Mike S.

Colorado Springs, CO

Joined April 2018

Bring the bug spray

After seven miles of washboard road down FR900 and CR7 out of Yampa, you arrive at Bear Lake about 9,700 feet. The entire campground (43 sites) is first come first served with no reservations. The sites have good separation between them and most of them are really good sites. They have single sites for $10/night, $20/night for a few double sites and $30/night for the triple site. Make sure you bring bug spray because the mosquitoes are brutal! I would definitely recommend this campground to anyone that enjoys some seclusion and privacy.

Hidden gem

This campground is an amazing hidden gem. Twenty sites with some great selections.
I was surprised to see that it was never full. It got close on Saturday with people waiting for a site at Teal down the road first thing Sunday. The host Bob is a wonderful host, very laidback and helpful. He keeps an immaculate campground. I will definitely return to Cimaronna.

Great campground

Silver Lake July 4th holiday What a great campground! There are three loops with one dedicated to group camping. Lots of great views and decent site separation. The elevation is 9,100 feet. There are trails to an overlook of the reservoir and down around the reservoir. The entire campground (except groups) is all first come first served. It’s posted to select your site and the host will find you… eventually. It’s not like you are leaving anytime soon. The hosts Kathy and Jeneen are awesome. Very laidback and easygoing, creating a relaxed and stress free environment while staying on top of their campground tasks as needed. If they don’t catch up to you by dinner time, they will the next morning… relax! Interesting not to see a single chipmunk the entire week. Saw deer and a fox, lots of Monarch butterflies, but no chipmunks. No one has seen a bear this

Nice campground

Stayed at Ward Lake Ward Lake is a nice campground that has two sides with about a half mile road, following the lake separating the sides. Not a lot of shade on the far side. Different types of fire pits, but all had trash left in them 😢 This is one place that fits the saying that if you don’t like the weather, wait twenty minutes, it’ll change. The wind comes from all directions through the day and the wind blowing off the lake adds a little more bite to the wind chill.

Great place to stay, but Mt. Evans is 10 miles away

I love this place. The campground is full every weekend between Memorial Day and Labor Day due to reservations made at recreation.gov up to 6 months and more than 48 hours in advance, and being so close to metro Denver.

The campground has 16 sites; 4 Walk-In, 1 host and 11 are reservable. Check in after 2:00 and check out by 1:00. If someone has a reservation, like a hotel, their site is held until 1:00 the next day because of the Forest Service rule that the campsite must be occupied the first night and they could have had delays.

The campground is at 9600’ and the last mile of the dirt road is a bit rough, but I have seen low profile cars and 42’ Class A motor home with a towed vehicle. Well water normally supplies the campground to faucets, but has not been productive the entire 2019 season and there are vault toilets. Each site has its own bear box and fire ring. The creek is less than 100 meters from the campground and fishing this year was poor… water level was low. Lots of great hiking and climbing in the area. About a 40 degree difference between day and night. During the fire ban, dispersed camping is limited to just a few areas so the campground is a great place to stay and you might still be able to have a fire in the fire ring. Privately owned cabins can be seen as you walk through the woods. Hell’s Hole Trail is a few hundred yards from the campground. I’m looking forward to going back there as host next year.