We decided to drive the Phantom Canyon/Shelf Road Loop and camp. We should have secured the campsite first. Both of the main campgrounds were full so out of desperation we drove into Red Canyon. There aren’t many amenities, picnic tables and pit toilets. But what it does have is solitude and really cool red rock formations.

Super pretty little campground. Far enough out of the way that you can usually find a site even though there aren’t a lot to begin with. But that’s what makes this campground so great. It’s peaceful, not crowded, has hiking trails, fishing, half the sites are on the creek AND it’s FREE!!

Drove in on a Saturday afternoon in June without a reservation thinking we had a slim chance of getting a site. Luckily this is a large campground with three (I think) loops of first-come, first-serve sites. Plenty of sites to choose from. Some not great for tents, but we happened to come upon a site with one of the best views of any campsite I’ve ever stayed at. Amazing!

Credit cards are not accepted at the campground, so if you don’t have a reservation, be sure to bring cash.

The campground itself is nice. Good picnic tables, nice fire rings with adjustable grills, awesome lodgepole pine forest across the road from the amazing river. My only complaint is the road noise. Because the canyon isn’t super wide, the campground hugs the road (which is surprisingly busy.)

Beautiful campground right on the Rio Grande River. Nice wooded sites. The campground has a nice large open meadow where you can throw a frisbee or stargaze. There are hiking trails that take off right from campground. A fox that had clearly received food came into our site and tried to take our garbage which was two feet from me. Do not leave food or garbage out. Sites are reservable. Camp host had firewood for sale. There’s a parking area for fishermen. We would definitely stay here again.