after reading the reviews and spending the day in salida, we tried our luck looking for a spot here around 5pm on a saturday in mid august. while the signs say only camp in numbered spots, we found that some of the sites were sprawling and ambiguous as to which numbered site the space belonged to. we ended up setting up in a beautiful spot overlooking the valley at/near site 15. before deciding on that spot, we did drive up past the cluster of numbered spots to see what else was available, per the reviews. while we didn’t find anything open, the views were incredible along the way. definitely advise having 4WD - our camper van struggled.

highly recommend this spot - the colors of the rocks and sky and landscape will take your breath away.