San Antonio is a great little facility offering sites from tents to RV electric. There is potable water and toilets. The sites are generally shaded and well spaced. And best of all, San Antonio Creek runs alongside the length of the campground. You’re close by the Valles Caldera, and awesome fly fishing spots. It’s a great escape for us city dwellers in ABQ.
Bonus tip- the Longmire TV series was filmed in the Valles Caldera. Visit Walt’s cabin!
A no nonsense BLM campground with limited spaces. The location is isolated and you need to bring plenty of water. The advantage is being able to walk into the Gorge, which if you fly fish, is an amazing thing.
Another great Colorado State Park, it sits above Eleven Mile Reservoir. The sites offer everything from tent sites to full hook up. There is limited shade, but most sites are exposed.
Theres beautiful hikes around the lake and the fishing is awesome between the reservoir and Spinny Lake, and 11 Mile Canyon below the dam.
Great Basin is a park you really want to go to in order to actually go to. Situated in the middle of Nevada, it features a sky island environment, rising from high desert scrub, to Aspen forests, and to above timberline scree.
Campgrounds are typical NPS style; light on amenities, but heavy on experience. There are vault toilets and potable water available. And the night skies. Wow, just wow.
This is one of the nicest Army Corp of Engineer campgrounds I’ve stayed in. Sites are spacious, all with a view, and with options from horse camping to full hook up. While it’s “lakefront” getting down to the water is a 20 minute hike.
Bonus Tip/ visit Ghost Ranch to learn about the vibrant history of the area.
A USFS campground that’s unimproved, it’s a hidden jewel. Overlooking Dumont Lake, the Campground can be awash with wildflowers, cloudbursts, and singletrack. There’s a vault toilet and potable water available. Flyfishing the lake is pretty sweet as well.
It’s basically camping in a dirt and asphalt parking lot with. I shade. You are close to the general store, so cold beer (at about $10 a six pack) isn’t far away. But, that’s not why you come to Death Valley. You come for the otherworldly experience and Stovepipe Wells is dead center for exploring.
Bonus tip- Head over to Furnace Creek Inn at sunset and enjoy a margarita or glass of wine on the deck. It’s a bucket list experience.
More a stopover Park, Red Rock is nestled amongst beautiful sandstone cliffs that are mesmerizing. There are full hook ups available, and bathroom/showers as well. Take a hike to Bell Rock, or gaze night skies.
An NPS Park, it’s situated on the banks of the Green River. Electricity is available, which can come in handy as the area can get seriously warm in the summer. There are two loops, one which has trees, the other mostly without. Reserve ahead as shade is a commodity.
The Park visitor center is amazing. A preserved 90’ wall of dinosaur bones. It doesn’t get any better.
The Paco Campground at Ridgeway SP is probably my favorite in the SP system. It’s down river from the lake and is tucked in rolling canyon of the Uncompahgre River. The river is a tailwater and has been restored by Trout Unlimited as a Catch & Release section. That bears repeating, especially for our Texas friends- Catch & Release… Sadly on 4 different occasions I’ve assisted Rangers in citing folks from there for keep trout.
The Campground is spacious and beautiful. There’s everything from tent sites to full hook ups. Facilities are spotless and the hosts are outgoing.
Bonus tip- Killer Thai food in Ridgeway. And daytrip for a soak in Ouray.
As is typical of Colorado State Parks, Trinidad Lake is clean, well thought out, and beautiful. With the Sangria de Christo Mountins as a backdrop, it’s a nice place from which to base camp and explore. And if you’re there during the monsoons, expect a rainbow or two and the sweet smell of piñon and Sage.