Red Canyon Park

This was my first time solo tent camping. It went well. The space had a fire ring and picnic table. I might have been the only person at the park and it was quite peaceful!

Loves the views and location. Lots of bugs when it gets hot. They flies bite.

Cañon City local here! Red Canyon Park is a Cañon City-owned "mountain park." Fun to explore by day through the little canyon or along the rocks above, there's a walk for everyone here. Best enjoyed in fall and spring, summer is quite hot. The campsites are basic and roadside. Some are more level than others. Several of the camps have easy access to some of the rock features to enjoy. A couple of things to be aware of: the road through the park can get rutted from time to time. And if it ends up raining a lot for our desert climate, the road can turn into a muddy mess. As well, Red Canyon Park has been known locally as a kind of party spot for the young crowd, hopefully not on the night you're there and not adjacent your site. There is a single vault toilet at the bottom of the canyon, but don't expect toilets at the sites.

This is a beautiful park with great dispersed sites! We went quite a ways in and found a site for our campervan. Needed leveling blocks but saw several occupied sites more level. Very secluded!

So many choices, with BLM on top. Few regular basic spots easy access, above 4wd for some spots. Beautiful views and a lot of exploring.

Some great spots close to red bluffs and seasonal river. Went in the autumn and hike along the river bed and climb the falls. Vaulted toilets, fire rings, covered tables and Flatish camp spots. Free. Stayed the full three days and loved the hikes and quiet without anyone close by.

Great quiet beautiful campsite. Other reviews are accurate on getting to campsites. Toilets not bad. They are not close to every campsite. Not all campsites have tables but I think most do have fire rings. Very quiet dispersed sites. A few gnats but nothing I needed spray for. Definitely would recommend a stay.

The road was easy for our loaded down Subaru to handle. Stunning red rock formations and the campsites are spread out. It was easy to find an available spot Saturday afternoon.

Nice picnic tables and latrines at picnic areas (not at campsites)

BRING BUG SPRAY! Mosquitos were a bit annoying but DEET helped.

BE SMART ABOUT FOOD! We did have a bear encounter as we were driving out of the park.

there was no tables except for the picnic only areas but that’s only from where my car could get to. i drive a fairly large car that has enough ground clearance for most things but there’s major dips in the roads. bright side tho there’s AMZING crystal finds here another down side there’s cacti mats everywhere and not safe for pets/dogs. also a termite cloud came as we were leaving our camp site. also (pt.2) every campsite was literally a few feet from the road and we heard rock slides happening often. theres no designated fire pits only rock pile ones. views were incredible tho

Great secluded campsites that most vehicles would be able to get to. Entered from Red Canyon Rd and the first .25 miles is private land before entering the property. Drove the length of the park to scope sites until we got to BLM property, where the road gets much worse. Rock formations and hiking around was absolutely beautiful! About 3 group sites and quite a few smaller ones. The only downside was I think we went at the worst time for gnats. They made it almost unbearable for us and our dogs. Constantly in your ears, eye, nose… We’d look at the dogs and there would be 20+ gnats around their eyes. Hoping to go back later in the season when it’s cooler and less bugs but overall a beautiful area.

The park is fairly remote from Cañon City and has plenty of trails to explore. Sites are large and relatively easy to access by dirt road. The area gets a fair amount of activity from others hiking and horseback riding. I stayed for 3 nights in the middle of April and it stayed above 40 degrees. It’s a good option for the colder season when camp sites further into the mountains can still drop below freezing.

This was my first trip to Red Canyon and it won’t be my last. Views were terrific, whether you want something a bit more open or further into the canyon where it’s surrounded by gorgeous red rocks. I chose an open site and if you do, beware of the wind. Some sites had picnic tables and fire rings, and one site I saw had an awning which is perfect for picnics. Most of the spots were true primitive camp spots as was mine. Not a difficult drive at all and any vehicle can handle it if you go slow. I went mid-November and only saw two or three other cars. I imagine it’s gorgeous when it snows!

Red Canyon Park was absolutely beautiful! Campsites were very spread out, and I barely saw anyone drive by the whole time. So many fun places to explore, like climbing on rocks to see the mountains around you! I wish I could have stayed more than one night.

You will lose cell service about 10 minutes before getting to the park. Once you're there, there's a long dirt road to the sites that's pretty rocky, but my 2002 CR-V did just fine. 

I didn't see any numbers on the sites, but I stayed at one of the first 5 that I saw. Would absolutely recommend and stay again next time I'm traveling into CO Springs!

My husband, two friends, and I road tripped all the way from Indiana to camp at Red Canyon Park. The views were so beautiful, they looked fake! The mountains were gracefully uplifting the sun as it shone down on the beautiful canyon. There were plenty of views to take in and sights to see. Absolutely no cell service for miles, dirt road to get to the site, and secluded area. Which is nice, if you’re into that. Haha, anyways, we had a fantastic time and hope to come back one day.

There are quite a few more camping spots than I was expecting, a couple group sites also. Definitely go early on a Friday if you want a spot. Not many trails but a lot to explore. There are only a couple sites that have a covering.

Lots of Blm and more trails on the other side of the park. Very pretty but 4wd definitely required for most of the rock roads. We had a blast.

We came mid February and arrived to a bit of snow. We saw one more camper drive by the entire weekend. Other than that, it was completely quiet and we felt nice and secluded.

We took one of the first spots we saw because the view was nice and we were a bit unsure of what the roads were going to be like If we kept going with our trailer. Since it had just snowed, we didn’t venture too far so I’m not sure how many sites there really were.

Absolutely zero cell service which is nice, but be prepared. The dirt road felt well maintained and the spots felt very ample and spacious.

Spaces feel very clearly mapped out so you know pretty quick if you are parked in a designated spot. Signs say that you can stay for up to 72 hours.

Land at the sites themselves were flat and had fire pits-some spots look like they could fit multiple trailers/tents.

Really nice camp spots with beautiful views! Very peaceful at night. Saw some dear and rabbits near our campsite.

We found this campsite pretty easily in the middle of the night. Some spots have picnic tables and fire pits while others are just pull in spots. We were camping in the car so we just pulled in. The road is dirt and goes for 7+ miles if you keep going to exit the park a different way. Be warned that after 2/3 miles the road get extremely rough for several miles to a point that we considered turning our 4Runner around. Cars and campers cannot make it past a certain point. Decent views, mostly just good for a free camp spot.

We decided to drive the Phantom Canyon/Shelf Road Loop and camp. We should have secured the campsite first. Both of the main campgrounds were full so out of desperation we drove into Red Canyon. There aren’t many amenities, picnic tables and pit toilets. But what it does have is solitude and really cool red rock formations.

This area is a good (free!) alternative if the campground close to Shelf Road are full.

Turn on Road F24 and drive past the private property (well marked). The first larger camping area is about 1.7 miles in. There aren't really separated sites, but there are a few picnic tables and fire rings. Also, there is one metal shelter should the weather turn on you. We had a lot of tents and were able to find flat spaces for all of them. There is also a couple (fairly clean) pit toilets and trash cans. You can stay up to 72 hours. There was only one or two cars there when we arrived late on a friday night in spring. 

The area also has some really cool rock formations - but only to look at unfortunately as they are on private property. However, there are plenty of rocks to scramble up on for a view of the formations that are public. Cool pinon, sage, and cacti nearby with the occasional mule deer wandering past. 

If the first picnic area is full, there are more campsites further along the road.