Best Campgrounds near Powderhorn, CO

Summary: Absolutely cannot recommend this for camping families.

This review covers our extensive stay in Tiny Houses 3 and 2, and Campsite 3 within the park, from the perspective of a former housekeeper. 

Condensed Breakdown of Sites:

*Tiny House 3

Pros:

-Pretty, decent cooking supplies and storage.

Cons:

-Broken futon (could not be pulled out for sleeping).

-No window screens and a loosely installed loft window, leading to bugs indoors (my son woke up with a yellow jacket on his pillow).

-Questionable cleanliness: found what looked like dried blood on the bathroom window.

-Lack of basic supplies: no refills on paper goods or towels; we had to purchase our own.

*Tiny House 2:

Pros:

-Great river view, bigger refrigerator

Cons:

-Extremely uncomfortable sleeping: both futon (worn down to metal) and loft mattress (hard, poor quality) were unusable. Our request to switch to a tent site was denied by management.

-Hot water safety hazard due to recent plumbing work.

-Persistent shortage of towels, paper goods, dishes, and blankets, requiring us to continue to re-purchase essentials.

-Lofts in both tiny houses lacked proper window coverings.

*Campsite 3 (Tent Site):

-Severe safety concerns: The electric hookup was cut. Police later confirmed this area is problematic due to loiterers by the creek area at the end of the road, who also regularly enter the campsites at night. We woke up to this more than once.

-On that note: Do NOT camp on the left side of the tree.

-No water access closer than the bathrooms.

-The campsite bathrooms were left with no toilet paper for days, and the flimsy garbage can was rarely emptied, leading to nightly animal intrusions.

-Unlevel ground covered with thick tree roots, making tent setup difficult and uncomfortable.

Conclusion: Severely overpriced for little value: This site offers few basic features, inconsistent maintenance/landscaping, (why is the smaller campsite tended for hours while #3 is ignored, occupied or not?) and feels like a neglected patch of yurt yard space compared to half-priced nearby sites with full amenities.

Staff:

-Housekeeping: While kind, professional, and often more helpful than management, they are clearly overworked, under-supported, and not properly supplied, often having to use their own resources. (Purchased tp for bathrooms)

-Mgmt speaks for itself throughout the review. 

-Maintenance/landscaping: Also speaks for itself.

Detailed Experience:

Our family extended our initial 2 week stay based on mgmt assurances that we could remain through June, with the intention to apply for permanent residence. This decision had major life and financial implications for us. However, the manager, Megan, later outright denied these conversations, engaging in bewildering gaslighting behavior that destroyed any trust.

Beyond the systemic issues with unmaintained accommodations and lack of basic supplies, several alarming incidents highlighted severe mismanagement and safety concerns:

Inconsistent Rules & Safety: Despite being advertised previously as "pet friendly," no specification on dogs-only in the listing, our cat (displayed in the office in a bubble carrier) was only deemed an issue days later. My child and partner were also unfairly hassled by maintenance for playing by the river where others went unbothered.

Security Failures: Constant issues with door codes, leaving new arrivals stranded. We had to help more than one person check in at night. The intentional cutting of campsite electricity, bathroom security codes with cameras faced out, pointed to underlying safety problems that were confirmed later.

Police Incident: After cancelling our remaining booking due to the cumulative issues and managerial deceit, our departure became a nightmare. Despite having over two hours until the next check-in, the manager, Megan, unprovoked, aggressively yelled at and threatened us in front of our 12-year-old son. (Important Note 1: We had permission to check-out later previously so long as we left things how we found them.) My visually disabled partner, who was on an important call at the time, did not perceive her threats. I pleaded for her to let us continue to pack in peace. She called the police regardless. The police who arrived were exceptionally professional and apologetic, even helping us move our belongings. They explicitly confirmed our suspicions by stating, "you aren't the type of people we usually get called here for," while gesturing towards the problematic area by the creek.

Important Note 2: At one point Megan offered to let us stay in the corner of #3 while a different/shorter booking was there so we wouldn’t have to move far between bookings, and told us not to mention this to anyone if asked. This did not end up happening, to my relief, as it made me uncomfortable. She also told us to rent a truck at Home Depot to move our things, as we don't own a car, but this no longer is available, so please stop suggesting it. A smaller subaru was all we could get, and it took longer to move than expected.

We ultimately found a new place with clear terms, fair prices, and all necessary campsite features at half the cost – a stark contrast to this property. This experience was a bullet dodged.

For families, we strongly advise you to avoid this place entirely.

Also: Beware of off-leash dogs, including one large dog often seen and commented on in past reviews, and constant noise from loud permanent residents and motorcycles driving through the park between 11 PM - 1 AM.

I hope this helps others avoid the issues that we experienced. 

Thank you.