East Ridge Campground in Royal Gorge

Overall: We LOVED this place! Beautiful, CLEAN, quiet and free.

Directions: Follow the signs instead of google maps. There comes a point shortly after turning onto 3A that you'll see a sign that points straight ahead to the campground. Soon after that, google maps wants you to turn slightly left onto a dirt road. Keep going straight!! Either way will get you there, but if you follow the signs you'll get to stay on the paved road much longer. Near the top of the winding hill, you'll see another sign pointing left to a dirt road - this is the one you want (by this point, google maps will have caught on and will recalculate you). Follow the signs in - the road's not bad at all, we were in our Ford F-150 and kept it on 2WD the whole time - and when you get to a fork, bear RIGHT. You'll see the campground sign ahead and will have your choice of turning onto the north (left) or south (right) loops.

Site: We stayed on the south loop at site 4 and it was wonderful! The sites are a little close together, but everyone was quiet and kept to themselves - not a big deal at all. We arrived at 4:30pm on a Friday and there were two spots left. Not sure about the north loop - signs and other reviews indicate that the north loop is tent camping only, but there were a bunch of rigs over there. Secure trash cans throughout and pit toilets (no locks!), though no water. Each site on the south loop has a picnic table, tent pad, and fire ring. Our site was very clean! We were also surprised to get great cell phone AND internet service here.

Hiking: What we really loved about this place was its access to some great hiking trails! Once in the south loop, you'll see a wooden sign that says "trails" near campsite 7\. We took the Canyon Rim trail to the Overlook trail and got some gorgeous views of the gorge (out and back hike, a little over 4 miles). Also recommend taking the Canon Vista trail and then turning right on Far out to make it a 2 mile loop (be sure to take the Le View spur for the best views of the gorge)! The Smores trail is a fun little 1 mile loop around the campsite, good for stretching your legs once you arrive. It was late April when we went and the trails weren't crowded at all. This is a popular mountain biking area too.

Pets: We brought our dog, and lots of other campers did too. Everyone was very respectful and kept their dogs leashed. This is not the place to let your dog run off leash, please don't be that person. Aside from the fact that these are the camp rules, there are a lot of cows that wander pretty close to the campsite - there was a cowpie right by our fire ring, although they didn't get THAT close while we were there. They were close enough for our dog to see though - be aware if your dog is the type that will run up to other animals! We had no issues and she had a blast hiking the trails with us.

Peaceful + access to great hikes!

We go here in the early Spring when it is still chilly in Denver. Really nice fire pits. There are some other more dispersed sites as well. Good trail network around that have some really pretty overlooks of the gorge.

Free with a good view

Paved &amp; gravelled roads, hiking trails, free camping, sightseeing, off roading, atv, handicap accessible, dogs off leash, picnic tables, firepits, kid friendly.  This is also near Royal Gorge Bridge where there is a large facility to zipline, tram ride or walk across the gorge.

Free camping, private, quiet, & beautiful

The site was really nicely set up on the top of a hill. Plenty of spots open when we got there on a Thursday night, also, ITS FREE! Lots of nice trails nearby that are rated easy. Beautiful spot to watch a sunset. The only drawback was the bathrooms, which were filled with flys and trash from previous campers, there was a fire ban in place at the time, and lots of bugs, which wasn’t a bother for us, but maybe for others. Nice and warm for the elevation, especially at nice, which was especially nice considering the other campsites we stayed at that were about 20 degrees cooler at night. 

Pretty spot with a great overlook

If you're looking for a quiet place to pitch a tent, pull up a camper, hang your hammock, or car camp next to Royal Gorge- this is it! We slept in our hammocks surrounded by mountains and trees. It was peaceful and a perfect spot to watch the sunset over the mountains. Just a couple minute drive from the Royal Gorge Park and the drive to get the the camp spot was gorgeous. The sites are FREE and away from each other for the most part. There are beautiful fire rings for the fall and winter, and a trail going out towards the mountains that we rode with our mountain bikes through. 10/10 would go back! 

Beautiful, primitive, QUIET

Right next to the Royal Gorge Bridge in Canon City Colorado, the highest suspension bridge in North America ! Do the Segway tour over the bridge!! 

Very nice

This campground was beautiful. There’s around 15-20 spots to pick from, most having great views. They have their own picnic table and fire ring. Campground has signs stating to only camp for 72 hours every 2 weeks. Has several bike trials that I assume you can also hike. Only take 20 minutes to get to town if you need to restock on anything. Vault toilets onsite, no water. Had full AT&amp;T coverage too. 

Perfect spot! 

The campsite itself was busy, but everyone was polite. I had neighbors on both sides. Very clean. The gorge is BEAUTIFUL. Got up early to climb into it and cook breakfast. Once you’re away from the tourist-y areas like the bridge, it feels like you have the whole place to yourself. Vault toilets, trash but not much else. Will definitely be coming back !

Wonderful 

Oct 10th 2020

Cañon City deserves a lot of praise for this fantastic spot that provides a great opportunity to enjoy all the views that the Royal Gorge has to offer.

The campground is accessible via dirt roads via CR-3A. 4WD isn’t necessary to get there, but be prepared for some bumps. The city was working on some improvements to the campground when we stayed here including a new parking lot, new picnic pads for some of the sites, and the creation of some new sites near the bathroom.

There are currently (6) sites on the south loop which can accommodate travel trailers. Some are slightly larger but a few are only big enough for a class C or van. There are no hookups at the sites and no common water available. Each site has a picnic pad with table and a level, mulched area that could be used as a tent pad. The campground and trails are pet friendly, but as with most places in the southern part of the state be on the lookout for cacti.

If you are looking for a great spot to do some dispersed camping, this campground is for you. Only 2 miles from Royal Gorge and 11 miles from Cañon City. Plenty of easy to moderate difficulty trails for hiking and biking. Be sure to take Canyon Vista to the Summit Trail; you won’t be disappointed!

Incredible views! An excellent place to boondock 

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

A wonderful getaway 

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.

Great Road Trip Campsite

Wonderful views of plains to the East and snow capped to peaks to the west.  The royal gorge rim trail goes right past the campground.  Like most rim sites it is prone to windy conditions.

Lovely VIews

We had a great time! The site fit our 38' RV just fine, the camp fire set up was clean and offered seating on the rocks with great views! The park was recently taken over by the city and is now $20 a night. Good hiking and biking trails.

Clean and nice views

A little tough to find with Waze and Google Maps cuz no physical address, only gps coordinates.  Make sure you stop in town and buy your own wood.  There’s a crazy drunk lady selling tons of it on the main road.  She’s cool tho.

Great view.  Very quiet.  Lots of privacy.  No showers or running water, but the restrooms are extremely clean.  The camp host are very friendly.  

We did tent/hammock only.  If you can’t handle a little wind, this isn’t for you.  It’s perfect for us.  You can park rv’s as well tho.



Seclusion at 6860ft

Stopped by on way view bridge to check out. Nobody camping there, great location. Some sites better than others. T-mobile 5G downloaded 76Mbps and 12upload. Visible not so hot on uploads with 88down &amp; almost 1 upload

72hr Dry camping, $20, excellent location 

I took my 3 1/2 year old here for her first camping adventure and we had a great time! It was easy to find and the dirt road is well kept. We found a great spot on a Saturday around noon and it was a perfect distance away from everything. It's about 5 minutes(1.2 mi) from the Royal Gorge bridge and about 4 mi from food, ice cream, or souvenirs. The only thing I wish was around the area is a body of water or a river. It was very hot and it would have been nice to be able to cool off a bit. The campsite was clean and level, and my daughter was able to run around and play without me having to worry at all. There was a trail right behind the site that we were able to walk down and explore as well. All the sites are pretty tight together and I was able to hear other campers conversations. That was one downfall. I would recommend this spot to anyone with a smaller rig or tent set up. It would definitely be a tight squeeze for a fifth wheel or RV.