Best Cabin Camping near Salida, CO

This campground is an absolute dump run by dishonest crooks. We stayed here in October on a night that it got below freezing and snowed. We were put in a cabin that had a 2-inch gap between the bottom of the door and threshold. The heater was more like a hair dryer and didn’t warm the cabin. It was 40 degrees in the cabin so we didn’t sleep. The floor crunched while walking on it and the platform bed was metal. When we got off the bed there was a loud bang. When we tried to get a refund from the owners she blamed us and said the problem was we didn’t understand rustic cabins. We have stayed in rustic cabins in the cold months for 10 years and never experienced this. There are many places in Buena Vista…take your business elsewhere.

We enjoyed our stay at the Royal Gorge RV Resort. The new owners were in the process of updating the bathhouse which will look beautiful from what I could see! The sites were level and well-kept. The camp store was well stocked with firewood, camping supplies, a s’mores bar, cold drinks and lots of Colorado made items. The view from the hot tub was amazing! The fire pits on the patio were cozy and inviting. The location was perfect, close to the Royal Gorge bridge, rafting in the Arkansas River, hiking trails, the Royal Gorge Route Railroad and several great restaurants. The playground was very kid friendly and the giant jumping pillow was super fun! We are already planning our next visit!!

Just going to start by saying that camping is not why people come here -- it’s for the waters!  The spa offers numerous pools and tubs at varying temperatures so you can find your joyful spot– be sure to check out the cold plunge pool as well. 

The RV spots are on one side of the large parking lot, with the hook up spaces in the middle, with non-electric spots running around two of the outside sides. We were in one of these spots because we run completely on solar to save money. There are zero trees around the lot so sunshine was plentiful. 

The bathrooms were clean, modern and nice, as was the small, shared kitchen where we could do dishes. In addition to camping the resort offers hotel rooms, private yurts, tipis, conference rooms and other hotel services. In addition to the soaking being included in the price, so was a buffet style breakfast and dinner. The food was delicious, and veggie/ organic friendly. The whole experience was very reasonably priced and relaxing!

There’s a lot of hiking nearby, in the mountains to the north, west and east- but definitely a drive away. We didn’t check out the walking path in the spa, but they did offer yoga classes in the yurt as well as private massages services and a host of other spa treatments. 

There aren’t a lot of nearby towns that offer larger grocery stores, Crestone has a small co-op grocery as does Buena Vista, so if you are planning on cooking for yourself, come prepared.

Riverside RV Park is on the outskirts of Salida, Colorado just off of US-50. The Arkansas River flows through the campground at a sedate flow. Our campsite (#8) was right next to and parallel to the river which provided some soothing sounds at night. It took a couple of tries to back our 20 foot travel trailer into the spot. The gravel site was level side to side but sloped slightly back to front. The bathrooms and showers are clean but a bit worn, and they are across the river bridge from the campsites and up some fairly steep steps. My wife is handicapped, so we had to drive around to the bathhouse. 

The campground is next door to a Sonic Drive-In and across the highway from a Wal-mart. It is within a half hour drive to rafting, horseback riding, hot springs, trailheads to the outback and high mountains.

We enjoyed our stay and would definitely return.

I am not exactly sure why this area looked so much more dusty than other photos I had seen but when pulling into this campground I was a little shocked and underwhelmed.     I am used to KOA camps having some of the best amenities in the camping world but this one seemed a bit outdated.   While they did have some nice amenities, the campsites themselves seemed to have little to no shade and were more dust and gravel than anything.    

As a tent camper I have slept on some hard surfaces before and learned to pad my site accordingly for comfort, however there were a lot of large rocks in the area where tents would be located which were rather large.   With these present it is hard to imagine other tent campers having a positive experience here or having moved them for comfort.   Perhaps the best bet when staying here would be one of the unique cabins or RV options.   

Tent sites were very high considering they have no hook up connections.   After tax $40 this just was a bit over the top in my opinion.     The no frills style of camping in this area has a picnic table and nothing else to justify the price point. 

A positive to staying in the area was the proximity to many hiking trails and places to explore along the river.    I noticed that within a 5 minute drive I could easily be in several access points for recreation opportunities ranging from fishing to hiking.    The snowcapped mountain passes were only a short distance as was the ghost town of St Elmo.     This is a huge positive for the campsite.

One thing I really did enjoy about this site was the camp cook area which is accessible to everyone staying at the park.  In addition, there are a lot of small prairie dogs which make for a fun view throughout camp, especially near the road way.

On a negative note however, the bathrooms were outdated and in need of some TLC and the outdoor recreation space was in need of some soft space as opposed to the rocky landscape.