Looking for a rustic and comfortable horse camping experience near Monument? Equestrian camping is the best way to experience nature. With our help, you'll find the best Colorado equestrian campsites from scenic to easily accessible.
This recreation area is part of Chatfield Lake
Colorado Campground is a favorite family destination near Manitou Lake Picnic Area north of the town of Woodland Park. A short trail leads to the lovely lake, where visitors enjoy fishing, bird watching and canoeing.
Manitou Lake offers trout fishing and lakeside picnicking. Canoeing on the small lake is also a popular activity. The Centennial Bike Trail, a paved, accessible recreation trail, connects Colorado Campground to Manitou Lake Picnic Area and South Meadows Campground. The trail is popular among hikers, roller bladers and bicyclists. The nearby Rainbow Falls OHV Trail System and North Divide OHV Trail System are recommended for off-road vehicle enthusiasts.
The campground is situated at 7,800 feet in a ponderosa pine forest near the 5-acre Manitou Lake. The campground lies in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, due north of Pikes Peak. Pikes Peak summit reaches an elevation of 14,115 feet and is America's easternmost peak over 14,000 feet.
Colorado Springs is about 25 miles southeast of the campground and offers many services. Garden of the Gods is a popular attraction just outside of town. This free park offers hiking trails, rock climbing routes, a visitor center and cafe. Pikes Peak lies west of Manitou Springs, which is about 20 miles from the campground. Visitors can hike, or drive to the summit of this beautiful mountain. The town of Woodland Park, located 6 miles south of Colorado Campground, offers gas, groceries, dining and shopping.
Cancellations Individual Campsites: Cancellations up to 2 days before a reservation start date incur a $10.00 cancellation fee. A visitor who cancels a reservation the day before or on the day of arrival will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee including tax and applicable add-on for a campsite. Cancellations for a one-night reservation will forfeit the entire amount paid and will not be subject to an additional service fee. No-Shows A no-show visitor is one who does not arrive at a campground and does not cancel the reservation by check-out time on the day after the scheduled arrival date. Staff will hold a campsite until check-out time on the day following the arrival date. No-shows are assessed $20.00 service fee and forfeit the first night's rate, taxes and applicable add-on for a campsite. Refunds Visitors may submit a refund request through their Recreation.gov profile within 7 days of the end date of their reservation. Refunds will not be issued after the 7 days has ended. Refunds for debit or credit card payments will be issued as a credit to the original bank or credit card used to pay. For check or cash purchases, Recreation.gov will mail a Treasury check for refunds of cash, check, or money order payments to the address associated with the reservation. Treasury check refunds may take up to 6-8 weeks to arrive. In the event of an emergency closure, the Recreation.gov team or facility manager will refund all fees and will attempt to notify you using the contact information within the Recreation.gov visitor profile.
$37 / night
This recreation area is part of Cherry Creek Lake
$41 / night
This recreation area is part of Bear Creek Lake
Spillway Campground is perched along the South Platte River near the base of the dam of Eleven Mile Reservoir. Adventurists and families alike will find things to do here. Birding is excellent, as is hiking. Rock climbers enjoy the solid rocky cliffs of the canyon and fly fishermen find abundant catches in the river.
Hike the Overlook Trail for breathtaking views of Eleven Mile Canyon and Reservoir. Occasionally, Golden Eagles can be viewed nesting in the nearby granite cliffs and crags. Springtime brings higher chances of spotting Bald Eagles. Visitors enjoy fishing by shore or canoe. Rainbow and brown trout, kokanee salmon and pike are among the species anglers are likely to find.
The campground, at altitude 8,500 feet, is located at the edge of Eleven Mile Canyon, furthest from the canyon entrance. Some campsites are shaded by scattered spruce and ponderosa pine. Spillway is the closest campground to the Eleven Mile Reservoir, which spans 3,405 surface acres and 5 miles in length. Eleven Mile Canyon was cut by the South Platte River and is bordered by polished gray granite cliffs.
For facility specific information, please call (661) 702-1420.
Visitors enjoy the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, one of the richest and most diverse fossil deposits in the world. Petrified redwood stumps up to 14 feet wide and thousands of detailed fossils of insects and plants reveal the story of a very different, prehistoric Colorado.
Cancellations Individual Campsites: Cancellations up to 2 days before a reservation start date incur a $10.00 cancellation fee. A visitor who cancels a reservation the day before or on the day of arrival will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee including tax and applicable add-on for a campsite. Cancellations for a one-night reservation will forfeit the entire amount paid and will not be subject to an additional service fee. No-Shows A no-show visitor is one who does not arrive at a campground and does not cancel the reservation by check-out time on the day after the scheduled arrival date. Staff will hold a campsite until check-out time on the day following the arrival date. No-shows are assessed $20.00 service fee and forfeit the first night's rate, taxes and applicable add-on for a campsite. Refunds Visitors may submit a refund request through their Recreation.gov profile within 7 days of the end date of their reservation. Refunds will not be issued after the 7 days has ended. Refunds for debit or credit card payments will be issued as a credit to the original bank or credit card used to pay. For check or cash purchases, Recreation.gov will mail a Treasury check for refunds of cash, check, or money order payments to the address associated with the reservation. Treasury check refunds may take up to 6-8 weeks to arrive. In the event of an emergency closure, the Recreation.gov team or facility manager will refund all fees and will attempt to notify you using the contact information within the Recreation.gov visitor profile.
$22 / night
Please Note: Must be in possession of a horse in order to camp in the equestrian campground. The Indian Creek Equestrian Campground is an ideal camping site for avid horseback riders looking to explore the Indian Creek Equestrian Trail. The area provides a pleasant atmosphere plus nearby access to the Rampart Range, a well known off-highway vehicle riding area. The area boasts wildlife like mule deer, turkey, elk and black bears. The Roxborough State Park is located to the northeast of the campground as has a reputation for its dramatic red-rock formations.
The Indian Creek Trail, which is also called the Bear Creek Trail, is a loop trail that extends for 14 miles. In addition to horseback riders, mountain bikers and hikers also enjoy taking on the scenic journey.
Campsites sit among a mix of trees that provide both shade and sun throughout the day. These include Ponderosa pine, Gamble oak, Douglas fir, aspen and spruce. Pike-San Isabel National Forests include over a million acres of wilderness and over half of Colorado's mountain peaks that reach above 14,000 feet in altitude.
For facility specific information, please call (303) 647-2366.
$27 / night
Guide
If you want to get into the Park, suggest you go EARLY, EARLY, EARLY in the day. Traffic backs up all the way from the Entrance on Parker Rd to the Entrance Booth on weekends and holidays. Plan on an hour OR MORE to just get to the booth. Once the capacity for the Park is reached, you will not be allowed in.
Nice Swim Beach with brand new Bldg. Many covered Picnic sites, but again, you MUST arrive at the break of day to secure one.
Please plan to pack your trash out. Seems to be a severe shortage of dumpsters or trash cans and people leave behind huge bags of trash - or, sadly, just trash strewn around. Please respect our space!
Campground is usually fully booked all season. Reservations can be made six months out. Two week limit.
I live close to the Park and visit every month of the year.
Legend
Very clean, very well maintained. Large spaces near the lake.
ScoutStayed the last night with a rental RV that we needed to return to Denver by 10;30 AM. Campground has an unusual lay out with "loops" being 3 rings of sites. Sites are spread out well. Lots of privacy, Within an hour's drive of the RV rental return location (with a Costco on the way to fill the gas tank). Some sites have elec/water/sewer at the sites. Some have just electrical - this was our site. A communal water/sewer was available with ability to handle two vehicles at the same time.
Scout
We spent 10 days at the top of the mountain. There were a few people that came in for a night or so, but not even close enough to hear them or see lights. The views are breathtaking! I am from NY. Drove all the way here just too camp. Was not disappointed!!! Can not wait to come back.
Scout
Very quiet and bathroom and showers were clean
Guide
As usual this was a great place to camp. Site 1 is the most private but furthest from the bathrooms, Site 2/3 are closest together, Site 3 has the very best flat pad with the table, ring and still room for a 10x10 tent or shade tent area. Sites 1-4 have shade, sites 5-8 do not.
Hosts are friendly and helpful, bathrooms cleanish, stalls in good shape.
Trail #800 is pretty sketchy these days due to excessive water erosion. 3' deep and 8" wide troughs to walk along with so much overgrowth it's hard to navigate.
The trail heading North out of the parking lot is great, well maintained and also has hidden 7 dwarfs along the trail to try and find. We did it four times just to make sure we found all 7.
Guide
Pleasantly surprised. Top notch campground.
Guide
Attention to detail here! Great owners.
GuideThe state park is enjoyable. The staff is realy nice and you have all the services that you need
ScoutBeautiful state park. Great for a day or two. Bathrooms were exceptionally clean and well maintained.
GuideThe group campsite was spacious. The site was also pretty clean. Bathrooms were coin operated so that wasn’t the best for a shower. Would preferred a way to obtain coins or a heads up on that one. The spot we had was far from the lake so it was a bit of a walk. I’d recommend finding a site closer to the lake so you can get to the water quicker when it’s super hot. We had canopies but the sun beat us down pretty bad during the high part of the day. Very pretty paddle boarding sites.
LegendThey say this is the world’s highest KoA. It’s in the side of a mountain, css as moving loops stretch up the hill, bathroom and shower are at the bottom of the hill! But they do have pizza and will deliver to your site. It was pretty dusty when we were there. Sites are not jammed together, and the hillside does allow for views over other campsites. Hummingbirds buzzed around all day. Close to Cripple Creek and Pikes Peak
Scout
Amazing views, friendly staff & nice set up. Wish we could have stayed a little longer. But definitely helpful when passing through.
GuideAmazing backdrop, plenty of space, we took one of the first camp spots and it still wowed. Here's a video from our stay:
ScoutEverything from friendly faces to taking care of the missing needs of the outdoors. My in-laws and kids absolutly love this place. Not to mention perfect for our disabled daughter.
Legend
Round mountain campground
$20 per night. There are no electrical hook ups or sewer hook ups for big rigs. It looks a little bit like dispersed camping. Each site has a picnic table and a designated fire pit. The sites are pull through in some situations. Not all of them, but some of them. There are restrooms on site with your credibly clean. The camp management seems to do a good job of keeping the area well organized. It’s nestled down in the trees and he’s very pretty and secluded. The issue in this area is that it is all designated for OHV usage so there is some noise. We pulled it on a Thursday afternoon and could see three or four ATVs riding around. The campground has designated quiet hours from 10 PM to 6 AM, but that won’t stop you from getting disturbed during the daytime. The other issue in this area as there is no firewood. They sell bundles for eight dollars at the managers office. My recommendation would be to come well prepared and bring lots of your own firewood. At the time we got in their water pump was also not working, but they were selling bottled water again at the Campground managers station.
Traveler
When our boondocking plans went south, Nancy accommodated us on a late Sunday night without a reservation. She was kind and pleasant even though I’m sure she was tired and didn’t feel like showing us to our site. The place was super clean, very charming, and with much attention to detail. Would definitely stay here again!
ScoutThese sites are very easy to access from the dirt road. No need for 4x4, a sedan could make it in if you don’t mind a few bumps.
The area is surrounded by young aspens, mountain flowers, and rock outcroppings. The sites are open and spaced out from one another. We only saw a few cars pass by but otherwise no other signs of humans around. There is also an ample amount of firewood from the dead, fallen trees. The only thing missing here is a water feature.
We took a short trip to the Happy Meadows campground for some time in the river. It’s close enough that it doesn’t warrant staying at Happy Meadows. There are few sites, they’re really close together, and the road is very busy. Matukat is undoubtedly the better choice in my opinion.
Overall a great camping area. We’ll be back for sure.
LegendMatukat rd dispersed - nr Lake George. People seem to really like it yet it’s incredibly quiet. No OHVs, no gunfire - so refreshing. There are some cows as evidenced by dried cow pats but we didn’t see any. Someone reported they saw moose but again, we saw none. Directions using Google maps were perfect. Got you into the area. Once you reach the coordinates I suggest you keep going up the road for better sites. We found a spot on one of the turn offs and had some of the best views we’ve had while camping this year. See the photos for the views. So the trick is to go up Matukat Road and then start taking the little side roads once you get about 4 miles in. We had between two and three bars of Verizon service at the site but no Verizon service at the main road so it is spotty. We came in on a Tuesday and it looks like we’re just about the only ones out here. There’s one other trailer that we’ve seen near us and there are other campers in bigger rigs right at the very beginning of Matukat road, but you’ve got to stay on the road and just keep going further back to get the absolute best sites and views. The views are incredible. The rocks behind us are absolutely outrageous. There’s good hiking the area as well. The road getting in was doable. We didn’t need to engage the four-wheel-drive so the only thing I would advise is you need some reasonable clearance to get all the way back in here. Other than that this is definitely a site that will be coming back to the many years to come.
Scout
We had a great time in Site #24, camping in a tent. This site is inadequate for an RV or even a camper, as the parking spot is just a widening in the road. But the site was very private and had beautiful views. I left a day early as a new neighbor came to the site across the road and was running his generator a lot….so I just decided to leave….
LegendChatfield has quickly become one of our favorite state parks. We have stayed here many times over the last few years. This was our first time camping here with our Class C and we had plenty of room to center our rig while leaving room for our tow dolly and SUV.
We stayed at Site 54 on Loop B. This is the first time we’ve ever noticed the noise from the model airplane field while camping here. We were woken up multiple mornings before 7AM to the sound of model airplanes. Not a big deal, but something to be mindful of if you’re looking to sleep in.
The shower facility at the center of Loop B did not have soap or hand dryers in the restroom. Again, not a big deal, but something to know so you can plan ahead. There was also only one working dryer in the laundry, so it was a challenge to get wash done if multiple campers were trying to wash clothes at the same time.
LegendFirst time camping here. The Gold Rush loop is all full hookups. We stayed in Site 95 and had no trouble fitting our 29’ Class C, tow dolly, and towed vehicle.
There are multiple facilities in the campground that have hot showers and flush toilets. The building closest to the campground office also has a laundry that works via coins or pay via app, $2 per load.
Easy access to the sand beach on Cherry Creek reservoir, plenty of hiking and biking trails, and close proximity to Aurora, Centennial, and the greater Denver metro area. We would definitely stay here again.
LegendCherry Creek State Park offers a variety of activities including water sports and a sand beach. The campground has tent and RV sites including full hookups.
We stayed in Site #95 which is a great private spot on the Gold Rush loop. The campground offers multiple bath houses as well as a laundry that is coin operated as well as available via an app at $2 per wash.
LegendThis was our first time staying at Bear Creek Lake. The park is not part of the Colorado Wilds or CPW State Park system, but daily vehicle fees are included with your camping reservation. Our towed vehicle was included when we checked in at the ranger station.
The campground is at the back of the park, roughly 2 miles from the entrance. There is a lot of bike traffic and windy roads. Sites are mostly level, electric only, and relatively close together. We stayed in Site 41 which was walking distance to the pit toilets and water spigot. We had no trouble fitting our 29' Class C, tow dolly, and towed vehicle.
We filled our 7 gallon water jugs at the spigot to top off our fresh water tank. The spigot is the terrible skinny faucet that is not threaded as to dissuade RVers from connecting a fill hose to it. If you want to fill water jugs like we did, bring a short (<6') hose and a water bandit so that you don't waste water.
Pit toilets and flush bathrooms were clean and well maintained. The bath house at the center of the campground features coin operated hot showers, $2 for 10 minutes. The water temperature was very hot, but manageable. A great convenience since there are no sewer hookups at the sites.
This is a great place to camp if you want to explore Morrison, Golden, or catch a show at Red Rocks. The main park entrance closes at 9:30 and a back gate accessible from I-470 opens that allows access to the campground. We had no trouble getting an Uber to pick us up to go to Red Rocks, but had several driver cancellations trying to get back after a concert.
ScoutPark staff are very friendly. Loved the paddle board experience.
ScoutWe lucked out and got the amazing spot. Can’t beat the view!
TravelerPros:
- great location for exploring Denver
- beautiful sunset
Cons:
- SO MANY FOXTAILS which can be deadly to dogs, and my site was covered in them. They're also everywhere throughout the campground. So if you have dogs I would not use this more than a stopover to recharge.
- Highway noise was very loud if outside rig
Cell: you're in the middle of a city, both AT&T and Verizon worked just fine
Horse camping in Colorado offers a unique opportunity to explore the stunning landscapes while enjoying the company of your equine friends. With a variety of campgrounds catering to horse enthusiasts, you can find the perfect spot to set up camp and ride the trails.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Monument, CO?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Monument, CO is Chatfield State Park Campground with a 4.3-star rating from 75 reviews.
What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Monument, CO?
TheDyrt.com has all 18 equestrian camping locations near Monument, CO, with real photos and reviews from campers.
