Best Dog-Friendly Camping near San Luis, CO

Absolutely beautiful Sand dunes in the mountains, it actually smells like an ocean beach and makes you feel like your on another world. The Dunes are 30 square miles and you can camp anywhere in them with a free permit available at the visitor center, just have to hike in past the first ridge aka the day use area. It's tent camping only, and no pets are allowed in the back country dunes. You also need to pack everything you need in with you and leave no trace. The winds blow often and hard, moving enough Sand to cover you tracks in minutes. The views of the sky and stars are absolutely mesmerizing, one of the most beautiful Sand fields in the world. The creek that runs through the day use area can fluctuate in size daily, it wasn't high when we were there, but it was still flowing half way through the day use area. A must see destination if your in the San Luis Valley.

This is a very cool place. It is high above the San Luis valley, with a great view of the dunes in the distance, and amazing sunsets. If you go, reserve online before you get there or the moment that you get there. It was a little confusing that you couldn’t just pay with cash as we used to be able to do, and you had to find a decent cell signal and go onto recreation.gov, and look at availability, and enter your credit card in, etc. Anyhow, the location is awesome, and would be just perfect if you could just pay cash for those of us that role of the old school way.

Stayed here two nights while visiting Great Sand Dunes, because the Pinon Flats campground at the park had already booked up basically six months to the day in advance - but very glad we stayed here instead.  The views of the San Luis valley were insanely beautiful.  Star gazing was spectacular.  The hike to the frozen waterfall was one of the highlights of our two-week trip.  And during our stay, a grass fire broke out at Sand Dunes forcing them to close the park for half a day, but since we were at Zapata Falls it didn't affect us and we were able to still spend the day hiking on the mountain.  The drive up is lengthy but the road is in pretty good shape, there was a crew working on it while we were there.

Piñon Flats is located one mile north of the Visitor Center. Any sites not reserved become available as first-come, first-served. Check out the National Park website for more details on this process.

This camping area has restrooms with sinks, toilets, dishwashing sink, and water spigots are available in all three loops. There is a fire grate and picnic table at each individual site, with multiple grates and tables at group sites. Some sites have trees for shade, while others are more out in the open.

Attractions: When you’re not sand boarding or sledding at the park, I recommend checking out nearby hiking or off roading. Zapata Falls, San Luis Wildlife Area, Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Montville Nature Trail, and the Medano Creek Lakes are all great places to check out!

Tip: When the Medano Creek is flowing in May and early June, expect all campsites to be reserved in advanced. This is a very popular time to visit so expect long lines, overflowing parking lots, and most campgrounds within 20 miles to be full. Plan in advance for this time of year or for a better experience, visit on weekdays.

Tuesday, October 4, 2022 Mosca campground; this is a Colorado state wildlife area(SWA). You will need and I was personally asked by the camp host to show my seasonal SWA pass. These are very easy to get for as little as 10 bucks if you are a senior or a junior. You can logon and order one they will ship it to you. You can stop in one of their offices and pick one up.
I spent a long time in September 2022 in loop B. There are signs indicating you need the pass to camp here but there were no signs about any limit to your stay unlike BLM and USFS which is commonly two weeks. It is fascinating to watch the weather move through the San Luis valley between the Sangre de Christo mountain range to the east and the San Louis mountain range to the west. At the entrance the sign says San Louis lake wildlife area. At one time this was a state park called San Louis Lake State Park. This park still has the paved loops with mostly gravel, some paved pull offs and drive-through's with electric pedestals, but the water has been turned off. The pit toilet I checked was locked. Even on Labor Day the park was less than 1/3 busy. The lake was completely dry but there were a few puddles after rain storms for the mosquito population to stay healthy. The lake is stocked when there's water in it. Alamosa is 20 miles away with a Walmart and anything else you might need. Also nearby are several attractions including the great Sandune's national park, Zapata falls with a campground, the Colorado reptile zoo, the UFO watch tower, and several public lands camping areas.

This campground has three loops, the first two have sites for RVs, and the last loop is for tents only. There are hiking paths from the campgrounds out to the dunes, and it's only a three minutes drive to the dunes parking area. There are bear boxes and all trash containers are bear proof, they do see bear here so use the boxes properly. It's $20 a night, or $10 if you have an Access pass, and you can stay 14 nights every 30 days. You will need to make reservations if you want to stay the full 14 days, as the walk up sites are few and far between and you'll have to move every couple of days if you don't have reservations. The Point of no Return 4wheel only road is at the beginning of the campground and has camping down it, but that's another campground and another review. There are plenty of trails to hike, both up the surrounding mountains, and to the dunes. The weather I'm August is beautiful, it can get hot so pack plenty of water with you. There is a free RV dump and fill station right before you get into the campground, great even if you don't stay at the park. The camp store is rarely open and limited on items, so prepare before you head here. The visitor center is not far and that's where you get your permits for overnight backpacking, parking, camping in the park. This place is like being on another world, views are truly breathtaking. If you only stop one place in the San Luis Valley make it the Great Sand Dunes National Park, you won't regret it.

This is my type of park. Located in a beautiful valley giving away to peaceful nights. At an altitude of 8100 feet I enjoyed pleasant days 76° and cool night 56°. Pet friendly park with WiFi and good Verizon cell service. Restrooms are still closed due to Covid 19. Took a day trip to Great Sand Dunes. Pass Port American card got me 50% off one night.

We loved this camp site! It was our first time to tent camp in Colorado and it was great. Several sites to choose from. Some have views of the dunes, some are more secluded. Bathrooms were clean. Very spacious tent site with a fire pit. Our tent sleeps 6 and we had no trouble fitting in the spot.

Our family of four (two adults and two kids + a dog) were lucky enough to tent camp at the Ramble Test Site location as early testers back in late September 2022. The campsite is modeled after the Signature Plus category and it is massive: three spread out and level tent pads with tie down hooks and each had its own electrical outlet that we used for tent lights and iphone charging. The campsite was well equipped with everything you'd need for an awesome camping trip. It had its own outdoor kitchen with a foot pump powered sink, drinkable water, a really nice Camp Chef stove, a solar powered outlet for small devices(plugged up the bluetooth speaker), a large shade structure, a picnic table, a fancy Solo Stove fire pit, six comfy but well built chairs, horseshoe pits and cornhole. The campsite was pet friendly and even had a dog leash connection hook. We used a trailer bathroom at this location but the location down near the Great Sand Dunes National Park will have its own bath house with flushing toilets, sinks, hot showers and baby changing areas. It also will include a mini shop that is QR code accessible for easy purchases of firewood and toiletries. I would highly recommend this campground for those looking for a genuine and upscale camping experience!

Medano Pass is the route it's believed that Pike took into the San Luis Valley, and is one of the only primitive roads accessing the valley. The road starts in the Great Sand Dunes National Park, and runs over the mountain and exits on RT 69, or if you want an easy up and hard way down the mountain start off RT 69 and go to the dunes. From 69 to the top of the pass takes about an hour, and you only need high clearance 4 wheel drive for the last two miles of the 12 mile journey to the top. That's not the route we took.

We started at Point of No Return in the Great Sand Dunes National Park, don't worry there are plenty of places to turn back if you get nervous. There's DEEP sand throughout the first six miles, I aired down to 50 from 65, LOL. I figured I'd make it on 35's 12.5" wide, but I can definitely see where as the Sand ets softer I would have gone down to the recommended 20psi. If your going over the mountain have an air compressor to fill your tires when you get to the rocks. There's air at the ampitheater parking lot at the National Park, but no air on RT 69 until you get to a gas station at least twenty miles away.

We made it no issues, buy squeezing a super crew cab, F 250 through was TIGHT! It was FUN though, and my God the place is breathtaking!

Campsites start about five miles in and are spread all the way to the top of Medano Pass. This is National Preserve land, and it is primitive camping. There are fire pits and bear boxes, use the bear boxes as bear encounters are frequent. The sites are clearly marked, and nice size. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO TAKE A TRAILER, if you do you won't make it, I promise you that.

The Park, Preserve, and Forrest boundaries are clearly marked. To camp along the Great Sand Dunes National Park and the Preserve area of the road you must have a permit, free at the visitor center. I suggest reservations. After the Preserve it is a National Forrest and its first come first serve primitive camping only. You can stay for up to 14 days, as with most National land.

The 12 mile trip up from the Park takes about 4 hours, yes it's that rough. AND you will stop alot to take in the amazing views.

Even if you don't camp, take the drive, it's worth it. You will need high clearance 4 wheel drive, all wheel drive will not cut it here.

Campground Review

What a cool place to cool off near the Sand Dunes. There are plots for RVs as well as tents. The campground hasn't been open more than a year and a half, and some areas are still taking shape and overall the campsite is still figuring itself out. While some sites are well established, there's a decent amount of open flat land people were camping on as well. This place used to be a tilapia farm and there's still some pools around the place with large fish. There are a few ponds with frogs too, which is cool, but also means pack the earplugs as these guys are an alarm clock you can't snooze in the AM.

The main attraction of this place for families has to be the pool, which also has a basic restaurant with grill food that's reasonably priced. There's also a separate adult only area within the pool rec center called "The Green Room" which has a bar and various temperature level hot tubs, a wading pool, and a sauna.

There is also a basketball court, coin operated showers and laundry, water hook ups, and electric hookups.

What's a little awkward about this place (as of May 2017) is the showers are a combo shower/toilet room, and there are two of them to service this whole camp when the pool rec area is closed (10pm-10am). There was another single service bathroom around the back of the rec building, but not well marked. While there are 2 port-o-potties (well maintained, to their credit), they would do well to add more facilities for the growing campground space, especially since checkout is 11am so most people want to use the bathrooms before they hit the road.

Gear Review

As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get products from time to time - today I am testing the Outdoor Travel Pack from Green Goo. Inside the plastic carry case (probably a good airport toiletry bag when these things get used up) it comes with two lip balms, some bug spray repellent, and two different salves - a pain relief and a first aid. Green Goo is a company based out of Lyons, CO and they definitely know how to cater to the drier air climate out here. Keeping yourself from getting cracked hands, feet, and lips is a constant struggle and so I'm always looking for good products to help me win the war. When your lips are begging for moisture, these balms are awesome because almost on contact does it start to feel like my lips are getting hydrated. The taste/flavors are good choices too, and not overpowering. I also am not a fan of lip balms that flake when you apply or leave a glossy finish, and this did neither.

The bug spray was nice for the flies, and it felt good knowing when I was spraying the stuff around my dog or campsite that if residue was getting anywhere, it wasn't a big deal since their products are made with all natural ingredients. Odor was also fine.

The First Aid salve was a savior, as we were camping in South Colorado in a town near Great Sand Dunes National Park and the basically desert climate dried out my feet pretty bad. I applied some salve when I woke up in the morning and before long my foot was already looking better. It felt better and when I put my sock on over the salve it didnt feel greasy or slippery. I continue to use it 3 days later and my feet are looking and feeling better.

My recommendation is to hit the sand dunes NOT at midday like me when it's hottest from the sun, but this and the pain relief salve were great for my dog. Yep, the products are safe around pets and what I decided to do after taking the dog out on the dunes (we turned around once it was super hot) was apply some to hit paws to help with the heat. Cracked paw pad protection for the win!

Overall this is a great line of products. They're easy to pack, do their job, and are all natural and safe around pets. What's not to like?