The best STANDARD (TENT/RV) camping near
Rye , COLORADO

There are many beautiful campsites here. Tenting sites are separated from RV sites, which I appreciated. There are beautiful fire pits and standard picnic tables. Night temps were good for car camping in winter months. Hikes of any length can be started right from the campground or a short drive away. Maximum stay allowed is 72 hours.

One of few places to camp close to Great Sand Dunes NP in winter months. Electric sites with semi-covered picnic table and fire pits. I think toliet were closed for the season but didn’t try. Colorado hunting/fishing license required for sites

My relatives live in nearby Trinidad, Pueblo, and Colorado Springs. This site is convenient to all three. We wanted to stay at the state park in Trinidad and in the summer, we definitely would do that. But it’s December and it’s cold and this park has full hookups unlike the state park (electric only). And we are staying for a week. We picked a spot near the building with bathrooms but on arrival we were told that building was closed so we ended up being at one of the furthest spots from the office (which also has bathrooms and showers). Their website says that they “are open and fully functional” and we would have chosen a spot closer to the office building if the closed bathrooms were indicated. I told the check in lady this at check in and she didn’t have anything to say, didn’t offer us a closer spot, and the website still doesn’t mention the closed facilities five days later.

The site 6E has a sewer hookup that is fairly far from the electric and we needed our 20 foot sewer hose to reach it. It’s on a slight uphill slant so some creative engineering was required to dump. The water was frozen at our site because the provided heat tape wasn’t functioning. I had to re-tape it with some heat tape I brought and it thawed out and has worked fine all the other nights. The neighboring site (empty) was not frozen. Bad luck. The only dumpster is near the office and it’s a long walk and was very full one day.

That aside, the park is good for our needs. The office bathrooms have a code and are clean with hot showers and very few people using them. That’s one of the best parts of this park. I’ve included a couple photos for your reference. WiFi works fine. Can’t get the cable to work but that’s probably me. There’s also a nice playground and some interesting looking cabins in various styles. Since it’s December, it has snowed and it is beautiful. The sites aren’t very busy in December so we’ve had quiet neighbors. Some people look to be full time but the sites are clean and uncluttered. The park feels safe and while it isn’t very close to any shopping except a couple of gas stations, and is surrounded by fields on this side and the highway in front, the isolation keeps it quiet and pleasant compared to some other parks we saw in neighboring cities. Very dog friendly and most dog owners keep their dogs on leash and the off leash ones were supervised well. Easy access to Trinidad (check out Purgatoire River Trading Co for some cool shopping, also the town has great artwork), Pueblo (about 30 minutes away), and Colorado Springs.

Nice campground with a trail from the campground to the dunes. We visited August 2020. Visitor Center was closed inside due to social distancing but you could order through a window to get what you needed. Road and parking are nice and paved with sites big enough for a tent or two. There’s bear bins at each site along with fire rings and picnic tables. Plenty of trees to offer shade. Bathrooms were clean but no showers. Cell service was limited. Some sites were ADA accessible which was nice. The campsites didn’t offer a lot of privacy but you aren’t out in the open either. It was a blast being so close to the dunes and exploring. Just make sure you fill up your gas tank before driving to the park

I did a late check-in because it was the only place that I knew would be able to help me. I checked-in, set up our teardrop, electrical, turned the heater on, unhooked, etc… And there was 2 things missing on the after-hours paperwork… The "secret passcode" to the restrooms, and the Wi-Fi password.

I walked back to the office in 12F temperatures to see if there was any kind of after-hours numbers…

There was a sign on the window that said " have an emergency? Dial 911, have concerns "after hours" with a local number… I called the local number 3 times… And finally left a voicemail. "hi, my name is Joshua, we did just did late check-in, and there is an area for the bathroom code on the map, but it was blank, can you please call me to let me know what it is… It's an emergency, please"

That was 1:14am. I finally received a text back at 7:09am with the code. At 1:50am we decided that we could stay at a boondocking location with these benefits for free… The reason we chose a KOA is for the bathroom, shower, electric, and solid access to WiFi… I left a voicemail letting them know that we were leaving and didn't expect to be charged for the night (they had us leave our credit card number on an envelope, and throw it into the mail slot).

There is a public rest stop across the highway from them that has a 24/7 public restroom and rest stop.

The next morning… About 45 minutes after (what I found out, was the owner of the KOA) texted me the bathroom code, I get a call from the "host"… They tell me that their number is on the front and back door (never saw it, took pictures to take back to my car) and they never received a call. I explained to them that the basic needs of a person are: water (not provided in the winter), food (we are prior to going), and shelter… That's the challenge… What does shelter mean… Personally, it can mean anything you want it to mean. Objectively… It means the "basic amentities a person is willing to pay for". Access to a bathroom, access to water, and a place to sleep… I had a place to sleep… So I suppose I should be grateful, but I was offered the SAME deal at TA Express.

When they called me the next day, they spent 5 minutes trying to explain why I was stupid for missing the non-existent sign with the "correct number" that would've "stuck out as necessary on the front and back door". Then tried to tell me that I was expecting too much to have after-hours access to the restrooms because "late night check-ins have 'destroyed' the bathrooms" and "if I'd been put in that position, I'd understand, that this was the way all of them were doing it now", despite 30+ facilities I've been to that have SOME reasonable way to allow me to use the bathrooms after hours.

The explained to me, like it was a favor, that they wouldn't be charging my credit card for the 36 minutes of (denied amenity) occupation…

When I said that it sounded like we didn't have anything to discuss, they promptly hung up on me. So…

Don't stay here unless you have no other options. The office manager is rude and unresponsive unless you only travel between 9am and 6pm… And don't expect customer service AT. ALL.. .

This is a great campground. Beautiful views, plenty of space and access to some great hiking.

The hike to Zapata Falls was very crowded, even when the campground wasn't full; a lot of people make the drive just for the falls. I would highly recommend the hike to Zapata Lake. It's strenuous but beautiful.

The road to the campground is very rough. Be prepared to go slow, especially if you have a small car. I have a small car and driving this road was one of the most stressful things I've ever done. Take your time. And let people who are going faster than you pass.

We stayed here the first week o f November 2020. Not all sites were open and the park was not crowded at all. The bathrooms were open and the weather was beautiful. The sites are all pull through and private. We had lots of space behind us to stretch out in. A picnic table was also placed in a space where shade would be provided on a concrete slab. Electric and water at the site and a dump station at the exit.

Not far from Great Sand Dunes NP, this state park has some very nice spots and a easy hike to the falls. We were there the last ski day of the year in April and we had the entire campground to ourselves. Maybe that's why I liked it so much. :)

Leave no trace.

We came here thinking it was a converted BLM land on the off season but were corrected by a knock on the door in the morning to inform us that we need a hunting or fishing permit to stay here.

We were misled by other online resources and just wanted to help others out!!

Beautiful, peaceful and most importantly a very clean campground for adventurers and families alike! My girlfriend and I loved our stay here!