We stayed in site 16 overflow tent on Wednesday 6/2, and it was great out there. I'm so glad we didn't go for the regular tent, because the views are all blocked by shrubs!! It was far better to be in overflow in my opinion. We also asked for certain site preferences and they gave us our preference. It was about 30 minutes from the dunes which was a long flat drive, but the amenities of this place made it worth it. We got to rent a dune board there. RENT A DUNE SLED IF YOU'RE GOING TO THE DUNES! Best $20 ever spent! The greenhouse pool/bar was a super nice end to our sand dunes visit. Porta Potties were cleaned often, too. We had to pay .50c for a 6 minute shower, which is inconvenient but not the end of the world. It was nice to be able to shower. We were close to our neighbor but we just parked our car to block on one side and our tent on the other to get some privacy. The night sky was amazing out there! It was a great place to stay overall.
We stayed the night of Sunday 5/30. We had a wonderful experience staying here. The view was amazing. There were lots of nature trails to take as well. The cow poop added character to these trails :). We also really enjoyed fishing in the river and examining the amazing smooth rocks that were all over the place. We weren't too near anyone else so it was a nice and quiet stay. There was a bear box to put all of our food in at night which was nice for peace of mind. We also saw a white tailed deer at our site within moments of arriving :). 10/10 experience!
We did not get much, if any, cell phone reception here. So keep that in mind.
We stayed here on a Tuesday night (May 5). It was extremely quiet; we were probably one of two campsites that were occupied that night. The outhouse was clean, and the campsite host came by and said hello in the morning. Overall it was a nice place to crash on our way to the sand dunes.
This campground was super accessible. It was only 10 minutes from Leadville and the roads were easy to follow. The campsite was fairly full on this saturday 5/29 but there were still probably three or four spots open that evening. We even got one on the water even though we got there pretty late-- around 4:30. It gets a little cold at such high elevation at night, so be prepared for that.
The only cons of this place were that it was a little noisy and we were close to our neighbors. Other than that it was a really pleasant night.
We stayed here the night of Friday 5/28 and left in the morning. We got there around 4:30pm. A lot of the sites with trees and beautiful views on top of the hill were taken, but we scored this gem that was a bit challenging to get to. A 4 wheel drive vehicle is a must. You follow the rocky dirt roads to find places with rock rings. It was the most beautiful campsite I've ever seen. This campsite was free, but there were also a few more accessible spots open down by the lake for a fee. You probably won't have any problems finding a place to camp here, but get there early for the really insane views-- it's worth it!