Established Camping
Chalk Lake
About
National Forest
PSICC
Overview
Chalk Lake__Campground is located in beautiful Chaffee County, Colorado. This popular facility sits near Chalk Lake and is within 4 miles of a private hot springs resort, making it an ideal location for rest and relaxation. "First come, first served" does not necessarily mean that the site will be available when you get there. Someone may get there before you. This is a popular campground and is normally full starting on Friday, sometimes as early as Thursday, so plan accordingly.
Recreation
Chalk Lake is located next to the campground and is a great family fishing spot with rainbow, brook and brown trout. Motorized boats are not allowed on the lake. Chalk Creek also offers fishing, and it's best above Cascade Falls. Plenty of off-road vehicle trails are near the campground. Recommended rides include Mount Antero, Baldwin Lake, Tincup Pass, Hancock Pass, Pomeroy Lakes, and__Hancock Lakes. The Cascade Loop Trail is located across the street from the campground. The Chalk Creek Trailhead__ is about 2 miles east of the campground which gives hikers access to the extensive Colorado Trail, which extends nearly 500 miles from Denver to Durango.
Facilities
The campground offers single-family sites, a few of which are accessible. Each site is equipped with a picnic table and campfire ring. Accessible vault toilets are provided. Firewood is sold on-site. Sites: #4-9, and 14 "walk-up", first-come, first-served sites. All other sites are reservable. Site #1 is used by the host from mid-May to mid-September. After that time it is available as a "walk-up", first-come, first-served site.
Natural Features
The campground__sits at an elevation of 9,000 feet in Chalk Creek Canyon, which gets its name from the soft, white, chalk-like kaolinite canyon walls. Kaolinite is a clay mineral that was deposited by percolating hot springs. A variety of wildlife makes its home in the area, including chipmunks, hummingbirds, birds of prey and mule deer.
Nearby Attractions
Take a day trip to the historic ghost town of St. Elmo, just 15 minutes from the campground. An old saloon, county courthouse and many other historic structures remain from the days of its mining glory. Rock hounds come to the area in search of quartz and aquamarine. The city of Salida and Town of Buena Vista are only a short drive away where visitors can enjoy distinctive restaurants, unique shops, incredible art galleries and a large selection of antique shops. The area boasts more than 100 miles of Arkansas River to raft, fish, float or kayak in, as well as fifteen 14,000 ft mountains. Visitors can choose from recreational activities like hiking, biking, ATV/UTV riding, kayaking, rafting, fishing, horseback riding, zipping and swimming.
Charges & Cancellations
Cancellations Individual Campsites: Cancellations up to 2 days before a reservation start date incur a $10.00 cancellation fee.__ A visitor who cancels a reservation the day before or on the day of arrival will pay a $10.00 service fee AND forfeit the first night's use fee including tax and applicable add-on for a campsite. Cancellations for a one-night reservation will forfeit the entire amount paid and will not be subject to an additional service fee. No-Shows A no-show visitor is one who does not arrive at a campground and does not cancel the reservation by check-out time on the day after the scheduled arrival date. Staff will hold a campsite until check-out time on the day following the arrival date. No-shows are assessed $20.00 service fee and forfeit the first night's rate, taxes and applicable add-on for a campsite.____ Refunds Visitors may submit a refund request through their Recreation.gov profile within 7 days of the end date of their reservation. Refunds will not be issued after the 7 days has ended. Refunds for debit or credit card payments will be issued as a credit to the original bank or credit card used to pay. For check or cash purchases, Recreation.gov will mail a Treasury check for refunds of cash, check, or money order payments to the address associated with the reservation. Treasury check refunds may take up to 6-8 weeks to arrive.__ In the event of an emergency closure, the Recreation.gov team or facility manager will refund all fees and will attempt to notify you using the contact information within the Recreation.gov visitor profile.
Access
- Drive-InPark next to your site
- Walk-InPark in a lot, walk to your site.
Stay Connected
- WiFiUnknown
- VerizonUnknown
- AT&TUnknown
- T-MobileUnknown
Site Types
- Tent Sites
- RV Sites
- Standard (Tent/RV)
Features
For Campers
- Trash
- Firewood Available
- Drinking Water
- Toilets
- Alcohol
- Pets
- Fires
Mountain Delights
Fees: $22.00 tents on tent pad only $7.00 day use only fee if not camping
Fee station available fees are payable by cash, check or money order
Check out 12:00 noon Quiet hours 10:00 pm to 6:00 am
Number of sites 18
Open mid May- end of Sept
Picnic table, fire ring/grill, trash, pit toilet, handpump for water
Before Memorial Day sites may be FCFS and hosts and water may not be available. During peak season dates, some sites can be reserved by calling 800-444-6777 or on line at recreation.gov
Small trailers, RV's or tents as the sites are small. If you are not able to obtain a campsite you are not allowed to camp anywhere going up the mountain but if you go on up to St Elmo you might find some dispersed camping.
There are amazing mountain views with a beautiful stream running quickly down hill. The drive up the mountain and down is one of the best around. The trip up you may anticipate arriving in St Elmo, a 1800 ghost town. At the base of the mountain you will find the Chalk Bluffs. Some sites in the campground have shade, some do not but great for solar.
Directions: From Buena Vista, Colorado, take Highway 285 south for 7 miles to County Road 162. Turn west on County Road 162, traveling 8 miles to the Chalk Lake Campground
LNT
Better than when you found it
Stay safe, travel happy
- (20) View All
Excellent place to camp!
We are camping here again soon and are really looking forward to it. Our fam has been hitting this campground for over 10 years. The river and scenery are great. Nearby hiking to waterfall. The campground just has vault toilets (I know suck it up ;). but we always hit the Mt. Princeton hot springs and make use of those showers. The lake is fun and usually has trout. St Elmo ghost town nearby. Can’t go wrong with this site.
Don't get sites 3, 4 or 5
Camp was well maintained--bathrooms very clean. We unfortunately had one of the few awful sites. Felt like we were in a commune. Sites 3,4 and 5 are lined up like a parking lot. Was only supposed to be 3 sites, but the camp host allowed a 4th one to be there as well. It was very frustrating because it was already so cramped.
There is a wonderful creek that is right next to campground and the views are beautiful. Just beware of the parking lot sites!
Location
Chalk Lake is located in Colorado
Directions
From Buena Vista, Colorado, take Highway 285 south to Nathrop. Turn west on County Road 162 and travel 8 miles to the campground.
Address
SALIDA RANGER DISTRICT
FOR INFORMATION ONLY (M-F 8AM-4:30PM) 719-539-3591
5575 CLEORA RD
Salida, CO 81201
Coordinates
38.7127778 N
106.2338889 W