Best Campgrounds near Pagosa Springs, CO

Both me and my wife stayed at the Ute Bluff Lodge, Cabins& RV Park about 6 months ago but the place was fine. I made a reservation via phone with someone named Clint for 7 days. Clint told us on the phone that he was working on the water in the campground but we thought it was minor based upon our experience 6 months ago and we were just going to use the water in the Recreation& Kitchen area. When we arrived after 12 PM the office was closed, the campground, lodge, and entire area was in a shambles. Our campsite#2 had large feces around where the electric hookup with exposed wiring was located, someone had been burning trash in a central area in front of our campsite because it was littered with burnt cans and other debris and other half burnt waste, there was no trash dumpster where it was before nor anywhere on the property, the lodge had holes out front of the building and was in a state of disrepair, essentially the place looked horrible. We went into the shared Recreation& Kitchen area believing we could just cook and wash our dishes there but found piles of decaying food and dirty dishes, pans, and pots in the sink. The kitchen countertop was strewn with dirty small appliances and the entire room had the toxic smelling odor. The bathroom adjacent to the Recreation& Kitchen area was filthy with a nasty bucket inside the shower enclosure, another bucket outside the shower enclosure, and a filthy rug. The place was probably unfit for human habitation and we worried whether we would contract some nasty disease just being inside. At this point, we decided to get our money back because it the first day Tuesday, April 22, 2025 of our reserved stay but when we tried to call Clint at(719) 873-5595 we were sent to voicemail so we left a message indicating that we could not safely stay at a campground without garage service and in the unsafe condition it was in so were requesting a refund. Never heard back from Clint after so we went to the Rio Grande Sheriff's Office to file a complaint. I wrote out the complaint and spoke with Deputy Barron Robinson at the Sheriff's Office located at 640 Cherry Street, Del Norte, CO 81132(719) 588-0814. He said this kind of deception happened all the time and there was nothing he could do about it. On the following day Wednesday, April 23, 2025 I attempted to call Clint at(719) 873-5595 but was once again sent to voicemail where I left a message that I wanted my money back for the reservation that we had made at the Ute Bluff Lodge, Cabins& RV Park. We have never heard back from Clint or anyone associated with this seemingly defunct establishment.

We stayed for a few hours to solar charge. This is a great area that’s near a few private ranches. The app mentioned a steep incline but we managed no issues with a 04 Toyota sienna FWD

This was honestly the perfect spot while I was visiting Pagosa Springs (about 30 min drive from town).

The road coming in was mildly steep/curvy, but not at all difficult.

Verizon was spotty and only available a little higher up, but I was still able to get my work done and stream Netflix, with a little patience.

I spent almost a week there and hardly saw anyone. Spots are spaced well apart and its nice and quiet.

The views are great!

The parking lot will hold maybe 5 vans. Nice little park with trash cans. Good Verizon signal.

Great location between Durango and Santa Fe, just south of Pagosa Springs. Forest Service road, well maintained. I stopped at about 8300 feet. Great site nestled in pine grove with gambrel oak. Several of the sites are pull through so easy to come in with a trailer. Nice view of snow capped mountains to the west. There is no one here. Road continues up to Navajo Peak. There is sign of cat activity, relatively recent scat and elk femur.

We stayed here for a chilly winter night and had a lovely time. The campground is clean, quiet, and well taken care of. Close to the river, reservoir, and great adventure access.

Convenient RV Park. Clean bathrooms, good laundry room. Just a stop over for the night for us.

We spent a few nights here and will gladly go back!!! We were able to set up by a stream with a nice fire ring. There are NO facilities so be prepared. Clean up your trash and please don’t take glass bottles. There is also reservoir where several guys were ice fishing. They were at the day camping area where there were toilets. There are paid camping areas but they were all closed while we were there.

We arrived in the dark and left in the dark in late December 2024.  The pull-off was flat and about 150ft from highway 160.  There was a gate near our spot that was closed, presumably for the winter.  Although we could hear road traffic it didn't keep us awake. There was about 4" of snow on the road.

Had no issues, pretty close to town, highly recommend. T-mobile works from here

There were about 4 spots clustered together right after the second bridge (a little over 2 miles from the main road). i took the right fork after that towards the rainbow springs trailhead and didn’t find anything else, but there might be more spots if you take the left fork after the second bridge instead. at the end of october the paid campground you pass by is closed for the season, no water and vault toilets are locked

Reasonable prices & open during the winter.

The lake is beautiful and a great trail network around the camp, good for trail running.

area is pretty rocky so i would be careful with a ground tent. We stayed in our van and it was great.

Parked on edge of flat in trees close to creek. Nice ambient noise. Fire rings, metal and stone. Plenty of room. Two vault toilets were clean plenty if TP. Lots of trails, bridge over creek, lakes are near by foot.

Easy drive up 160 from Pagosa. Pitched the tent in the afternoon and headed to town for a soak.

Room for a couple cars and several tents. Not PERFECTLY flat for the tent-folk.

View is killer - we hit it at about peak color.

Stop here just for and sleep stop overnight. Road is well maintained. Several places to pull off the side of the road or actual sites too. We have a 35' 5th wheel and had no problems menivering the area. Nice lake with a parking lot at the end the turn around at if you wish to take the road all the way to the end.

Unfortunately the gates go this campground were locked!

Junction Creek campground is a lovely place to stay. The price is good, the hosts are just soo friendly and helpful. The site was even swept clean of pine needles as the toilets are very fresh. 

The whole experience was very good with well spaced sites and flat ground all between the trees. 

There is great walking and mountain biking right from camp too! Enjoy!

snow on ground 9/22/2024 no cell  wet roads