

• This is not a fill up station for your water reserves as water is limited at these points.
• Check out a trip down to the river if you have an opportunity, it is amazing from above but the access below displays an entire different ecosystem of vegetation and animals.
• Drive slowly on roads leading up to your turn, this area is heavily patrolled and it is easy to miss speed limit signs in the area.

Campground Review: We stayed at Ward Lake on Colorado's Grand Mesa. Ward Lake sits at about 10,000 feet. So, depending on time of year, it can get a little chilly. We arrived mid morning and the camp hosts were not available. There are two campgrounds, the upper and the lower. We stayed in the lower campground. The upper seemed to house more families and had more wooded sites, the lower seemed more suited to rvs and such but we still put our tent up in the lower section. Our site said that it was a shore line site, but the lake was down something like 40 feet and was supposed to drop another 20 feet. The shoreline was a bit muddy and the rocks made navigating the area difficult for us. Other people went down and fished though and did appear to be catching fish.

Our site was a bit less shaded, which we chose because we were expecting it to be chilly. There were some great shaded spots also but we were looking for sun. It had plenty of room for our two tents (they are small but still), it had a long driveway and a picnic table along with a fire ring. The restrooms were very near by, just across the road. The restrooms were immaculate! Some of the cleanest pit toilets we've seen. No oder and very clean. The whole campground was really clean in fact. The hosts were doing an amazing job.

The chilly weather had us wanting to get moving so we found Ward Lake Trail and hiked all the way to the other side of the lake, which was beautiful! The trail was amazing, the trees were great and it made for a very scenic trail. The hike back was a little less scenic, along the shore line, the rocks were hard to navigate at times, especially with a 3 year old along. When we returned to our site, the rest of the campground had begun to fill up and the host made the rounds to collect our registrations. The fee was $18 for the night. The hosts were very friendly and sociable.

There was a wedding on the other side of the lake and by nightfall the band was in full swing. The music was pleasurable and not over powering. I don't know if weddings are common but we enjoyed listening under the stars.

Product Review: As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products to test from time to time - today I am testing Green Goo Pain Relief. Our green goo arrived just in time, we hit up the post office, tossed it in our bag and then headed to the mountain. I have chronic knee pain from many years of playing hockey and I was coming off a nasty fall that left my knees swollen, bruised and sore. So while hiking, they definitely started to act up. The green goo pain relief is a bit softer then many of the ointments I've used, making it really easy to rub in. While hiking, I was able to simply pull up my pants leg, rub it on, drop the pants leg and keep right on hiking. To my surprise, it took care of the pain immediately! But, and I hate to have a but, it only lasted 15-20 minutes before my knees got achy again. It didn't really have a cooling/heating effect but it did provide immediate relief. I'll definitely use it again.

The greatest camping experience a family could possibly have! We go every summer and camp (in a tent) for about 10 days. The weather is perfect and the trout are plentiful!

An exceptional camping experience for our family. We go every summer and camp (in a tent) for about 10 days. The weather is superb and the trout is plentiful.

We camped here before hiking down the black canyon that night. Great place to be close to the canyon. Lots of great views, fishing, etc. Highly reccomend going to this area.

we stayed here 2 nights after spending 1 night on the south rim. camp sites are much bigger and way more shade here. not near as much traffic either. several overlooks along this side of the canyon and there are 2 really nice ones on the short nature trail that starts at the campground. there is also the trail to exclamation point and the top of Green mountain that begins at the ranger station just down the road if you are into hiking or trail running.

the view is what you take away from this campground, camping is not the most enjoyable

This campground is sold on the surrounding areas, which are breathtaking. The sites themselves, however, weren't anything too exciting to me, personally.

Lots of spots, but very spread out and quiet. There are toilets in the center, water available, and a short hike to the rangers.

This is a nice solid campground, no cell service, vault toilets and water is available. We had no problems. The amphitheater is across the street where they have nice ranger talks every night. There are lots of mule deer in the campgrounds, the fawns were nursing when we were there.

This is a decent campground. It’s conveniently location close to town and in the center of the park but it’s nothing special. We did really like how private the sites were. There is a nice hike from the campground to the visitor center and around down a little ways into a canyon. A wilderness permit is required to go further into the canyon however.

This campground is more remote than the South Rim campground, but similar in that your in among the scrubby oaks and don’t have much view. The good news is that the trees provide some privacy, although the sites are pretty close together. Vault toilets are fairly clean. The park entry fee was waived when we arrived in mid-July.

This campground is on NPS land, so there is a fee ($16 in season+ water/$8 off season no water) that can be paid at the nearby ranger's station on the honor system. All 13 sites are in a single loop at the end of the road on the North Rim and are all first come first served. Pinyon and juniper offer shade and some visual privacy, however sites are all close so there is little audible privacy. Pets are OK if leashed. There are nice sized BearSaver boxes at each site, plus a fire ring and large picnic table. Vault toilets and potable water are both in the center of the camping loop, where you can also find other tables and lots of shade. Chasm trail begins near the end of the loop and there are great views of the canyon a short distance from all sites. Beware: drought year, so lots of yellow jackets - they swarm vehicles in search of water! Also, water is a limited resource brought in by truck to this canyon, don't be wasteful :)

I showed up during off season so it was free! It has such a quiet and tree-lined vibe that I loved!

Cool looking campground.

Best feature: very reasonably priced. Worst feature: most of the camping sites are placed fairly close together.

This campground is at the North Rim of the canyon in a Pine and Juniper forest. It was rather quiet and peaceful considering most sites were occupied. I don't remember hearing anything at all. The trail to the rim is right behind the campground. It's a nice and cool spot during a hot summer. Great clear skies for stargazing.