Large area in BLM land and extending into National Forest.
This place is gorgeous but it’s waaay overcrowded. Walking around there are animal skulls and bones here and there, found two piles of fur of animals that had been skinned or something. It’s very creepy. Very noisy with generators and dozens of noisy and nosy kids. Don’t see how this place is getting 5 stars. If it wasn’t for the noise, overcrowding and creepiness I’d give it 5 stars too.
Sadly, this beautiful campground is getting taken advantage of. People are staying for months! It’s absolutely ridiculous and disgusting.
The max day is 14 days. Please respect the rules. There are many other campgrounds in the area. To sit in one place for months is totally unacceptable. It’s quite clear who stays there longer than 14 days. The space looks like a junkyard.
Share the space people and please respect the place! 14 days max and adios!
It’s been lovely. We left out stuff out while away for entire days and no one has ever come to steal anything. Everyone we’ve met out here have been wonderful and friendly. Also - downtown Salida, CO (15 minutes away), is a must visit.
We just stayed here...absolutely stunning. Pictures don't do it justice. The spacing was perfect in between campers. The views were amazing. Easy to get to. Would recommend every single time!!
I wouldn't park off the main road, go deeper in and or on one of the turn offs. I was thinking it would be OK and I'd spare myself the road till Saturday at 11pm when this torn up dirt road became busier then 50 rush hour ( probably 20-35 speeding cars in less then an hour a few spraying my van with rocks. Maybe it's unfriendly locals or maybe it's coincidence but it's not worth either being right or wrong if you can't go deep you'll have a better night's sleep on monarch pass
The space is very beautiful, incredible views, calming energy, very spread out, has many options to choose from, and is very popular!
14 day stay limit, and it seems as if most people take it advantage of that! I truly understand why. I’ve been here for over a week and do plan on staying for about 14 days. This space has been everything I need.
The neighbors are about 50 to 100 feet away, depending out which spot you choose. Some shady spots, again, depending on which site fits your needs.
The road to enter is ridiculously messed up! Take it really slow and you’ll be okay. I saw many different cars, trucks, RVs of every size in here, but just be prepared to enter a very bumpy road. Very quiet, I stayed here over Labor Day weekend and this place was packed! And I could not believe how peacefully quiet it was.
I love this place! It was really beautiful,, peaceful and very close to town! Such a friendly town, too! end it this spot!
Beautiful location and easy to find. Yes it is popular. And I still found a good spot arriving at 5:30 pm on a Saturday. Quiet and the night sky was incredible. Then only a 10 mins trip into Salida for coffee the next morning.
Stayed here mid-July on a Sunday evening and there were several other campers. Lots of hidden gem spots if you keep following the road past the coordinates. Road was super rutted, rocky, and rough at the entrance but fine other than that. Had no issues in my AWD Honda HRV
Stayed here mid-July on a Sunday evening and there were several other campers. Lots of hidden gem spots if you keep following the road past the coordinates. Road was super rutted, rocky, and rough at the entrance but fine other than that. Had no issues in my AWD Honda HRV
Had the place to myself when I pulled in around 6:30p on a weekday. More people showed up between 7-9pm, but was still very quite. Road gets a bit rocky, but manageable.
Large area with many open sites further in. Clean and quiet. 2 bars Verizon 4G.
We loved this free BLM spot outside of Salida! Yes, the road was rocky but our 2WD 170” Sprinter handled it fine. We stayed at the 3rd or 4th down the left side of the Y. We’ll definitely this to our list to visit again!
Solid BLM land right by Salida and Poncha Springs. Convenient to get to, only the last little bit of the road gets rocky. Saw a good number of other campers and hunters in the morning but all quite spread out with no noise from neighbors and plenty of beautiful mountain scenery. From the GPS marker can take the left or right fork and find a lot of spots.
Busy, but still able to find a very scenic spot on a Monday evening. Stayed until Saturday morning; heard numerous folks driving in on Friday evening. Fantastic cell coverage and didn't have too much trouble with our 26' trailer. Did use 4wd on the hill just before our spot (kept spinning out on the rocks in 2wd with the trailer and the incline). VERY windy and I also had a lot of allergy issues that mostly went away as soon as we left (dust?). Would definitely stay at again if in the area. Dump station/water in town was very convenient.
We were there on a Wednesday, and even though there was a good deal of people, there was plenty of spots available.
A very busy and popular spot for boondocking. Saw lots of bikes and walkers up and down the road. Not much in this immediate area except to park and relax. Don’t expect much privacy during popular times.
even if its pretty full there is still plenty of space, great spot!
Went friday-saturday in the middle of June. A good amount campers, but enough spots that it didn't feel too crowded. Definitely go earlier if you want the better spots. Some areas have cows grazing.
One long road that goes on for a while. Plenty of campsites all along it, lots of stone fire rings already set up.
Road is a bit rough in places with a little bit of a steep grade before the campsites but I managed in a minivan.
The roads were a bit rough in some spots but we were able to manage in our rig. Most of the road in is tar, but once you get close to BLM, it turns to gravel. There are lots of spots, esp if you are willing to keep driving. Beautiful sunsets!! Lots of poo around
After you enter the dirt road, you will find a lot of other dirt roads that stray away from the “main” one. Down these dirt roads there is plenty of open spaces to park a rig or set up a tent. Keep going down the main road if you don’t find anything at the beginning, this place becomes a maze, there is so many different dirt roads and places to camp I can’t imagine it ever completely filling up - I would say there is a hundred or so spots you can find. No amenities but cell service is good and you are close to a town. There is some spots that have shade and some with out but like i said, there’s so many spots that you’re bound to find a shady one if that’s what you’re looking for. Depending on what spot you pick, it can be very quiet and secluded out here.
The road up is a bit bumpy and can be tough to get through if someone else is coming through. Lots of tucked away camping spots and amazing views. No running water, toilets, or electricity, but excellent cell service and not a lot of bugs. Close to the city if you need to run into town for anything and a few trails and tubing spots not far.
Beautiful area
Got here at the end of July. Lots of wind and no water source. Other than that, good T-Mobile service, mostly level spots an a lot of them.
not too many people and generally mostly clean. i stayed for a few night on the upper rim. great views in every direction. a bit windy, and very warm when the sun's out spring-summer.
some nice trails to walk on too
This is owned by the BLM as a wildlife management area, and is not "open land" as far as camping rules are concerned. Still has the usual 14 day limit though. I did not see any BLM officials here.
Stayed for 10 days in July 2019. Decent Verizon 4G signal, about 3 bars unboosted.
The drive up County Road 250 starts out paved, but transitions to gravel and gets heavily washboarded. Some parts of the road are pretty bumpy, and maybe a tad steep, but I was still able to pull my 28 foot trailer up with a 2WD truck.
Lots of campsites here. Some big enough for massive rigs. Most shade sites are small and only for small rigs. Lots of pinyon pine. Beautiful views of mountains. Gets windy often. Towns of Salida and Poncha Springs within 10 minutes away.
Stays about 1/3 full during the week, and nearly full on the weekend. All the best sites with shade and privacy seem to be occupied by campers living here indefinitely, despite posted signs forbidding using this area for residence.
The road up is a bit dicey. Awesome views of the mountains. We stayed at the first meadow on the right.
Expansive dispersed camping with stunning views of the surrounding mountains. The road in is totally doable, there seems to be endless camping spots, and we had excellent Verizon cell service. Great location for an extended stay.
Depending on where you park, you can get 360 views of the Rockies. Bigger rigs might wanna stay lower in the meadow. Att cell coverage at least until the second cattle guard without and Wi-Fi extenders or anything. 15 minutes to salida. Base camp for shavano and tabeguache 14we hikes, Arkansas fly fishing, colorado trail hiking and biking. Brewery and wine tasting maybe 9 minutes in poncha springs.
Huge area with dispersed camping. First bit of road has heavy washboarding followed by a short steep rocky climb. This first area is BLM and has number of spots in meadows with short trees that large rigs can easily get into. Probably wouldn't take a class A rig up the hill but saw many large 5th wheel rigs and class C. Another short rocky climb leads to some awesome spots along a steep ridge. From here the road is rather rough to the national forest land. If you continue the road splits. 252 is the easier route and goes quite a ways to the mount shavano trailhead. 250A leads into an aspen grove and is curvier. Both have numerous spots. Lots of tent campers and westies/class A rigs up there.