One of the most beautiful Forest Service campgrounds you will ever stay in. And everyone in Colorado knows this place, so you'd better make reservations. Not sure how to answer the "pet friendly" question. Yes, the locals do love pets -- for dinner! Keep yours leashed, don't let it outside at night, and don't leave food lying about your campsite. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Ditto to what the reviewer before me said. Of the three USFS campgrounds near Chalk Lake, this is our favorite. We spent one night on our way home from a trip and it was the perfect Last Night of a trip. Will stay there again if we can get in. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Very nice NFS campground 16 miles SW of Buena Vista. Take Highway 285 south to County Rd 162. Go 8.5 miles on the paved CR 162. Campground will be on the left just past Chalk Creek NFS CG. Cascade fills almost every night so reservations are needed. There are 2 other NFS campgrounds on CR 162. Cascade, in my opinion, has the largest and most private sites. Again this is a NFS campground. There are no hook ups, no showers, no dump and vault toilets. This campground has water but you have to pump it which is a task. Better fill your fresh water tank before arrival. You can't fill it in the campground unless you have a bucket and funnel. There are private campgrounds with dump sites on Hwy 285. Just ask the hosts. Hosts are wonderful. There is plenty to do in the area besides fishing and hiking. There is rafting, horseback riding and hot springs nearby. We camped here in a Tent.
Stayed in a pull through in our motor home, basically a dirt parking lot with a view out our front window of an RV/equipment storage lot and beyond that a salvage yard of some type. Grossly overpriced for what they offer! We camped here in a Motorhome.
Just got back from five nights at this park. Pull through spaces were nice and wide with picnic table included. Staff was very friendly and accommodating. Sites were gravel. The negatives of the park are - no cable, had to pay for the showers - also not a very pretty view. There are two different areas in the park, one is down by the creek where we did not stay. Much prettier down by the creek. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Stayed here off season in mid October. Had no other campers in the lower campground (electric only sites). Wonderful site next to the creek, good size site, many trees, enjoyed the two nights we stayed. Rarely use campground restrooms, but due to cleanliness used their facilities. Very friendly and helpful staff. Stayed here in a small motor home, large rigs may have difficulties negotiating the lower campground. Will stay here again to spend more time exploring the surrounding area. We camped here in a Motorhome.
We had site 27 a lovely site by the beautiful Chalk Creek in the lower camp ground. The place is kept immaculate and is possibly the best kept place we have ever stayed in. Very friendly owners. The only thing letting it down is the proximity to the main road and the inherent roar of trucks at night. Lower campgrounds sites don't have water and sewer, but are worth it for the shade and the stream. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
The park has a creek running through the lower section, but the sites there may be difficult for larger 5th wheels or motor coaches. Upper section is basically a gravel and dirt parking lot with utilities. There are trees around the campground, but none/no shade at our premium site. The campground has some very nice surrounding mountain views. No real walking or biking areas. We stayed a week and didn't even bother taking the bikes down from the rack. The lower section has many tent campers who come up to the upper section showers (coin operated). Sitting outside at our premium site, there was always a slight whiff of sewage/garbage that my wife and I both noticed. Possibly something in basement of the cabin next to our site. Lots to do in the local area, but I'd stay elsewhere next time. This was way overpriced for what they deliver. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Nice staff and sites but 40/nite is steep for electric only. Good Wi-Fi although the campground guidelines warned us against over using it. Most of the low score comes from the attitude shown on the guidelnes given at time of induction. "Violations of any of the guidelines may result in expulsion with no refund. Please advise the office of any infractions so that they may be addressed" yep in the Guidelines! I have never been ask to inform on my fellow camper before. As I said the staff did not represent this attitude. I think Col Klink may have had something to do with the guidlines. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
We stayed in a full hook up site with our 38' 5th wheel. Spacious site with wonderful mountain views. The campground was spotless and the staff exceptionally friendly and helpful. Restrooms and showers were truly exceptional. They also have electric only sites by the creek, under lots of trees. Those are beautiful sites also. We will return! We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
We stayed here for a month while we photographed the area. The park is divided into upper (RV Full Hook Ups) and Lower (Electric only). The Lower campground is nicely shaded and on Chalk Creek. The upper campground is partially shaded and has pull through's and back in's. There is a small irrigation stream that flows between some of the sites in the upper campground. The owners and staff are extremely friendly and the park is immaculate. There is a small store, game room, and the WiFi works well. There are pot lucks and some other activities on busy weekends. We felt very welcome here and would definitely stay here again. One of the best parks that I have stayed in. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
We got the last site available for a busy Saturday night, it was the overflow site up against the bathhouse but with FHU and 50 amps. Yes, it was all gravel but very nice, immaculately clean. Friendly staff and folks. I do not like pay showers, but we used our own. However, for the people in the lower campground with grass, trees and stream there were only portal potties. They had to walk up the hill to get to the really beautiful bathhouse. What really impressed us about this place was that two rigs came in with no place to go on a Saturday night, so the staff parked them in a grassy field and ran extension cords so that the people could have electricity overnight, instead of just turning them away. This gave us a warm feeling about the place. No cable but there was a sign in the office that there was no digital TV in the area. We turned our converter box off, and had good network TV. We will definitely return. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Easy Access from Hwy 285. Lots to do nearby (horseback riding, rafting jeep rentals) and activities at the CG as well (pot luck, bingo). Staff is friendly and helpful - give escorts to you site. We stayed where there were larger sites: the Upper CG in Site 27a, which was an end site, also near to bathrooms/showers/laundry, all of which were tiled and very clean. However there is a 25 cents charge for a 3 minute shower, and it goes up from there. Did not feel all warm and fuzzy to me. The site charge is high enough - they do not have to charge for showers. Wi-Fi was acceptable. Satellite reception usually goes out in the afternoon as the rain storm pass through, then reception returns.
We camped here in a Motorhome.
The one thing that jumps out about this RV Park is how on top of each other the campsites are. There is a an upper campground, which has full hook-ups, but is nothing but an open, gravel parking lot. It looked awful. We stayed in the lower campground, which has trees and grassy areas, and several of the sites are right on Chalk Creek, which is very pretty. The lower campground is a mix of electric only and tent only sites. But, as mentioned in the beginning of this comment, the sites are packed in together. Our particular site was side by side with another site, and we figured we'd be looking at the back of their RV. But, the sites actually faced each other, and the combined room of both sites was smaller than many other single sites at other campgrounds! We felt we were sharing a small site, and practically were in each other laps when we ate our respective dinners or sat by our respective fires! That was typical throughout the campground. The tent area looked like Tent City! Never seen anything quite like it! On the positive side, the folks running the place were extremely nice, and the facilities were clean and in good working order. We were escorted to our site and the gentleman helped guide us into our tight little spot! We were with our grandkids, who really enjoyed playing in the creek, although creek access is somewhat limited as they crammed so many creekfront sites into the place that there is very little access unless you are fortunate enough to get one of those sites (we were not). I don't think we'll be staying here again. Had it not been for the tight fit and closeness of the sites, this campground would have scored much higher! We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Upper campground is like a parking lot for RV's but has full hook ups. Lower campground is very small and the sites are so close together that I would not come back. The campground is very clean though. If you plan to hike or take day trips and only be at campground to sleep then it is OK. If you like to hang out in your campsite and read a book or lounge in a chair I would NOT recommend this campground. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
This is a well maintained campground, however, if you stay in the upper section, it is like a parking lot. No trees or grass, just side by side gravel sites. And the road noise from 285 is a factor. If you stay in the lower section it is very nice: trees, grass, creek, but there is no way to get a satellite signal. Verizon cell service worked well at this campground. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Big rig friendly. We stayed in the upper part, but there are really nice lower sites (creekside might be tight for a 45'). Best bathrooms I've ever seen! Lots to do nearby. Great views. We camped here in a Motorhome.
The owners and staff are very friendly - it is clean. The problem is in recent years they have taken sites that are "comfortable" down by the river and redesigned it - and now stacked RV's in there. It takes a member of the staff to get you into the site - and then sometimes you have to wait till others leave before you can get out. Up above they are very close and no trees. We used to camp her a lot - and in 2008 stayed there a total of about 10 nights - sometimes with a group. But we have decided that it is too pricey and too cramped. With prices like this they should have cable TV and a swimming pool. In fact you cannot get TV reception at all, so have a satellite dish if you want TV. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
Review Rating
[ 8 / 10 ]
July 2008
$36
Nice RV park, but the rates are steep for electric only. Also the showers are coin operated. For that price, I would think that use of the showers would be included. We camped here in a Motorhome.
We stayed in the "upper section" which has full hook-ups, but is not on the creek. The lower creekside sites are electric only and have lots of trees. Lots of tents and groups in the lower camping area. The bathrooms and showers were spotless. The employees were very friendly and helpful. We'll stay here again. We camped here in a Motorhome.
We actually stayed here last year in July and I can't remember the price but I wanted to review the campground itself anyway. We had a great time. We camped with another family and stayed directly on the water, it was great! We try to avoid KOA type campgrounds like this all the time, but we were there for a whole week and needed the showers. The sites as expected are very close to each other but it was okay. We were across from the playground which the children absolutely loved playing at. We floated in inner tubes down the creek, the weather was perfect and having the nice cool water was incredible, the sound of the running creek was soothing, we put our chairs right in the water and sunbathed, the flushing toilet was sooo nice and the showers up top were super clean and very nice! The fish hatchery is just up the road which the kids loved. This was a nice week trip! We camped here in a Tent Trailer.
Very nice campground. Stayed in site 31a. Staff very helpful, even to the point of rolling up our awning because of the wind, while we had gone up to St. Elmo. Cabins are nice also. My parents stayed in one and loved it. Would recommend to any one and would go back ourselves. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
We stayed up top. The views are worth the price of admission. Excellent campground. The lower sites are electric only, but right on the creek with mini waterfalls. Would recommend to anyone. We camped here in a Motorhome.
We loved this campground! Probably our favorite of all that we have stayed in. We had a beautiful view from our site, and I loved hearing the rushing Chalk Creek below. Each site had a pad with a new picnic table, and a new gas grill complete with utensils. The hosts were very nice and helpful. They had a lot of things to do there. We would definitely return, and might even make an effort to go out of our way to get here. We camped here in a Motorhome.
We had a really nice stay here. The sites are very well maintained and we got an escort to the site and help backing. The staff were very friendly and the store had all the little things we needed. The bathrooms and showers were the cleanest we've ever seen. They do charge for the showers, but it beats ours in the 5th wheel. The CG is also well located to explore the local attractions like St. Elmo, stables, and great fly fishing. We camped here in a Fifth Wheel.
This was a great stop. Clean restrooms/showers. Gravel sites that were level. Staff members were friendly. Escorted to site. It was raining during our stay, so we didn't get a chance to do any exploring around. We stopped here overnight enroute to Durango. We would camp here again. We camped here in a Motorhome.
I wish I would of read the other entry about this campground. We took their "premium" site but it wasn't. They wanted to put us so we would be looking at a cabin. The sewer attachment would not fit the other way and they told us just to unhook and use the dump station when we were full. They call that full hookup. I don't. Sitting outside, we looked at the utilities and a chopped up tree. Yes, they do drive around looking at you. After of couple of days being there, we were driving in on our motorcyle and told we needed a tag on it. The tent campers could buy wood from them but it was green and they had to pay for the showers. We would not go back. We camped here in a Motorhome.
This is a nice park if you don’t want full hookups. The sites down by the river only has power and are nice but mostly dirt. The sites up top have the full hookups and are ALL gravel to include your picnic table area, we did not like this and very hard of our dogs feet. The bathrooms and laundry were very clean, however it is a pay as you go shower. The campground has Internet but we thought very expensive at $6.95 a day. He also did not like how they drove around on their golf carts looking at you like you may be doing something wrong. The staff up front however was very nice. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Beautiful! Go to sleep listening to the creek babbling and wake up to the birds chriping! Lots to see and do nearby. Our group enjoyed swimming in a hot spring swimming area. The playground is very nice and centrally located. There is a large group tent camping area, too. We camped here in a Tent Trailer.